General Manager / Head of Membership

Do you have a passion for rethinking how membership organisations create value, love working at the intersection of strategy, data and experience, and want to make a real impact? Come and help shape the future of primary health care nursing in Australia!

• Work with a strong, vibrant, growing team
• Lead a high-impact national transformation
• Melbourne-based hybrid role, great package

About APNA

The Australian Primary Health Care Nurses Association (APNA) is the peak professional body for the 104,000+ primary health care nurses in Australia. We are at a pivotal moment: reimagining what membership means for a diverse, evolving workforce and designing a model that is fit for the future.

This is not a traditional membership role. It is an opportunity to fundamentally reshape how a national organisation creates value, builds connection, and supports nurses across their careers.

The opportunity

We are seeking a General Manager / Head of Membership to lead the redesign and growth of APNA’s membership as a strategic asset.

This role will shift membership from a static, benefits-led offering to a dynamic, lifecycle-based system that delivers real, tangible value, driving engagement, strengthening professional identity, and supporting long-term sustainability.

You will lead one of the most important transformation initiatives in the organisation, defining what membership is, how it works, and how it grows.

What you’ll be accountable for

Redefining membership

You will own the end-to-end design of the membership model, including:

• Defining and evolving the membership value proposition
• Designing the overall membership architecture, including tiers, categories and participation models
• Creating clear pathways across career stages (e.g. student to professional to leadership)
• Ensuring membership is simple, scalable and clearly differentiated within APNA’s broader offering

Driving growth as a system

You will own the performance of membership as a complete system, including:

• Acquisition, retention, renewal and reactivation
• Lifecycle design from first engagement through to long-term loyalty
• Membership revenue, pricing strategy and sustainability
• Identifying and addressing the underlying drivers of churn and disengagement

This is not about running campaigns, it is about owning the growth model and its performance.

Transforming the member experience

You will lead the transition from a “benefits bundle” to a true member experience, including:

• Designing a lifecycle-based experience that evolves with the member over time
• Driving strong early activation and sustained engagement
• Embedding membership value into day-to-day practice
• Reducing friction and making value easy to access and understand
• Ensuring members can clearly see and feel the outcomes of membership

Bringing rigour to membership as an asset

You will introduce discipline and clarity into how membership is understood and managed, including:

• Defining key performance metrics (e.g. lifetime value, acquisition cost, churn, engagement)
• Developing a clear narrative of membership health for Executive and Board
• Using data and insight to inform strategic decisions
• Moving the organisation from reporting to decision-making

Integrating membership across the organisation

You will act as the central integrator of membership across APNA, including:

• Partnering with Marketing & Communications on positioning and acquisition
• Working with Education to align pathways and product design
• Ensuring Programs and Advocacy reflect and reinforce membership value
• Embedding membership within systems, CRM and operational processes

You will define what needs to be achieved for members, with teams across the organisation delivering how.

Expanding membership beyond the individual

You will continue to extend membership into a broader participation ecosystem, including:

• Evolving corporate and employer-linked membership models
• Building partnerships with PHNs, employers and sector organisations
• Creating pathways from programs, events and communities into membership
• Exploring new participation models that expand reach and relevance

Leading influence and alignment

You will embed a membership mindset across the organisation, including:

• Shaping Executive and Board discussions on membership strategy
• Influencing investment and resource allocation decisions
• Building organisation-wide clarity on the role and value of membership
• Aligning strategy, delivery and culture around member value

What we’re looking for

We are looking for a strategic leader who can operate at both conceptual and operational levels.

You will likely bring:

• Experience leading complex transformation (membership, product, customer experience or similar)
• Strong commercial and analytical capability (growth models, pricing, metrics)
• A systems mindset, able to connect strategy, experience, operations and performance
• The ability to influence across functions
• A good working knowledge of how AI can help bring efficiencies and expand horizons, while ensuring governance guardrails are adhered to
• Experience working in or with professional services, associations, health or education sectors (desirable, not essential)

Most importantly, you will be comfortable with ambiguity and excited by the opportunity to build something fundamentally new.

This role will initially report to the Chief Commercial Officer to finalise the refreshed membership strategy, before a likely move to become General Manager Membership

Why this role matters

This is a rare opportunity to redefine membership at a national level, moving beyond incremental improvement to true transformation.

You will shape how thousands of nurses connect, grow and experience their profession, and help position APNA for the future.

What we offer 

• Generous salary packaging, annual leave loading and an extra gift day of leave over Christmas
• Minimum 1 day a week in the Melbourne CBD office
• Opportunities for professional growth and development
• Be part of a fun, supportive and growing team
• Play a key role in making a difference in Australia’s health care sector.

APNA’s mission and values 

APNA’s mission is to improve the health of Australians through the delivery of quality evidence-based care by a bold and vibrant primary health care nursing workforce. This role is vital to helping APNA succeed in its mission.

• Better Together – We are passionate and collaborative, fostering an environment where diversity is valued, and all voices are heard.
• Positive Disruptor – We are community-minded champions of change, innately curious and always open to innovation and ideas of the future.
• Pursue Excellence – We are evidence-based in our approach and hold our stakeholders and each other accountable as we strive for the highest standards of excellence.

How to apply 

When submitting your application, please submit a cover letter, CV and answer the pre-screening questions.

We’re looking forward to receiving your application.

www.apna.asn.au