Operations Manager

Join a vibrant team in a new, Traditional Owner-led initiative!

We have a newly created, full-time role for a talented Aboriginal &/or Torres Strait Islander person (strong preference for a Reef Traditional Owner) who has a passion for community engagement and operational coordination. You’ll be part of a fast-paced, core team working to engage and consult Reef Traditional Owners on options and preferences for a Sea Country Alliance, leading the charge to ensure the team is geared up and operating smoothly. The role is based in Queensland (remote; location flexible within the Great Barrier Reef catchment) and will require frequent travel regionally.

+ The Scoop:

The Great Barrier Reef Traditional Owner Taskforce (ReefTO) is a Traditional Owner-led, grassroots initiative that honours the decades of work by Elders to assert their cultural authority and rights to sea country and to drive genuine partnerships across the Reef. In doing so, ReefTO aims to achieve Traditional Owners’ aspirations for the health, management and protection of the Reef and interconnecting Country.

ReefTO has three key objectives over the next 2-3 years:

1. Engage with Traditional Owners to establish a Sea Country Alliance.
2. Deliver strategic policy and capacity building actions in the TO Implementation Plan.
3.  Monitor and report on the delivery of actions in the TO Implementation Plan.

ReefTO is hosted by Pollination Foundation until a Sea Country Alliance is set up.

+ The Opportunity:

Dive into an exhilarating adventure with ReefTO! We're on the lookout for a super-organised, dynamic and passionate community engagement and operational specialist to join our Programs & Engagement team.

Over the next 12-18 months, you and a team of three (3) Regional Coordinators will be at the forefront of building authentic, lasting relationships with Traditional Owners across the Great Barrier Reef. You’ll do the same job as a Regional Coordinator, leading regional engagement in your allocated geographic zone, but you’ll also have an additional set of operational responsibilities.

Your efforts will ensure the voices of Reef Traditional Owners are at the heart of our decision-making process. This isn't just another consultation – it's a genuine co-design journey where the insights you gather from these detailed, regular yarns will shape the future of a Sea Country Alliance.

You are culturally competent. You are not only passionate about Traditional Owner rights, but you also have the skills to lead group meetings and simplify complex information. The job is meaningful and the role provides the opportunity to influence a key moment in history for Reef Traditional Owners, though it will require resilience and determination.

As the Operations Manager reporting to the Director, Programs & Engagement, you'll have the chance to apply your community development and engagement expertise, contributing to a transformative vision for the Traditional Owners of the Great Barrier Reef. You'll also play a key role in helping to ensure the team of Regional Coordinators is delivering high quality, consistent and accurate messaging. You’ll support logistics and invoicing for all Regional Coordinators, plus you’ll lead on compiling, synthesising and analysing the information from all regions to develop key insights to support decision-making.

Are you ready to make waves with us? 🌊

+ Who We’re Looking For:

We are on the hunt for an exceptional individual who can build strong, trust-based relationships with Traditional Owner groups throughout the Great Barrier Reef catchment. As a key player in our team, you will contribute to the development of an Engagement Plan that will guide regional dialogue sessions over a 12-month period. Your role will involve organising workshops and meetings, and coordinating logistics for the dialogue sessions in your allocated region. You will also design and deliver dialogue sessions, collate the information gathered, and work closely with our Communications & Creative team to keep Traditional Owner groups informed.

We need someone who is comfortable presenting in front of groups and preparing short briefs to report on progress and outcomes. You should be analytical, organised, and a team player who can relate easily to different people, from Elders to youth to management. Strong cultural competency is a must, and you should be able to develop and follow processes while also being flexible and adaptable.

Besides this, you will also have a knack for operational systems, processes and coordination. Your additional responsibilities will include streamlining meeting logistics across regions, developing standard operating procedures, supporting the selection and onboarding of vendors and/or service providers and keeping things humming smoothly so Regional Coordinators can focus mainly on yarns.

You’ll also be someone who gets excited about compiling and analysing data. You’ll be the point for the Regional Coordinators to feed back what they’re hearing so that all insights and data can be centralised. You’ll then support efforts to use these insights in ReefTO’s reporting requirements to various funding bodies and back to our primary audience – Reef Traditional Owners

To apply for this role, you must be an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander person. Strong existing networks within one or more regions of the Great Barrier Reef are essential, as is demonstrated experience in building trusted relationships with Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people more broadly. An understanding of Reef policy and management initiatives, such as TUMRAs, Sea Country IPAs and Native Title will be a major advantage.

You should be confident speaking in public, presenting complex information concisely and engagingly, and handling potentially difficult questions in a meeting format. You will be supported with presentation materials and resources to ensure consistent messaging, but you will also need to think on your feet in meetings, drawing on the deep understanding of ReefTO’s objectives, which you will develop.

We are looking for someone with deep listening skills, the ability to craft insightful questions, good organisational skills, and a strong background in operations. You should be curious and analytical, able to identify themes and read the story behind the data, and have a genuine interest in elevating the role of Traditional Owners in the management, governance, and decision-making related to the Great Barrier Reef. Familiarity with ICIP/ID and FPIC would be ideal but is not essential.

We’ll provide on-the-job training and any upskilling you might need, but this is a job for someone experienced in community engagement and who can confidently coordinate the operational needs of a regional team.

+ What You’ll Be Doing (A.K.A. Your Superpowers):

•  Lead Regional Engagement: Build authentic, lasting relationships with Traditional Owners across the Great Barrier Reef.
• Operational Responsibilities: Support logistics, invoicing, vendor on-boarding, travel procedures, and ensure high-quality, consistent, accurate messaging from Regional Coordinators.
• Session Design: In collaboration with the Comms & Creative team and the rest of the Programs & Engagement team, prepare clear and accurate materials, and deliver engaging dialogue sessions, including setting the agenda, leading discussions, and recording outcomes.
• Co-Design the Journey: Gather insights from regular, detailed discussions for analysis and interpretation to shape the future of a Sea Country Alliance.
• Cultural Competency: Lead group meetings, simplify complex information, and develop an awareness of want Reef Traditional Owners want and need.
• Data Analysis: Compile, synthesise, and analyse information from all regions to develop key insights arising from engagements. Centralise feedback from Regional Coordinators to identify themes and inform decision-making and reporting.
• Workshop & Meeting Coordination: Organise and coordinate logistics for dialogue sessions and workshops – in your region, and provide logistical support to the Regional Coordinators in other regions.
• Public Speaking: Present complex information concisely and engagingly, and handle difficult questions in meetings.
• Process Development: Develop standard operating procedures and streamline meeting, operational and travel logistics.
• Vendor Management: Support the selection and onboarding of vendors and service providers, as required.
• Briefing and Reporting: Prepare short briefing papers to update the ReefTO Leadership Team and/or the ReefTO Taskforce on progress and preliminary outcomes, as required.
• ICIP: Collaborate with Traditional Owner groups to ensure any Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP) and Indigenous Data (ID) shared is protected and accessible, and ensure free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) is practiced.
• Team Player: Participate in strategic planning workshops and team-building activities as a member of the ReefTO Coordination Unit.

Ready to unleash your superpowers and make a real impact? 🌟

+ Why You?

You’ll love this role if you thrive in a fast-moving, dynamic team environment and have exceptional attention to detail. You are resourceful, adaptable, and proactive, staying calm under pressure and communicating effectively. You can prioritise and manage the needs of diverse stakeholders with ease.

You’ll bring solid experience in managing or coordinating the work of operational teams. Operations, logistics and streamlining processes are concepts that resonate strongly with you.

Your curiosity, commitment to good process, and belief in the rights of Traditional Owners mean that even when the going gets tough, you will find a way to work through the weeds because what you’re doing really matters. You are excited to work in a purpose-driven organisation, sharing our ambition and commitment to honouring and amplifying the voices of Reef Traditional Owners.

You have experience working in an Aboriginal organisation or corporation, and perhaps also in a government agency or not-for-profit organisation, making you familiar with different systems and ways of doing things. Your background equips you with the skills and insights needed to excel in this role and make a meaningful impact.

Most importantly, you have a positive, can-do attitude, and a sense of humour, making you a good fit in our high-performing team!

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Due to the volume of hiring the ReefTO is currently doing, we don’t have the capacity to handle individual enquiries about positions.

To perform this role, it is essential that the person is an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person. It is therefore a genuine occupational requirement under section 25 of the Anti-Discrimination Act 1991. Applications will only be considered from Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people with a strong preference for suitably qualified and experience Reef Traditional Owners.