Executive Director Stakeholder Engagement

About Manufacturing Industry Skills Alliance

The Manufacturing Industry Skills Alliance (Manufacturing Alliance) is an industry owned; industry led not for profit organisation addressing skills and workforce issues for the manufacturing sector.  

Operated by Manufacturing Alliance, the Manufacturing Jobs and Skills Council acts as an industry voice, promoting the industry’s vital role at the centre of the Australian economy with a focus on workforce needs and skills development and building partnerships between industry and the vocational education and training sector.  

Manufacturing Alliance is a growing organisation at the forefront of supporting the development of skilled workforces that enable modern manufacturing and associated industries to succeed. We work with manufacturing stakeholders across Australia, including employers, unions, trainers, learners and governments, to build a skilled workforce for now and for the future. 

The key functions of the Manufacturing Jobs and Skill Council are: 

• identifying skills and workforce needs though sector wide workforce planning 
• mapping career pathways across education sectors 
• developing contemporary VET training products 
• supporting collaboration between industry and training providers to improve training and assessment practice 
• acting as a source of intelligence on issues affecting industry 
• building strong and enduring relationships with a broad range of stakeholders across industry, unions, government, and education and training providers. 

About the role

The Executive Director Stakeholder Engagement manages and provides leadership to drive external engagement and relationship building for Manufacturing Alliance, ensuring that the organisation’s strategies, practices and output are informed by extensive and productive consultation and collaboration. The Executive Director Stakeholder Engagement has a thorough understanding of the needs of, and challenges faced by, relevant industries within Manufacturing Alliance’s remit and has a strong track record of building and maintaining connections with and brokering partnerships between key stakeholders.

The role requires a deep understanding of Manufacturing Alliance’s business, including its strategic priorities, projects, programs and key deliverables, to ensure stakeholder engagement activities are well informed and aligned with the organisation’s work.

In collaboration with key stakeholders, the Executive Director Stakeholder Engagement will also lead the development of marketing and communications programs to support the achievement of Manufacturing Alliance’s strategic objectives and the promotion of products and strategies that facilitate improved outcomes for industries, training providers and learners. The Executive Director also brings a strong understanding of contemporary marketing principles and practices and the ability to apply this knowledge to effectively position and promote Manufacturing Alliance, its work and its priorities.

As a key member of the Manufacturing Alliance Executive Team the Executive Director Stakeholder Engagement contributes to the effective leadership and management of the organisation.

The position requires travel both regionally and interstate.

Key responsibilities

The Executive Director Stakeholder Engagement will:

• Lead the work of the Stakeholder Engagement division including developing annual work plans, establishing expectations and priorities, and managing resources and improvement initiatives
• Develop, mentor and retain an engaged, high performing and inclusive professional team and actively build team capability to support current and future organisational success
• Develop and maintain a deep understanding of Manufacturing Alliance’s strategy, business priorities, projects, programs and deliverables to ensure stakeholder engagement, marketing and communications activities are aligned with and support the organisation’s work
• Develop and deliver a plan and approach to guide extensive consultation and engagement with relevant industries within Manufacturing Alliance’s remit, including with organisations that represent RTOs, employers, employees, learners, and other JSCs
• Lead ongoing engagement with and collaboration between stakeholders to identify and resolve common challenges and issues and explore, pilot and promote products and strategies that facilitate improved outcomes for industries, training providers and learners
• Ensure stakeholder feedback, insights and intelligence are effectively captured and translated into meaningful input that informs organisational priorities, projects and deliverables
• Ensure the establishment of productive relationships with relevant national and jurisdictional agencies and bodies, including Australian Government and state and territory agencies, industry and training regulators, authorities and advisory bodies
• Build and maintain ongoing industry connections to understand the experiences and needs of employers, RTOs and learners, and broker partnerships between industry and RTOs to harness commitment to VET reforms and the delivery of improved outcomes for learners and employers
• In collaboration with other members of the Executive ensure that comprehensive stakeholder engagement informs workforce strategy and training product development across the sector, consulting widely with representatives from industry, unions, governments, regulators, RTOs, learners and other JSCs
• Working across the organisation and with Manufacturing Alliance’s stakeholders develop strategies to promote evidence-based education, training and career pathways to employers and learners
• Establish practices for resolving disagreements and disputes between stakeholders in relation to the development and quality assurance of training products
• Develop and implement strategies to engage and consult with First Nations peoples and to identify how actions will contribute to achieving Closing the Gap priority reforms
• Develop strategies to support the accurate promotion and marketing of training products and resources in line with mandated standards
• Have responsibility for parliamentary and Ministerial liaison activities and oversee the preparation of briefings and other responses to requests for information
• Provide strategic communication, media and marketing advice to the CEO and the Manufacturing Alliance Executive team and to external stakeholders and work with Manufacturing Alliance’s Executive to develop communications and marketing strategies based on business priorities
• Lead the development and implementation of a comprehensive marketing and communications plan for the Manufacturing Alliance’s current and new programs and activities
• Have responsibility for maintaining and managing Manufacturing Alliance’s communications framework and supporting a range of communication channels and tools
• Deliver quality communication products and services to support and publicise the Manufacturing Alliance’s agenda, to support Manufacturing Alliance’s external social media and online presence and to improve community and sector knowledge and understanding of opportunities available for employers and learners
• Oversee management of Manufacturing Alliance’s reputation and brand through the development of quality marketing, communication and media strategies that support its priorities
• Oversee the management and delivery of conferences and events that will allow the Manufacturing Alliance to engage with stakeholders and explore, pilot and promote products and strategies that facilitate improved outcomes for industries, training providers and learners
• Maintain a current level of knowledge about developing methodologies, tools and technologies in the communications and marketing fields
• Comply with all reasonable management directions and act within delegated authority
• Comply with the organisation’s code of conduct, all policies and procedures, and applicable state and Commonwealth Department documents as they relate to the JSC
• Undertake additional requirements relevant to the position that may arise.

Key attributes

To be successful in this role, you will have:

• The ability to use evidence-based decision-making, analysis and logic to think long-term, resolve challenging issues and provide authoritative, strategic and tactical advice to guide action
• The ability to quickly develop and maintain a deep understanding of the organisation, including its strategic priorities, projects, programs and deliverables, and use this knowledge to inform stakeholder engagement, marketing and communications activities
• The ability to identify and overcome constraints to develop solutions with long-term viability
• Strong communication skills including the ability to bring others to the table and to provide persuasive advice to resolve divergent views and conflicting priorities
• A demonstrated ability to build effective relationships with industry, government and other stakeholders to achieve organisational objectives
• The ability to synthesise stakeholder feedback, insights and intelligence and translate these into practical recommendations and actions that inform organisational priorities and work
• A strong understanding of contemporary marketing principles and practices, with demonstrated experience applying marketing expertise to support organisational priorities
• The ability to consider alternatives and respond effectively when circumstances change
• The ability to provide effective leadership, support and clarity to and to build the capability of a team.

Qualifications

• Relevant tertiary qualifications are desirable.