Head of Aboriginal Catholic Ministry

Lead a ministry of faith, culture, community and renewal

Aboriginal Catholic Ministry (ACM) is seeking a respected and capable leader to serve as its Head of Aboriginal Catholic Ministry, providing culturally informed, faith-filled, pastoral and operational leadership at an important moment in the life of the ministry.

For almost 40 years, Aboriginal Catholic Ministry has been a place of belonging, prayer, cultural expression, formation and community connection for Aboriginal Catholics in Melbourne. The ACM House in Thornbury holds a particular place in this story as a sacred place of memory, hospitality and hope.

In 2026, as the Church marks the 40th anniversary of St John Paul II’s historic address to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Alice Springs, ACM is entering a significant period of listening, discernment and renewal. His words “The time for this rebirth is now” provide the guidance for this next chapter: honouring the enduring faith, resilience and spiritual richness of Aboriginal Catholics while looking with hope towards the future.

About the opportunity

Reporting to the Director of Mission, the Head of ACM will lead the day-to-day life and work of the ministry while helping support and nourish the conditions for Aboriginal Catholics to discern its future direction.

This is a role for a leader who understands that genuine renewal begins with listening. You will build trusted relationships with Aboriginal Catholics, Elders, families and communities; support culturally safe opportunities for people to share their experiences, faith, needs and hopes; and ensure Aboriginal Catholic voices remain central to the discernment process.

As a renewed vision emerges, you will have an important part in turning that vision into action together with the community —developing strategy, programs, partnerships, priorities and sustainable ways of working that enable ACM to flourish into the future.

The role will also:

• lead and support the ACM team and steward the ACM House as a welcoming, culturally safe and spiritually supportive place;
• strengthen relationships across Aboriginal Catholic communities, parishes, schools, clergy, Catholic agencies and community organisations;
• support opportunities for prayer, sacramental life, formation, cultural expression, healing, reconciliation and community gathering;
• represent ACM within the Archdiocese, across the Victorian dioceses and with external partners;
• oversee ACM’s planning, resources, governance, safeguarding and operational responsibilities; and
• lead change with transparency, humility and care, holding together continuity and renewal.

About you

You will bring lived experience, cultural knowledge and community understanding, together with the leadership capability to hold faith, community, people and operations together.

You will be someone who builds trust, listens deeply and works respectfully with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, families, Elders, communities and organisations. You will be comfortable supporting community-led discernment without seeking to control its outcome, while also having the leadership skills to translate an agreed vision into practical action.

You will bring strong communication and relationship-building skills, experience leading people through change, and sound organisational and strategic capability. Importantly, you will have a lived commitment to the mission, sacramental life and teachings of the Catholic Church and willingness to embrace the particular charism of Aboriginal Catholic Ministry.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants

This position is intended for an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander person. The successful applicant will bring the lived experience, cultural knowledge and community understanding necessary to lead Aboriginal Catholic Ministry in a respectful and faith-filled way.

Why join Aboriginal Catholic Ministry?

This is more than an opportunity to manage an established ministry. It is an invitation to steward what has been entrusted, listen carefully to community, and help shape what comes next.

The successful candidate will join ACM at an important point in its story—with the opportunity to strengthen Aboriginal Catholic participation and leadership, sustain a much-loved place of community and faith, and help translate the hopes and priorities of Aboriginal Catholics into a renewed and sustainable ministry for the future.

Applicants will require a current Working with Children Check, satisfactory National Police Check and valid Australian working rights, and will need capacity for occasional evening and weekend work.

To apply: Please submit your CV and a covering letter outlining your interest in the role and how your experience, leadership and connection to the Aboriginal community and a Catholic faith community equip you to contribute to the future of Aboriginal Catholic Ministry.

The Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne is committed to the safety, wellbeing and dignity of all children and vulnerable adults