Chief Centre Operations Officer

Job Description

Research is the beating heart of every great university. It fuels discovery, deepens understanding, informs student experience and drives the innovations that shape a better world. At Griffith University, we are proud to be at the forefront of this global mission, making significant contributions to Queensland, Australia and the world through groundbreaking research and development and nurturing the next generation of visionary research leaders.

The new ARC Centre of Excellence in Transforming Human Origins Research will exemplify this vision by transforming our understanding of why and how our species, Homo sapiens, is the only surviving human on our planet. The Centre will mobilise Indigenous, Global South and Western expertise to examine under-researched regions in Africa, Asia, and Australia. This novel synthesis aims to address how we became a versatile, global species, resilient to profound environmental changes over the last 300,000 years. Outcomes will include new scientific models and revisions to public education and policies about our history, our biological, and cultural relationships to one another, and how we have reshaped ecosystems worldwide. Benefits include a transformed, ethically engaged study of human origins for the betterment of society.

We are seeking a Chief Centre Operations Officer to partner with the Centre Director and lead the strategy and day-to-day operations of the ARC Centre of Excellence in Transforming Human Origins Research. You’ll drive planning, governance, risk and compliance, and oversee budgets, financial reporting and resource allocation across a national network of nodes, investigators and partner organisations. You’ll lead a high-performing operations team, strengthen cross-institutional collaboration, and build streamlined systems that enable research excellence and impact.

As the Chief Centre Operations Officer, you will play a key role in shaping the operation of the Centre.

We are especially interested in candidates with demonstrated expertise across the following responsibilities:

• Strategic and operational planning
• Day-to-day operations and stakeholder/partner coordination
• Financial management (budgeting, reporting, audits)
• Governance, risk, compliance and quality assurance
• Leadership of the operations team, continuous improvement, and performance/reporting frameworks