ECMS’ philosophy is simple; we foster lifelong learning. As a for-purpose organisation, with 75 Kindergartens and Early Learning and Care Centres, we positively impact the lives of more than 6,000 Victorian children each week.

ECMS is seeking a dynamic and experienced Director of Risk and Compliance to champion child safety, regulatory excellence, and a safe working environment. Reporting directly to the CEO, you will be a key member of the Executive Leadership Team, working alongside the Board to drive a culture of proactive risk management and compliance. Leading a team of four, you will strengthen our risk management framework, ensuring our high-quality early childhood education services remain compliant, forward-thinking, and child safety.

If you are a strategic leader passionate about safeguarding, compliance, and fostering a culture of safety, we invite you to join us and make a lasting impact.

What will you do?

• Child safety - Oversee investigations of child safety incidents, complaints, and allegations, ensuring best-practice responses that prioritise children's safety and wellbeing. Maintain strong relationships with child protection authorities and regulatory bodies, ensuring timely and transparent engagement in response to child safety concerns.
• Risk management - Oversee the identification, assessment, and mitigation of organisational risks, ensuring alignment with governance and strategic priorities. Establish and maintain an enterprise-wide assurance framework to systematically evaluate the effectiveness of risk management and compliance initiatives.
• Regulatory compliance and governance - Ensure the organisation maintains a proactive and transparent relationship with regulatory bodies and statutory authorities. Implement robust compliance monitoring and reporting mechanisms, including the use of internal audits and compliance assurance processes. Investigate compliance breaches, lead root cause analysis, and implement systemic improvements to prevent recurrence.
• Safety and well-being - Ensure Work Health and Safety policies and practices meet legislative requirements, sector best practices and foster a culture of safety and continuous learning.
• Partnership and stakeholder engagement - Serve as the primary liaison for risk and compliance-related matters with government agencies, ensuring alignment with evolving regulatory expectations.

What you will bring to ECMS:

• A relevant tertiary qualification within a related field such as risk management, law, compliance, business administration, community services or early childhood.
• An expertise in child safety and safeguarding – Demonstrated ability to embed Child Safe Standards, implement risk mitigation strategies, and foster a culture of child protection. A strong understanding of regulatory frameworks, child safe standards, and the reportable conduct scheme.
• Expertise in policy and regulatory compliance – Experience in policy management, assurance frameworks, and regulatory compliance, with a focus on child wellbeing and organisational safety. An understanding of legislation in child safety and work health and safety.
• Excellent leadership and strategic thinking skills – Ability to lead through influence and embedding a child-safe culture across an organisation, while working with internal and external stakeholders.
• Incident response and investigation – Experience investigating and responding to child safety incidents within Reportable Conduct and Mandatory Reporting frameworks.
• Current Victorian Driver’s License (or ability to obtain), Working with Children’s Check (WWCC), National Police Check, and completion of ‘Protecting Children - Mandatory Reporting and Other Obligations for the Early Childhood Sector’ training.

What’s in it for you?

• Competitive salary, phone, laptop, petrol reimbursement and private onsite parking.
• Flexibility in work arrangements, including hybrid options and visits to our services.
• Opportunities for career growth, including exposure to high-calibre colleagues and diverse projects.
• A 2% professional development budget—tailored learning opportunities to suit your goals.
• 50% childcare discount for team members.
• Six weeks of paid parental leave.
• Access to retail and recreational discounts through our fully sponsored Employee Benefits Program (e.g., Coles, Woolworths, Booking.com).

Join Us:

ECMS is committed to promoting the safety, wellbeing, and inclusion of all children. We strongly encourage applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and individuals from diverse communities and backgrounds.

To apply, email your resume and a cover letter detailing your suitability for this role to Stephanie at [email protected] using the subject line: Director of Risk and Compliance enquiry via EthicalJobs.