Location: Parkville, Melbourne (flexible; remote or based in Brisbane/Sydney via partner offices)
Role Type: Full-time, Continuing
Department: Australian BioCommons, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences
Salary: Senior Manager 1 salary package, including 17% superannuation
Drive operational excellence and strategic partnerships in one of Australia’s most impactful life sciences infrastructure initiatives.
Lead high-level partnerships, business operations, and strategic planning in a role that helps power world-class research.
Investing in you – Enjoy generous leave entitlements, salary packaging, health and wellbeing programs, and development opportunities
The University of Melbourne
We take pride in our people, who contribute to our mission of benefiting society through the transformative impact of education and research. Learn more via our Careers page and explore our stories on LinkedIn.
Your next career opportunity
As Associate Director, Operations and Strategic Partnerships, you will play a critical leadership role in the delivery and strategic growth of Australian BioCommons – a national digital infrastructure capability supporting bioinformatics research across Australia.
You will work closely with the Director of Australian BioCommons to lead business operations and build long-term partnerships that advance national capability. This is a high-impact role requiring strategic vision, operational oversight, and deep stakeholder engagement across research, industry, and government sectors.
Your key responsibilities will include:
Strategic Planning & Partnerships: Shape and deliver national partnership strategies that align with BioCommons’ mission and goals. Identify new opportunities, lead sector engagement, and contribute to the BioCommons Strategic Plan.
Operational Leadership: Establish and oversee operational policies, budgets, contracts, and resourcing to ensure efficient and effective delivery across the BioCommons portfolio.
Financial & Resource Management: Lead budget planning, reporting, and risk management, ensuring accountability across all operational domains.
Team Leadership: Build and lead a high-performing operations team, mentor staff involved in partnerships, and contribute to a positive, outcomes-focused culture.
Governance & Reporting: Ensure compliance with funding obligations and regulatory frameworks, and report against performance milestones in partnership with Bioplatforms Australia and co-investing organisations.
You may be a great fit if:
You are a strategic operator with the ability to translate complexity into execution. You bring high-level stakeholder engagement and complex operations experience with the capability to lead in a fast-moving, collaborative research support environment.
You should have:
Postgraduate qualifications and significant experience in senior operational or strategic partnership roles
Expertise in operational leadership in research-intensive or technical environments
Demonstrated success in developing and managing external partnerships and strategies
Strong financial, risk, and resource management experience
Excellent communication and stakeholder engagement skills
A collaborative leadership style and proven team management experience
Experience with national research infrastructure or data-intensive science is highly desirable.
About Australian BioCommons
Australian BioCommons is a national digital infrastructure initiative, hosted by the University of Melbourne and funded by Bioplatforms Australia through the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) and various co-investing partner organisations. We enable researchers across Australia to harness bioinformatics and bioscience data at scale, supporting research across genomics, health, environment and agriculture. Learn more
What we offer you
In addition to being part of a vibrant, purpose-driven team, the University offers a wide range of benefits including salary packaging, professional development, and discounts on graduate courses. Explore our benefits
Be yourself
The University of Melbourne values diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from people of all backgrounds. If you require any reasonable adjustments in the recruitment process, please contact the person listed in the Position Description under “For Enquiries Only.”
Join us!
If this role sounds like the next step in your career, please apply with the following documents:
^For information to help you with compiling short statements to answer the selection criteria and competencies, please go to http://about.unimelb.edu.au/careers/selection-criteria
Apply via the Apply Now button at the bottom of this advertisement. For any questions regarding the recruitment process, please contact Fahim Farzad via email at hr-careers@unimelb.edu.au, including the Job Title in the subject line. Please do not send your application to this address.
Position Description:A_Director - Operations and Strategic Partnerships PD SM1 FINAL.pdf
Applications close: 2 July 2025 11:55 PM Australian Eastern Daylight Time (AEST) / Melbourne time zone.
