Strategic Operations & Risk Senior Partner

Careers with Impact

More than one million Australians trust us with their money, and that trust shapes how we work every day. Our members sit at the centre of everything we do, guiding our decisions and the impact we strive to make.

We’re looking for people who are purpose-driven and accountable, who value inclusion and collaboration, and who are proactive in managing risk to protect our members’ long-term outcomes. In return, you’ll be part of an organisation where your work contributes to strong returns, real-world impact, and a culture that reflects the communities our members serve.

Bring your authentic and passionate self to this exceptional role #careerswithimpact

Partner directly with HESTA’s Chief Operations Officer in a highly visible, enterprise-critical leadership role where strategy, risk and operational excellence intersect. As Strategic Operations & Risk Senior Partner, you’ll be the COO’s trusted advisor, shaping strategic priorities, strengthening risk maturity and influencing decisions that protect our members, enhance operational resilience and build confidence with our Board, Executive and regulators. This is a unique opportunity for a senior first-line risk leader who thrives on influence, challenge and impact.

What You’ll Do

• Partner with the COO and Operations Leadership Team to drive strategic priorities, organisational performance and enterprise outcomes.
• Shape and oversee the Operations risk profile, ensuring risks are identified early, managed within appetite and embedded into decision-making.
• Provide trusted advice on strategic, operational and risk matters, supporting Executive, Board and regulatory engagements.
• Drive the implementation and maturity of HESTA’s risk framework across Operations, strengthening risk culture, governance and accountability.
• Lead risk reporting, governance forums and oversight activities, providing clear insights into emerging risks, control effectiveness and business performance.
• Oversee risk incidents, audit findings, regulatory obligations and remediation activities to enhance operational resilience.
• Foster strong partnerships across Operations, Risk, Compliance and the broader business to enable effective risk management and sustainable outcomes.
• Lead and develop a high-performing team, building capability and driving a culture of collaboration, accountability and continuous improvement.

What You’ll Bring

• Extensive experience in first-line risk partnering, operational risk or risk leadership roles within superannuation or financial services.
• Deep expertise in enterprise risk management, governance frameworks, controls and risk culture.
• Demonstrated ability to influence and challenge while building trusted stakeholder relationships.
• Strong strategic thinking, commercial acumen and sound judgement in complex environments.
• Exceptional stakeholder engagement skills, translating complexity into clear, actionable insights.
• Proven success driving risk maturity, organisational change and business performance outcomes.
• Strong people leadership capability with experience building and leading high-performing teams.
• Relevant tertiary qualifications in Business, Finance, Risk Management or a related discipline.

Benefits that matter and make a difference for our employees
 

• Leave for those moments that matter, an additional 6 days of leave at the end of year, up to 6 days paid volunteer leave, gender neutral paid parental leave of 20 weeks, Gender Affirmation leave, reproductive health and wellbeing leave, Cultural and Ceremonial leave. Access your LSL after 3 years, take AL at half pay, and purchase up to 2 weeks additional leave (just to name a few).
• Your professional development matters, up to $5k per year professional development and up to 8 days professional development leave, HESTA scholarships and free access to a range of premium learning tools.
• Your health and wellbeing matters, free annual flu shots and skin checks, incredible social events throughout the year and a comprehensive employee assistance program available 24/7.
• Your financial wellbeing matters, up to 15% super, financial planning support, end of year payment for all Enterprise Agreement-covered employees, incentivised Employee Referral Program and novated lease options.

We celebrate, value and include people of all backgrounds, genders, identities, cultures and abilities. We welcome and support applications from First Nations people, physically, neuro or culturally diverse, LGBTQI+, and people of any age. We are proud to be WGEA accredited as an Employer of Choice for Gender Equity.

We want all candidates to feel safe, included and provided with the best opportunity to thrive, if you require reasonable adjustments during your application or throughout the recruitment process, please reach out to a member of the Talent team careers@hesta.com.au and we’ll call you to discuss.
 

Please note: Applications via recruitment agencies will not be accepted for this position.