Executive Director - Emergency Department Expansion

Employment Type: Fixed Term Contract (6 months)
Hours: Full Time
Location: Werribee Mercy Hospital
Upload with Application: Resume and cover letter
About the opportunity
This is a rare executive leadership opportunity to lead the opening of one of Victoria’s most significant Emergency Department expansion projects.
Werribee Mercy Hospital is preparing to open a landmark Emergency Department expansion that will double the department's capacity, increase treatment spaces from 33 to 67, and enable the hospital to care for an additional 25,000 patients each year.
Reporting to the Executive Director – Werribee Mercy Hospital, the Executive Director – WMH Emergency Department Expansion will hold single-point executive accountability for the readiness, safe opening and early operation of the expanded Emergency Department.
This is not a project delivery role. Dedicated workstream leads and a Program Director are responsible for delivery across workforce, infrastructure, commissioning, model of care, digital systems, industrial relations and change management. As Executive Director, you will provide strategic direction, executive oversight and decision-making, ensuring all readiness standards are achieved, and the expanded Emergency Department opens safely and successfully.
Working closely with Mercy Health executives, senior medical and nursing leaders, government stakeholders and system partners, you will drive alignment across the organisation and provide confidence that the expanded service is operationally, clinically and culturally prepared to meet the needs of one of Australia’s fastest growing communities.
This role will:
Provide executive leadership and accountability for Emergency Department readiness, opening and transition to business-as-usual operations
Lead executive governance, assurance and reporting to the WMH Executive, Project Control Group and Board Committees
Define and oversee operational readiness standards and determine whether readiness requirements have been achieved
Lead the Go / No-Go decision-making framework and provide recommendations regarding operational commencement
Drive executive engagement with senior clinical leaders across nursing, medical and allied health services
Provide leadership through a significant workforce growth and organisational change program
Lead executive relationships with Ambulance Victoria, Department of Health, VHBA and other health service partners
Ensure patient safety, quality, operational performance and workforce readiness remain central throughout commissioning and opening
Oversee hyper care and successful transition of the expanded service into ongoing operational leadership
What you’ll bring
You are an accomplished healthcare executive with a track record of leading complex clinical services, large-scale organisational change and high-profile operational initiatives.
You have the judgement, credibility and influence to work effectively across executive, clinical and government environments, while maintaining a relentless focus on patient safety, staff engagement and service performance.
To thrive in this role, you will have:
Significant executive leadership experience within a large acute health service or hospital environment
Demonstrated experience leading emergency, critical care or other complex clinical services
Experience commissioning, opening, transforming or expanding major healthcare services, facilities or infrastructure projects
Proven ability to influence and hold accountable senior clinical and operational leaders in a matrix environment
Demonstrated success leading workforce change, organisational transformation and industrial relations consultation
Strong understanding of emergency care operations, patient flow, demand management and health service performance frameworks
Exceptional stakeholder engagement, negotiation and communication skills
Demonstrated financial and commercial acumen, including management of significant operational budgets
Strong governance, risk management and decision-making capability within complex healthcare environments
Ability to provide visible, confident and values-based leadership during periods of significant organisational change
Qualifications
Tertiary qualification in a clinical, health, business or management discipline
Postgraduate qualification in health service management, business, leadership or a related discipline highly regarded
You will also be required to provide evidence of, or be in the process of obtaining:
A current Police Record Check and Working with Children Check
Proof of current influenza vaccination and other vaccination status consistent with public health orders
Why Mercy Health?
At Mercy Health, you'll join an organisation committed to delivering exceptional care while making a meaningful difference in the lives of the communities we serve.
This role offers the opportunity to leave a lasting legacy by leading the successful opening of a transformative healthcare service that will support the rapidly growing Wyndham community for decades to come.
Working alongside some of Victoria's most respected healthcare leaders, you will play a critical role in shaping the future of emergency care in Melbourne's west.
Ready to help shape the future of healthcare?
Join us and make a meaningful difference in people's lives and your career.
Apply now.
Please contact us if you would like to find out more or communicate any requirements to ensure we provide you with a fair and equitable interview and selection process.
We acknowledge the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung peoples, traditional Custodians of the Land in which our Head Office is based, on traditional lands of the Kulin Nation and recognise their deep connections to the land, sea and culture.
We extend this acknowledgment to the many Traditional Lands that we operate across Australia and pay our respects to Elders past and present.
The team at Mercy Health is as wonderfully diverse as the patients, residents, clients and communities we support. We're proud to be recognised as an Employer of Choice for Gender Equality by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA). Mercy Health strongly encourages applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and people of all ages, sexualities, genders, abilities and cultural backgrounds.