DIRECTOR INTENSIVE CARE, WOMEN'S & PERIOPERATIVE SERVICES
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
CANDIDATE INFORMATION PACK
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Executive Summary
- Live and work in one of the most popular locations in the world
- Drive strategic leadership across Intensive Care, Women’s Health and Perioperative Services
- 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 Director Intensive Care, Women’s and Perioperative Services to be part of their executive leadership team.
Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service provide an extensive range of health services at more than 30 regional, rural and remote facilities across a geographical area of 142,900 square kilometres. 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. The Health Service is 95 percent self-sufficient with only a small number of high-level acute services being provided in Townsville and Brisbane.
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 Director, Intensive Care, Women’s and Perioperative Services reports to the Chief Operating Officer and is accountable for the strategic leadership, governance, and operational performance of a diverse portfolio including Perioperative Services, Surgical Wards, Women’s Health, and the Intensive Care Unit at Cairns Hospital. This role represents a single point of accountability for achieving clinical, operational, and financial outcomes across these critical service areas, ensuring alignment with the CHHHS vision, strategic plan, and service agreements with Queensland Health.
As a senior member of the Executive Management Team, the Director will play a pivotal role in shaping the delivery of safe, effective, and sustainable care across the Cairns and Hinterland region. With CHHHS serving more than 30 facilities across 142,900 square kilometres, the Director will lead services that are central to the hospital’s role as a major provider of acute and specialist care in Far North Queensland.
This executive position requires balancing complex clinical environments with strong financial and workforce management, overseeing a portfolio with an annual budget of $235 million and responsibility for more than 1,000 staff. The Director will foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement, while ensuring services are responsive to community needs and aligned with CHHHS’s commitment to First Peoples Health Equity.
THE CANDIDATE
The successful candidate will demonstrate:
- Executive leadership experience in managing large, complex health service portfolios.
- Strategic planning capability and strong business acumen in healthcare delivery.
- Commitment to safety and quality, with a track record of achieving accreditation and clinical governance outcomes.
- High-level communication and stakeholder engagement skills, with sensitivity to cultural complexities.
- Ability to lead high-performing teams, drive organisational change, and foster innovation in service delivery.
- Alignment with CHHHS values of Compassion, Accountability, Integrity, and Respect.
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
E. sbuckler@hardygroupintl.com
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
This position is accountable for the effective leadership, governance and performance of Intensive Care, Women’s Health and Perioperative services within the Cairns Hospital and for the operational performance of the following Service areas:
- Perioperative Services
- Surgical Wards
- Womens Health
- Intensive Care Unit
Strategy and Operational Planning:
- Give advice to the Board and Chief Executive on the development and implementation of the HHHS’s vision, values and strategic direction
- Develop annual operating plan for this portfolio to meet the strategic direction of the HHS
- Ensure robust plans are developed to meet the KPI’s related to this role as outlined in the HHS’s service level agreement with the Department of Health
- Oversee the development and strategies to ensure disaster preparedness and emergency incident response
- Working in partnership with other areas of the business, to achieve outcomes in accordance with strategic directions and performance agreements.
- Develop strategic services plans, annual business plans and budget plans which are aligned to Queensland Health’s strategic and related plans and initiatives.
- Contribute to the collective achievement of the CHHHS management team’s objectives.
- Promote a healthier Queensland through the following five strategic intents: healthier staff; healthier partnerships; healthier people and communities; healthier hospitals and healthier resources.
- Ensure appropriate reporting, monitoring and control systems are in place to ensure achievement against business plans and approved budget, including performance agreements and contracts.
Safety and Quality
- Ensure the portfolio achieves the highest level of quality and safety of services
- Contribute to delivery of CHHHS Clinical Governance Framework
- Ensure portfolio and HHS achieves accreditation requirements
- Implement all recommendations to improve quality and safety from reviews within the agreed timeframes
- Actively participate in improvements in patient centred care
- Ensure appropriate policies, training and development, performance measures and risk management processes are in place to deliver excellent in service delivery
- Ensure a commitment to innovation and research to improve service delivery
- Implement and monitor the organisation’s quality standards, occupational health and safety policies, procedures and programs and provide governance in the relevant work area.
- In partnership with senior management ensuring quality services are provided in accordance with the approved service/business plans and budget and statutory requirements.
Leadership and Management
- Lead and manage the day-to-day activities within the portfolio in accordance with the values of the CHHHS
- Positively contribute as an Executive member to delivery of the strategic and operational requirements of the HHS
- Develop an effective, cohesive senior management team
- Provide high level advice to the Board and Executive on key issues impacting on the delivery of Quality, Safety and service level agreement KPI’s
- Lead and manage direct reports to ensure compliance with clinical and corporate governance including legislation, policies and procedures and workplace health and safety
- Provide strategic leadership and professional management expertise to ensure effective clinical and corporate governance, operational management and budget performance of the portfolio. This will include ensuring optimal performance against agreed plans, performance measures and key performance indicators.
- Ensure appropriate management and governance systems and strategies are in place to effectively manage and improve service standards, patient/consumer and staff safety, equitable access to services, employee engagement/productivity and organisational risk within legislative/statutory requirements.
- Strategically lead an effective and cohesive senior management team that provide the leadership and management required to effectively manage the day-to-day operations within a framework of quality and safety
- 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.
Relationships and Engagement
- Ensure effective working relationships across the HHS’s and support other portfolios in the delivery of the HHHS strategy
- Implement clinician engagement strategies to improve consultation and collaboration
- Ensure engagement with the community and external health providers
- Ensure openness and outcomes to complaints from Healthcare users
- Ensure active participation with consumer engagement strategies especially in relation to service improvement
- Actively contribute in high level forums (internal and external) to influence policy and strategic direction
- Foster and promote an environment of participation and collaboration for service development and improvement across the CHHHS and broader community of stakeholders through consultation with other government departments/agencies, non-government organisations and community groups.
View the comprehensive Key Accountabilities and Performance Measures in the Role Description here.
Qualifications
- Appropriate and relevant undergraduate and/or postgraduate tertiary qualifications are required e.g. Bachelor of Finance, Nursing, Medicine, Law, MBA.
- Participate in an Executive on-call roster.
- Appointment to this position requires proof of qualification and registration or membership with the appropriate registration authority or association. Certified copies of the required information must be provided to the appropriate supervisor/ manager if you are the preferred candidate for employment.
Key Skills
We are looking for the best suited applicant for the role. We will do this by assessing your eligibility, your ability to perform the requirements of the role, and if relevant the way you carried out previous roles. We will also consider your potential to contribute to Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service and how your engagement would support our commitment to Compassion, Accountability, Respect and Integrity.
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:
- Commitment to or the ability to commit to Queensland Health’s core values of Caring for People, Leadership, Partnership, Accountability, efficiency and effectiveness and Innovation.
- Demonstrated experience in the leadership and management of a large and complex health service workforce and budget.
- Detailed understanding and knowledge of current trends in the provision and management of regional health services.
- High level communication skills and ability to communicate and work cooperatively across the organisation, with patients and their families and the community.
- Sensitivity to cultural complexities which may occur within workforce and/or patient population.
- Demonstrated ability to actively participate in a working environment supporting quality human resource management practices including workplace health and safety, employment equity, anti-discrimination and ethical behaviour.
Targeted assessment of core behavioural competencies:
- Problem Solving
- Political Savvy
- Dealing with Ambiguity
- Managerial Courage
- Annual Budget: $ 235,336,684
- Annual Own Source Revenue: $8,353,698
- 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
Team/Division: Office of the Chief Operating Officer Cairns and Hinterland
- Direct Reports: 11 FTE
- Indirect Reports: 1,008.07 FTE
Salary Classification: HES2.2
$254,638.00 per annum (total remuneration)
Location: Cairns, QLD
Clinical Targets: NEST Treat in Time performance (Elective Surgery Implementation Standard ESIS), Specialist Outpatient Services Implementation Standard SOSIS
Employment Conditions
- Potential applicants are advised that the Commission for Children and Young People and Child Guardian Act 2000 requires Queensland Health to seek a ‘working with children check’; from the Commission for Children and Young People and Child Guardian prior to appointment to this position. The Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service have a ‘no card – no start’ policy in alignment with the Commission for Children and Young People and Child Guardian. Certified copies of the required information must be provided to the appropriate supervisor/ manager, prior to the commencement of duties.
- 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
- 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.
You may be required to complete and provide a VPD evidence form prior to commencement. For further information please refer to the guideline.
Employment screening
Appointments are made in accordance with Public Service Commission (PSC) Directive 07/23 Recruitment and Selection and HR Policy B1 Recruitment and Selection.
Cairns and Hinterland will conduct the required employment screening prior to appointment.
- General criminal history check – conducted by Queensland Health (mandatory for all appointments)
- Proof of Identity
- Citizenship/Visa check Applicants must have the right to work in Australia
- Serious Disciplinary Action check
In addition, applicants may also be required to complete if being appointed to work in specific facilities or areas:
- Corrections Services criminal history check (Corrective Services Act 2006)
- National Police check (Aged Care Act 1997)
- Working with children check – Blue card (Commission for Children and Young People and Child Guardian Act 2000)
Vaccine Preventable Diseases (VPD) evidence as required for your employment in accordance with legislation/government policy and Directives. Please see QLD Health Careers for further information.
Applicants are required to disclose any pre-existing illness or injury which may impact on their ability to perform the role as per section 571 of the Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003.
Employees who are permanently appointed to Queensland Health may be required to undertake a period of probation appropriate to the appointment.
We are committed to building inclusive cultures in the Queensland public sector that respect and promote human rights and diversity.
The closing date for applications is Monday, 22 December 2025
The reference number to include in your application is H25_5309
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, Sarah Prebble: sprebble@hardygroupintl.com | +61 (0) 430 219 787
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:
Ms Sarah Buckler PSM
HG Queensland State Manager
M. +61 (0)429 486 740
E. sbuckler@hardygroupintl.com
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 178,000 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, 25 state primary schools, 10 state high schools and 21 private / non-government schools.
Explore more about living in Cairns, here and places to visit, 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.