Chief Experience Officer

Role overview

The Royal Women’s Hospital is among Australia’s longest-standing and most respected tertiary hospitals, focused on women’s and newborns’ health. The hospital delivers specialist maternity, neonatal and women’s health services, with a strong aim to be a great place to work, learn and contribute while creating outstanding experiences for patients and consumers.

This is a full-time fixed-term executive position based in Parkville, Victoria.

About the team

The Chief Experience Officer leads the Experience and Culture Directorate, which brings together two specialist areas:

• People & Patient Experience: feedback, consumer partnership, health information for consumers, patient and visitor services, organisational development, equity, inclusion and belonging.
• People, Culture & Wellbeing: employee relations, industrial relations, occupational health and safety, wellbeing, business partnerships, people operations, workforce reporting and data, and strategic workforce planning.

What the role is responsible for

This executive role sets direction and provides strategic leadership to connect the patient experience with the staff experience in a deliberate and meaningful way.

• Own enterprise-level accountability for the People, Culture and Wellbeing strategy and operating model so the workforce remains high-performing and engaged.
• Help ensure the organisation operates successfully in a complex regulatory and industrial environment.
• Drive equity, inclusion and belonging across staff and patient experience so that systems, services and outcomes tackle structural inequities and support culturally safe, inclusive care.

The role reports to the Chief Executive Officer and partners with the Executive and Senior Leadership Team. It uses patient and staff feedback, technology including Artificial Intelligence, and workforce and clinical data to help deliver the Women’s Strategy and broader organisational outcomes.

Typical focus areas

• Lead the People and Culture strategy, aligning workforce capability, culture and leadership with clinical priorities.
• Promote a human-centred design mindset that links clinical experience, service delivery and workforce experience.
• Guide the consumer partnership approach so the voices of patients and staff, especially those from less-heard communities, shape service design, delivery and improvement.
• Advise the CEO, Executive and Board on equity, inclusion and belonging risks, priorities and opportunities.

About you

You will bring an authentic and inclusive leadership style that builds trust, strengthens capability and supports high performance. You should also be able to influence across clinical, operational and corporate areas.

Experience and qualifications

• Senior executive experience in a complex health, academic, public or purpose-led organisation.
• Demonstrated executive leadership in patient experience, people, culture and wellbeing, and service transformation.
• Proven track record leading large-scale, organisation-wide transformation in service delivery settings.
• Strong capability in insights, measurement and continuous improvement.
• Postgraduate tertiary qualifications.

Benefits

The organisation offers a collaborative and supportive culture with a strong sense of purpose and meaningful daily work. Benefits include:

• Salary packaging benefits of up to $11,660 for living expenses, meals and holiday accommodation.
• Wellness initiatives, including discounted financial, lifestyle and health options plus a comprehensive wellbeing program.
• Convenient public transport access and end-of-trip facilities for cyclists.
• Onsite post office, dining options, retail outlets and library services.
• Breastfeeding and pumping rooms, with several daycare centres nearby.
• Mentoring, learning and career development support.
• Flexible hybrid working arrangements.

Inclusion and belonging

The Women’s values a diverse and inclusive workplace that reflects its community. Applications are encouraged from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, LGBTQIA+ people, people from linguistically and culturally diverse backgrounds, gender-diverse people, people with disability, and people of all ages. The organisation is committed to gender equity, has awareness and sensitivity around violence against women and family violence, is proudly Breastfeeding Association accredited, and maintains a strong child safety and wellbeing commitment.

Application and compliance requirements

Applicants are encouraged to apply early. Appointments are subject to a satisfactory Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check and a valid Working with Children Check. Clinical staff must be vaccinated against, or able to show immunity to, COVID-19, influenza and a range of other diseases.

Support and adjustments are available for candidates who need assistance, accommodations during the application or interview process, or an accessible copy of the position description. The hospital also notes that applicants who do not meet every selection criterion may still be considered where relevant experience is applicable.

For a confidential discussion, contact Veronica Matthews, Executive Officer to the CEO, on (03) 8345 2005 or veronica.matthews@thewomens.org.au. Closing date: 25 June 2026.