Head of Community & First Peoples Engagement

Who we are

In Melbourne, water is essential to our way of life.

As caretakers for Melbourne’s water cycle, and our catchments. We care for water, life, and land throughout Melbourne: both its people and its biodiversity.

Each time you drink from the tap, flush a toilet, or kayak down the Yarra we’re there. Primed and ready, quietly delivering some of the world’s cleanest water for over five million residents and wildlife that call Melbourne home, just as we have for over 130 years.

About the Role

The Head of Community and First Peoples Engagement is a senior leadership role responsible for leading the team that is shaping and leading Melbourne Water’s approach to community engagement, First Peoples self-determination, reconciliation and heritage management. The role plays a critical part in building trusted relationships with Traditional Owners, community leaders, government, agencies and sector stakeholders, while ensuring community and cultural considerations are embedded into planning, investment and project delivery decisions.

This role provides strategic advice to the Executive and Board on complex, sensitive and high-risk community and First Peoples matters. It leads enterprise-wide standards and best practice engagement, manages social licence, reputational and cultural risks, and drives organisational capability to engage effectively in complex and time-critical environments. It also leads a team, manages budgets and resources, and ensures Melbourne Water delivers meaningful community outcomes aligned to its strategic goals.

• Build organisational commitment to and leadership of First Peoples self-determination programs in line with Melbourne Water Strategic Goal and key State Water policy directions
• Lead and deliver the organisational response to Reconciliation and build organisational capacity and resourcing models ensuring measurable outcomes and organisational accountability. 
• Lead and oversee delivery of innovative and best practice communications and engagement to support planning and project delivery in the community including incident management.
• Lead the execution of the coordinated response to the planning, implementation and delivery of Melbourne Water’s Flood Awareness Engagement program and key strategic relationships.
• Lead the strategic engagement, planning and legislative compliance between Melbourne Water, Traditional Owners, Agencies and Community Groups to ensure Melbourne Water’s heritage management goals are achieved.  Manage team finance budgets and forecasts, as well as ensuring operational resources meet fluctuations in customer demand
• Lead and oversee delivery of innovative and best practice engagement practices to support planning and project delivery in the community including incident management

For more information, please refer to the Role Mandate

This role requires someone who can lead with authenticity, coach and inspire teams, embed strong engagement standards, and influence organisational decision-making so community and First Peoples considerations are genuinely reflected in planning, investment and project delivery.

About you:

To be successful in this role you will be a highly credible and values-led senior leader with deep experience in community engagement, First Peoples engagement, cultural heritage, social licence and stakeholder management.

You will bring strong judgement, emotional intelligence and the maturity to navigate complex, sensitive and high-risk issues, while building trusted relationships with Traditional Owners, community leaders, government, regulators and sector partners.

• Tertiary qualifications in a relevant discipline such as: Communications & Engagement, Business, Engineering or Program Delivery
• Lived experience or extensive understanding of First Peoples and their living culture
• Planning, Environmental Management, or Public Administration
• Extensive experience leading and managing customer facing programs with preferred focus on Traditional Owner, water and environmental management outcomes
• Demonstrable experience driving effective day to day program delivery whilst also ensuring a continual improvement and innovation focus
• Experience influencing and advising at Executive and Board level on complex, sensitive and high‑risk issues.
• Strong background in stakeholder management, including government, regulators, community leaders and peak bodies.
• Experience managing social licence, reputational and community risk in infrastructure, utilities, natural resources or comparable environments.

Why join us:

At Melbourne Water, we care deeply about water and the life it sustains. 

Our team is inspired by passion and purpose, with an unwavering commitment to safety. We are on a mission to protect every Melburnian’s way of life, one drop at a time.

We don’t just talk about flexible working - we live it. Our culture of purpose, safety, results, and learning flows through everything we do. We're dedicated to doing what's right, and this commitment extends to the meaningful work we do in a supportive and inclusive culture that encourages you to make the most of your talents.

Our long-standing commitment to Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging means that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, LGBTIQ+ individuals, Neurodivergent Individuals, people living with disability, mature age and young jobseekers from all cultures can apply with confidence knowing they are safe, affirmed, and celebrated.

If you’re curious, action-orientated, outcomes-focused, and enthusiastic about public resources, community, and the environment, we'd love to receive your application and learn if you could be a great fit. 

How to Apply

Click the 'Apply Now' button below and complete our online application form.

Closing date: Thursday 6^th July 2026 @ 11:55am AEST