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Head of Government Affairs

Paul Ramsay Foundation

About Paul Ramsay Foundation

Paul Ramsay was a visionary business leader who left a remarkable legacy to Australia. The Foundation, made possible by his generosity, addresses social disadvantage, and a commitment to deepening philanthropy and civil society. The aim is to support change that lasts.

The Foundation partners with dedicated organisations in key program areas. The Foundation has a bias toward system-level collaboration, informed by research, evaluation, and shared learning.

Our talented team bring to this challenge their diverse perspectives and experience. We are anthropologists and educators, lawyers and economists, epidemiologists and entrepreneurs, political scientists and historians, psychologists and business analysts, journalists and administrators, philosophers, and artists – all guided by our values of respect for people, curiosity, loyalty, courage and innovation.

Role Summary

This is an opportunity to join a vibrant high-performing team that will work with others to address the systemic causes of long-term cycles of disadvantage and enable people to realise their potential. The Alliances team will achieve impact through effective advocacy and strong alliances with purpose-aligned organisations including government, peer philanthropy foundations, not-for-profits, and businesses. The Head of Government Affairs is key to collaboratively driving timely and impactful political and community influence.

Key Responsibilities

  • Work closely with the CAO and Alliances Team, to develop and execute a vision, agenda, and effective strategic and tactical campaigns to help address the systemic causes of long-term cycles of disadvantage and enable people to realise their potential
  • Support and communicate key program goals with federal state and local governments.
  • Work closely with both strategy and portfolio teams on priorities to advocate outcomes based on evidence for sharing with government, peer foundations and the community.
  • Provide strategic political and policy advice across the portfolio of programs and as an advisor to the CEO and Executive Team
  • Foster existing relationships, build new alliances across sectors and represent the Foundation to maximise influence and impact
  • Produce responsive and timely policy submissions in relation to critical program areas
  • Drive and demonstrate a transformational improvement in engagement and impact in the Foundation’s government relations, communications, reputation, profile, and driver of systems change
  • Provide excellent leadership, management and coaching within the Alliances Team and across the Foundation
  • Other duties, as required

Desired Skills and Experience

Personal Characteristics:

  • Exceptional interpersonal skills and ability to develop relationships with diverse key stakeholders (internal and external)
  • Excellent leadership skills with the ability to develop and work with informal authority
  • Purpose driven, transformational mindset
  • Trust builder, collaborator, and ability to work effectively with people from a range of backgrounds (including lived experience)
  • Demonstrable integrity and reflective learner
  • Exceptional written and oral communication skills
  • Agile and able work with complexity and manage complex projects within tight timeframes and attention to detail
  • A strong connection with the values of the Foundation: respect for people; curiosity and a willingness to learn; humility and integrity; courage and innovation.

Key Selection Criteria:

  • A tertiary degree and extensive (8+ years) government relations experience with established political and senior policy relationships
  • Demonstrated experience leading the development and implementation of campaigns to influence government policy using a range of strategies (e.g., Direct engagement with government, building coalitions across sectors and with people with lived experience, identifying key opinion leaders and influencers and making contributions to public debate)
  • A deep understanding of the political, bureaucratic and policy landscape, power, social issues, and systems change
  • Exceptional interpersonal skills and the ability to influence and form alliances with internal and external stakeholders across sectors at all levels
  • Exceptional communication skills, with the ability to interact effectively across multiple teams and stakeholders and formats
  • Demonstrated ability to develop, plan and successfully execute and operationalise strategy
  • Demonstrated experience developing, planning, and successfully executing strategy, developing, and managing budgets and managing staff
  • Demonstrated leadership and change management skills with a willingness for ongoing learning, development, and adaption

How to apply

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