This is more than a People & Culture leadership role — it’s an opportunity to shape how IWDA works, leads and grows.

As Senior Manager People, Culture & Transformation, you’ll connect strategy, P&C operations and organisational development to embed our new structure, strengthen organisational capability and sustain a culture grounded in feminist, anti-racist and decolonial principles across our systems, policies and ways of working.

About IWDA

International Women’s Development Agency (IWDA) is an Australian-based organisation, resourcing diverse women’s rights organisations (WROs) primarily in the Asia and the Pacific. We provide support that goes beyond money and contribute to global feminist movements to advance our vision of gender equality for all.

Our Vision: Gender equality for all

Our Purpose: To defend and advance the rights of women, girls and gender diverse people

Our Values: Feminist, Decolonial, Accountable, Collaborative, Transformative

We are committed to building a resilient and relevant feminist and decolonial organisation, and to becoming an explicitly anti-racist organisation. Anchored by lessons from our 40-year history and guided by fiercely held feminist and decolonial values, our Strategic Plan 2025 - 2035 lays out IWDA’s path towards realising our vision of gender equality for all.

Our strategic goals are to shift resources to women’s rights organisations, strengthen feminist movements, advance feminist and decolonial knowledge, and model a different way of being as a feminist organisation.

At IWDA, how we work is as important as what we do. Our 4S Framework guides us to step up and use our power to create change, stand with feminist movements in solidarity, step back when others are better placed to lead, and sit with uncertainty through deep listening and collective learning.

The Opportunity:

As a key leadership role at IWDA, you’ll shape how we support our people and build an organisation where everyone feels valued, respected and able to contribute meaningfully to our feminist mission. You’ll lead the P&C function, with the P&C Manager reporting to you, ensuring our people practices and services meet the needs of the organisation and our staff.

This is an opportunity to shape our culture, strengthen how we work together and support our people through change. You’ll help challenge existing power imbalances and put our feminist, anti-racist and decolonial commitments into practice, building a workplace grounded in equity, dignity, inclusion and accountability.

Key Responsibilities

• Align P&C strategy with IWDA’s strategic priorities, embedding feminist, anti-racist and decolonial principles.

• Provide strategic advice on workforce planning, organisational design, employee and industrial relations, remuneration and organisational change.

• Ensure effective, compliant and consistent delivery of P&C services across the employee lifecycle.

• Lead workforce and succession planning, remuneration frameworks and equitable, transparent employment practices.

• Oversee people policies and complex employee matters, addressing systemic bias and promoting fair, respectful and trauma-informed practices.

• Lead employee listening, analyse workforce data and report insights to inform organisational decisions and action.

• Drive IWDA's progress towards becoming an anti-racist organisations.

Desired Skills and Experience

• Significant experience leading People & Culture strategy, operations and services across the employee lifecycle.

• Demonstrated success leading organisational culture transformation, diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, or systemic change.

• Strong experience in organisational development, workforce planning, change management and leadership capability development.

• Sound knowledge of Australian employment legislation, including the Fair Work Act, NES and SCHADS Award.

• Experience developing and implementing people policies, remuneration frameworks and practices that promote fairness, transparency and organisational effectiveness.

A Little About You

You are a strategic and relational leader who understands how power, privilege and systemic inequities shape organisational culture, decisions and people's experiences at work. You bring the professional expertise, lived experience and reflective practice needed to lead meaningful change in a feminist organisation.

You will bring:

• Lived experience as a Person of Colour that informs your understanding of systemic inequity, racism, exclusion and power, and how these shape organisational culture and ways of working.

• A strong understanding of contemporary approaches to anti-racism, decoloniality, intersectionality, gender equity and inclusion, with the ability to translate these principles into practical organisational change.

• Proven ability to influence and build trusted relationships with stakeholders at all levels, including staff, managers, ELT, the Board and external partners.

• The ability to navigate complexity, competing priorities, ambiguity and resistance to change while remaining grounded in organisational values and strategic outcomes.

• A collaborative and relational approach to leadership that creates space for diverse perspectives, constructive dialogue, shared learning and collective accountability.

• Confidence facilitating sensitive conversations about power, privilege, racism, inequity and organisational change with care, courage and accountability.

• Strong strategic, analytical and critical thinking skills, combined with the ability to develop evidence-informed insights and implement practical solutions.

• A commitment to continuous learning and unlearning, collective care and reflective practice, including examining your own assumptions, positionality and impact.

If you’re excited about this role but your experience doesn’t align perfectly with every criterion, we encourage you to apply. We value growth, potential and transferable skills.

What We Can Offer:

• Competitive remuneration: Above-Award salary, superannuation and salary packaging up to $18,200.

• Additional end-of-year leave and enhanced personal/carer’s and parental leave.

• Employee Assistance Program and a focus on wellbeing and psychological safety.

• Opportunities for learning, leadership development and strategic impact.

• A collaborative, inclusive workplace grounded in feminist and decolonial values.

How To Apply:

To apply, click Apply Now and submit your application before the closing date.

Applications close Sunday 8 November 2026 at 11:55 pm.

Please refer to the full position description for further details - here

Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

IWDA uses a mechanism in the Equal Opportunity Act 2010 (Vic) called the “Special Measures Exception” (H69/2022) which aims to advance substantive equality for marginalised groups. We accept applications from women and other gender identities harmfully impacted by the patriarchy – in terms of employment and leadership opportunities – gender diverse, trans and non-binary people.    

IWDA uses the term “women” inclusively to refer to both trans and cis women. We welcome people with different skills, perspectives and life experiences, and particularly encourage First Nations women, women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, women with disabilities, women from migrant and refugee backgrounds, trans, non-binary and gender-diverse people to apply.

Preference will be given to applicants who have cultural heritage from one or more of the countries in which IWDA supports partners and/or Australian First Nations applicants.

Safety, Safeguarding and Australian Work Rights

IWDA is committed to the safety and wellbeing of our staff and the children and other vulnerable people engaged in our programs. We have strong recruitment and safeguarding processes to support the selection of suitable candidates and maintain a safe and respectful workplace.

All applicants must be legally entitled to live and work in Australia. Any offer of employment will be subject to a National Police Check and endorsement of IWDA’s Safeguarding Code of Conduct.

The successful candidate will be expected to work from IWDA’s physical office in Naarm (Melbourne) at least two days per week, with flexibility supported through our hybrid working approach.

We look forward to hearing from people who share our commitment to gender equality, feminist movements and creating a more equitable and just world.