Chief Executive Officer

_{31st August, 2026}

Women with Disabilities Victoria (WDV) Melbourne (hybrid) | 0.8 FTE | Lead Victoria's peak body for women and gender diverse people with disabilities

Nothing about us without us.

Women with Disabilities Victoria is looking for its next Chief Executive Officer — a genuine advocate, a steady financial hand, and a leader who can hold both with equal credibility.

The organisation

WDV is Victoria's peak advocacy body for women and gender diverse people with disabilities. Founded by and for people with lived experience, it has spent decades building a proud grassroots reputation and a statewide community of more than 1,100 members who look to WDV as their voice. With an endorsed 2025–2029 Strategic Plan, an engaged skills-based Board, and a capable team of around 30 people delivering advocacy, policy, and community programs across the state, WDV is entering its next chapter — and needs a CEO to lead it there.

The opportunity

This is a genuinely pivotal moment for WDV. The Board is looking for a leader who can be the organisation's chief advocate and most visible public voice, while also bringing the financial discipline needed to secure its long-term sustainability. You'll be equally comfortable in a Minister's office and sitting alongside members in a community hub.

You will:

• Lead delivery of the Board-endorsed 2025–2029 Strategic Plan and its five strategic priorities
• Diversify and strengthen WDV's funding base beyond government grants — into philanthropy, major donors, fee-for-service and corporate partnerships
• Be WDV's chief advocate and public voice for women and gender diverse people with disabilities across Victoria
• Champion an intersectional approach across disability, gender, culture, sexuality and neurodiversity in everything WDV does
• Build and protect a safe, inclusive, high-performing workplace culture
• Work closely with the Board on governance, compliance and risk
• Represent WDV nationally, regionally and statewide with government, funders and the broader sector

What you'll bring

• Lived experience of identifying as a woman or gender diverse person with disabilities (essential)
• Executive leadership experience in health, community, disability or the broader not-for-profit sector, with strong strategy, operations and people management capability
• A track record working with Not-for-profit Boards, with genuine command of governance, compliance and accountability
• Proven ability to lead and motivate diverse teams, and build a culture that reflects and values lived experience
• Exceptional communication and influencing skills — able to represent WDV at the highest levels with government, funders, media and community
• Deep, intersectional understanding of disability, gender and grassroots advocacy, grounded in a feminist rights framework and social model of disability
• Advanced financial literacy — strategic financial oversight, cash-flow monitoring, and forecasting revenue and cost efficiencies
• A track record of winning and managing government and philanthropic grants, including pipeline development, bid leadership, negotiation and acquittals
• A strategic thinker with the professional resilience to turn vision into operational reality

Proven multi-year budget modelling, audit readiness and risk management experience in a grant-funded not-for-profit will be highly regarded.

What's on offer

• Competitive remuneration: $150,000 FTE plus superannuation, pro-rata for the 0.8 FTE role
• A genuinely flexible working model — no staff member at WDV is required to work full-time, and this role is offered at 0.8 FTE with regular opportunities to work from home
• Direct influence on state and national policy affecting women and gender diverse people with disabilities
• A Board that is engaged, skills-based, and genuinely invested in supporting its next CEO
• Strong foundations to build from: an endorsed strategic plan, an established, values-led team, and a decade-long track record including the Enabling Women Leadership Program

How to apply
Brooker Consulting is managing this search exclusively on behalf of the WDV Board. Applications close Sunday 27 September 2026 at 5 pm.

DETAILED CANDIDATE INFORMATION PACK:
https://brookerconsulting.com.au/position-description/

WDV and Brooker Consulting are committed to diversity, equity and inclusion, and welcome applications from candidates of all backgrounds — including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, people with disabilities, people of all ages and genders, and LGBTIQA+ people.