EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF NURSING AND MIDWIFERY
CANDIDATE INFORMATION PACK
CAIRNS AND HINTERLAND HOSPITAL AND HEALTH SERVICE
We respect and honour Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders past, present and future. We acknowledge the stories, traditions and living cultures of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and commit to building a brighter future together
Executive Summary
- Live and work in one of the most popular locations in the world
- Provide strategic professional leadership to a committed and skilled nursing and midwifery workforce
- Be a part of a high functioning executive team serving the health needs of an ever expanding and diversifying community in Far North Queensland
THE OPPORTUNITY
The Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service (CHHHS) is seeking an experienced Executive Director of Nursing and Midwifery to be part of their executive leadership team.
The Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service (CHHHS) has the responsibility of providing public hospital and health services to a population of approximately 261,000 people. The outer western region of the service encompasses extremely remote communities and it is estimated that 12% of the population are Indigenous Australian. The CHHHS is committed to improving the health and wellbeing of all people in Far North Queensland across 141,000km2 and employs approximately 6,300 + staff making it the largest employer in the region.
Cairns is a welcoming and multicultural city and a fantastic place to live with world class cafés, bars and restaurants thriving community markets. It is close to plenty of picturesque beaches often with resort style living options. Cairns is the international gateway to The Great Barrier Reef and The Wet Tropics rainforest. There is easy access to and from Cairns and most capital cities in Australia through the Cairns International Airport which is only 7km from the CBD. Compared with most Australian cities the cost of housing is much more affordable in Cairns along with affordable childcare, and a great choice of primary schools and secondary schools.
THE ROLE
The Executive Director of Nursing and Midwifery is the single point of accountability for the professional leadership and direction of nursing services within the Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service. Reporting to the Chief Executive, you will be responsible for the delivery of high quality patient centred care Nursing and Midwifery services that meets professional practice standards.
The ideal candidate will be able to demonstrate:
- 1.Clinical Governance and Patient Safety
- 2.Strategic and Operational Capability
- 3.Leadership and Management
- 4.Teamwork and Interpersonal Skills
- 5.Core behavioural competencies based around political savvy, compassion, system management and strategic ability.
Candidates must prepare a response to the above selection criteria of not more than two pages. They must include a resume and a cover letter outlining their value proposition and interest in the role.
For a confidential discussion, please get in touch with:
Sarah Buckler, HardyGroup Principal Search Consultant
M. +61 429 486 740
CAIRNS AND HINTERLAND HOSPITAL AND HEALTH SERVICE
“Excellent and sustainable healthcare for all in Far North Queensland”
The Cairns and Hinterland HHS (CHHHS) is committed to improving the health and wellbeing of all people in Far North Queensland by providing high quality acute healthcare services. The staff are a part of the community we serve, and the HHS strongly believes that health outcomes are enhanced by involving the community in the planning and evaluation of local health services.
CHHHS is the primary provider of health services to residents of the Cairns and Hinterland region and specialist services to the Torres and Cape, and serves a population of approx. 261,500 people which is forecast to increase to over 306,600 by 2031. Services are provided over a large geographical area and a range of facilities, from a large tertiary hospital in Cairns to facilities in rural and remote areas.
Cairns Hospital is the primary provider of specialised and referral services for the region, with broader general surgical, medical and primary care services provided at other facilities across the Tablelands, Innisfail and Mossman/Port Douglas areas. CHHHS also provides an extensive range of health services in more than 30 regional, rural and remote facilities across a geographical area of 141,000 square kilometres. The Health Service is 95 percent self-sufficient with only a small number of high-level acute services being provided in Townsville and Brisbane.The Local Government Areas within the Service area are Cairns Regional Council, Croydon Shire Council, Etheridge Shire Council, Mareeba Shire Council, Tablelands Regional Council, Yarrabah Shire Council and Cassowary Coast Regional Council (except the community of Cardwell which is serviced from the Townsville HHS).
Our Values
The staff and patients at Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service have helped develop a set of shared values that guide our behaviours and decision making in our workplaces. These underpin our daily work, the strategies of our Health Service and help deliver Queensland Health’s vision.
At CHHHS we:
- demonstrate that we care about the challenges facing our patients and colleagues by taking time to walk in their shoes. Compassion is delivered with a warm hello, a smile, by genuinely listening and following through on concerns;
- value accountability at all levels as it builds trust in our organisation, our people and our services. When we live up to our responsibilities, we earn respect from the people and communities we have made a commitment to;
- we value a respectful approach to our work and care as it builds strong relationships and trust. We encourage you to treat others as you’d like to be treated; and
- rely on our integrity to guide us when the choice isn’t an easy one to make. It ensures we are making decisions that are transparent, truthful and for the greater good of our patients, colleagues and communities.
The big picture for our future
See the CHHHS Strategic Plan HERE.
Our purpose
Working together for best-practice care that improves health outcomes and equity for our communities.
Strategic Plan
Our strategic plan sets our vision and priorities to ensure our health service continues to grow and meet the changing health needs of our communities.
The strategic plan was developed with the input from our staff, partners and community. It outlines our vision: 'Excellent and sustainable healthcare for all in Far North Queensland.'
We'll focus on the following priorities and key objectives to achieve our vision.
- Our care
- We work to enable safe and equitable healthcare delivered closer to home through our partnerships and together with our community.
- Our people
- We nurture positive workplaces where our people feel safe, empowered and supported to collaborate in delivering excellence in healthcare.
- First Peoples health
- We recognize the valuable cultural knowledge of our First Peoples and through our partnerships, we will strive to improve health and wellbeing outcomes for First Peoples communities.
- Our sustainability
- With or people, our places nd our technology, we will deliver efficient and sustainable healthcare and services.
The plan describes our objectives, strategies and key performance indicators. It helps patients and carers, staff, our community, partners and all other stakeholders understand our future direction.
Role Specification
The Executive Director of Nursing and Midwifery is the single point of accountability for the professional leadership and direction of nursing services within the Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service. Reporting to the Chief Executive, you will be responsible for the delivery of high quality patient centred care Nursing and Midwifery services that meets professional practice standards.
Strategy and Operational Planning:
- Give advice to the Chief Executive (CE) and the Board on the development and implementation of HHS vision, values and strategic direction.
- Set the strategic direction for Nursing and Midwifery services: develop, monitor and review local initiatives which are designed to ensure that the Nursing and Midwifery workforce is aligned with the CHHHS strategic direction and is consistent with the policy directions of Queensland Department of Health in order to address workforce requirements of recruitment and retention, professional development and alteration to models of service delivery
- Provide high level advice to the Chief Executive on all matters relating to the Nursing and Midwifery workforce and services within the CHHHS
- Implement the strategies relating to the Nursing and Midwifery Roadmap
- Implement strategies to improve the capability and capacity of the Nursing leadership across CHHHS
- Lead significant strategic service developments and designated portfolios that incorporate innovative and evidence-based models of contemporary Nursing and Midwifery practice and service delivery.
- Lead a strategic approach to the development and implementation of nursing research projects through executive support of partnerships and enablement of staffing participation. Support other Executives in the implementation of the CHHHS Research Excellence Plan 2018-2022
- Provide appropriate clinical and educational systems of learning and practice
- Ensure the Business Planning Framework (BPF) is effectively managed across CHHHS meets legislative and reporting requirements
- Lead, in collaboration with Health Service Directors of Nursing and Midwifery, Nursing Directors and others, a strategic approach to the integration, standardisation and coordination of evidence-based policy development for nursing practice and patient care issues
- Represent the needs of Nurses and Midwives in the development of clinical information systems that support clinicians and their responsibilities for reporting clinical data
Safety and Quality
- Show leadership in delivering a safety culture across the HHS
- Work collaboratively with the Executive Director of Medical Services and the Executive Director of Allied Health to implement of the CHHHS Clinical Governance Framework
- Ensure portfolio achieves accreditation requirements
- Implement all recommendations to improve quality and safety from reviews within the agreed timeframes
- Drive improvements in patient centred care
- Promote and enhance professional standards, conduct and practice within legislation and professional and ethical parameters to advance safe patient care
- Provide data analysis related to Nursing and Midwifery across the CHHHS as a means for measuring identified performance outcomes and as a basis for Nursing and Midwifery policy development
- Ensure appropriate policies, training and development performance measures and management processes are in place to deliver excellence in service delivery,
- Chair the Nursing and Midwifery credentialing and clinical scope of practice committee to ensure that all Nurses and Midwives are appropriately credentialed and registered with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA).
Leadership and Management
- Lead and manage the day to day activities within the portfolio in accordance with the values of the CHHHS
- Positively contribute and work collaboratively with all Executive members to deliver the strategic and operational requirements of the HHS
- Develop an effective, cohesive senior management team
- Lead and manage direct reports to ensure compliance with clinical and corporate governance including legislation, policies and procedures and workplace health and safety
- Develop, monitor, implement and review local nursing initiatives based on identified local needs and state-wide initiatives to ensure the Nursing and Midwifery workforce is aligned with identified health service delivery needs
- Develop an environment that enhances recruitment and retention of nurses and facilitates education, learning, research and succession planning for nursing staff
- Develop a positive culture within the portfolio which encourages and recognises high performance, builds leadership capabilities and supports staff to maximise their health and wellbeing
- Strategically lead an effective and cohesive senior nursing leadership to deliver improvements in patient care and experience
Financial Sustainability
- In consultation with finance, develop annual operating budgets including Minimum Obligatory Human Resource Information (MOHRI) targets for each department/service
- Ensure this portfolio meets the agreed financial targets
- Develop and implement financial sustainability plans to ensure the HHS has financial sustainability
- Ensure the portfolio actively delivers on revenue targets
- Provide critical analysis regarding the impact of high level policy and funding decisions on Nursing and Midwifery
Relationship and Engagement
- Ensure effective working relationships across the HHS’s and support other portfolios in the delivery of the HHHS strategy
- Implement nursing engagement strategies to improve consultation and collaboration
- Ensure union engagement with the community and external health providers
- Ensure openness and outcomes to complaints from Healthcare users
- Actively support the development and maintenance of robust relationships with internal and external partners to enhance Nursing and Midwifery workforce and practice standards
View the comprehensive Key Result Areas and Responsibilities in the Role Description here
You will be assessed on your ability to demonstrate the following key capabilities, knowledge and experience. Within the context of the responsibilities described above under ‘Your role’, the ideal applicant will be someone who can demonstrate the following:
1. Clinical Governance and Patient Safety:
- Demonstrated expert knowledge and understanding of corporate and clinical matters related to clinical governance and risk.
2. Strategic and Operational Capability:
- Demonstrated extensive experience with successful outcomes in planning, leading, implementing and evaluating innovative strategic and operational approaches to health service delivery to enable CHHHS objectives to be met.
- Demonstrated ability to lead and sustain strategic change in a dynamic multidisciplinary health care environment and evaluate effectiveness to achieve outcome that promote the professional standards and practice of Nurses and Midwives.
- Demonstrated expertise at a senior level in policy, procedural and standards development, implementation and evaluation.
- Experience in, support and understanding of, contemporary nursing practice, education and research.
3. Leadership and Management:
- Proven ability to lead in the face of resistance, possessing a high degree of self-awareness, knowing own strengths and limitations, and the ability to use challenges as an opportunity for learning.
- Demonstrated expertise and experience at a strategic level in leadership, management and utilisation of information to improve/ change practice.
4. Teamwork and Interpersonal Skills:
- High level negotiation, consultative, communication and interpersonal skills including the ability to deal with the competing needs of various government, non-government and community stakeholders.
- Personal integrity, the ability to act as a positive role model, and a commitment to the key values of the organisation.
5. Targeted assessment of core behavioural competencies:
- Political Savvy
- Compassion
- Managing Through Systems
- Strategic Agility
The Executive Director of Nursing and Midwifery directly reports into the Chief Executive.
- Managing across a large and diverse geographical region
- Working effectively with a matrix operating and professional leadership environment
- High Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations
- Annual Budget - $9.7 Million
- Annual Own Source Revenue: $989,958
- Direct Reports: 4 FTE
- Indirect Reports: 50.47 FTE
- Appointment to this position requires proof of qualification and/or registration with the appropriate registration authority or association. Certified copies of the required information must be provided to the appropriate supervisor/ manager, prior to the commencement of clinical duties. Current registration or eligibility to register as a nurse with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia / Australian Health Practitioner Registration Authority (AHPRA) is mandatory.
- While not mandatory, current registration or eligibility of midwifery endorsement would be highly desirable.
- While not mandatory, a relevant leadership qualification and/or post graduate qualification at Masters would be well regarded.
- While not mandatory, a minimum 10 years’ experience as a Director of Nursing in a large facility or Executive Director of Nursing in a medium facility is highly desirable.
- This position requires the incumbent to operate a class C motor vehicle and an appropriate licence endorsement to operate this type of vehicle is required. Proof of this endorsement must be provided before commencement of duty.
- The appointee will be required to participate in an Executive on-call roster.
- This position may require the incumbent to travel or work from other facilities across the Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service and throughout Queensland of which may include travel by small aircraft as required.
- It is a condition of employment for this role for the employee to be, and remain, vaccinated against COVID-19 Health Employment Directive No. 12/21and Queensland Health Human Resources Policy B70.
- Vaccine Preventable Diseases (VPD) evidence as required for your employment in accordance with legislation/government policy and Directives.
- It is a condition of employment for the employee in this role to be, and remain, vaccinated against or non-susceptible to the following Vaccine Preventable Diseases (VPDs) during their employment: Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR), Varicella (chicken pox) and Pertussis (whooping cough). Existing staff engaged prior to 1 July 2016 (and have not had a break in service) are not subject to this new condition of employment unless they are moving from one Hospital and Health Service to another Hospital and Health Service within Queensland).
Existing staff that have previously submitted this evidence since 1 July 2016 will not be required to resubmit. - It is a condition of employment for the employee in this role to be vaccinated against or not susceptible to Hepatitis B. Proof of vaccination or non-susceptibility is a condition of employment for all staff (new and existing) who have direct contact with patients or who in the course of their work may be exposed to blood/body fluids or contaminated sharps.
- It is strongly recommended that you complete the VPD Evidence Form and prepare your documents prior to meeting with the selection panel; however you will only be required to supply the evidence if you are the preferred applicant. If you are the preferred applicant, your application for employment will not be successful unless you comply with this Queensland Health policy. Further information and Evidence Forms can be found at https://www.health.qld.gov.au/employment/work-for-us/dept-of-health/pre-employment/vaccinations/providing-evidence
- A Tuberculosis risk assessment form is to be completed prior to commencement.
The salary for a Nurse Grade 13 (2) is $249,849.00 (plus superannuation and leave loading benefits)
The closing date for applications is Monday 16th March 2025
The reference number to include in your application is H25_5009
Note: Please use the online HardyGroup platform to submit your application. It will not be accepted via email.
If you require assistance in submitting your application online, please get in touch with Executive Search Coordinator, Natasha Tirado: [email protected] | +61 0468 301 310
Your application must include:
1. Cover letter addressed to the Principal Consultant;
2. A written response addressing the key selection criteria and
3. An up to date copy of your Curriculum Vitae
It Is standard practice for HardyGroup to acknowledge receipt of your application no later than the next business day. We request that if you do not receive the acknowledgement, you contact the search coordinator listed above as soon as possible after the 24-hour business period and arrange to resend your application if necessary.
For a confidential discussion, please contact:
Sarah Buckler
HardyGroup Principal Consultant
M.+61 0429 486 740
LIVING AND WORKING IN CAIRNS
Experience The Unparalleled Natural Beauty of Cairns
Where spectacular reefs, ancient rainforests, rich culture, and an alfresco dining scene blend into one. A welcoming and multicultural city more than 20% of Cairns people were born overseas and some 72 languages are spoken. The city is a fantastic place to live with world class cafés, bars and restaurants and the city has thriving community markets. It is close to plenty of picturesque beaches often with resort style living options. The estimated resident urban population of Cairns is greater than 160,000 and the region has experienced an average annual growth rate of 1.9% over the last 10 years.
Cairns is the international gateway to The Great Barrier Reef - the world’s biggest marine park and home to more than 9000 species of coral, birds, fish and marine life and welcomes more than 2.4 million visitors each year. Whether it’s snorkelling through coral gardens, flying over the infinite blues or sailing to tropical islands, there’s an adventure reserved for everyone on the world’s largest living organism (that you can see from space). Breathe in the salt air and explore via boat, snorkel, kayak, helicopter or learn to dive on this world-famous natural wonder.
Cairns is also the gateway to The Wet Tropics rainforest is a living, breathing ark and home to many plants and animals found nowhere else on earth. A place so big in size it makes up 0.12% of Australia, it's both accessible and diverse, from the easy walk to the famous Curtain Tree Fig to the longer hike to cool off in Nandroya Falls.
There is easy access to and from Cairns and most capital cities in Australia through the Cairns International Airport which is only 7km from the CBD. Compared with most Australian cities the cost of housing is much more affordable in Cairns along with affordable childcare, 21 state primary schools, 10 state high schools and 21 private / non-government schools.
Explore more about Cairns and all it has to offer, here.
ABOUT US
HardyGroup’s (HG) mission is simple
Find and Grow Great Leaders - and we have been doing exactly that for more than 30 years in public and private health, primary, community and aged care as well as the broader public service.
Our synergistic business model of Executive Search and Recruitment integrated with Executive Leadership and Learning is our unique point of difference.
It ensures our clients can count on us for the lifecycle of their organisations leadership journey and why we are regarded as the leading trans-Tasman partner agency by clients.
When engaging HG you can be confident in a deeply personalised experience and service as nothing matters more to us than relationships and results.