Director of Clinical Governance and Quality

Alzheimer's Queensland (AQ) | Residential and Community Aged Care
Full-time | Upper Mount Gravatt, Brisbane
Executive Leadership Team | Reporting to the CEO

Fully maintained and serviced company vehicle for business and personal use.

Challenge expectations of aged care. Champion dignity and choice. Make the extraordinary ordinary.

Alzheimer's Queensland (AQ) is seeking an experienced clinical leader who believes that quality care begins with understanding the person: their life, relationships, preferences and what matters most to them.

Our ambition is to make the extraordinary ordinary for our residents and clients. Meaningful experiences, personal choice and opportunities to live well should be part of everyday life. Because every person's needs and aspirations are different, our services must respond accordingly.

As Director of Clinical Governance and Quality, you will help turn this ambition into clear standards, capable leadership and everyday care that makes a meaningful difference.

About AQ

AQ is a not-for-profit organisation providing residential aged care, community support, cottage-based respite, community nursing and allied health services across Queensland and New South Wales.

We support older people, including those living with dementia, to maintain independence, connection, wellbeing and a sense of purpose. We value thoughtful innovation and a willingness to question established practices in order to better respect each person's dignity, identity and right to make decisions about their own life.

The Opportunity

Reporting directly to the CEO and as a member of AQ's Executive Leadership Team, you will provide organisation-wide leadership in clinical governance, quality and continuous improvement. You will contribute to AQ's strategic direction and provide advice and assurance on care quality, clinical risk and outcomes for residents and clients.

A key focus of the role is partnering with Residential and Community Care Managers to ensure services consistently meet AQ's standards, values and goals. You will clarify expectations, provide practical guidance and education, and constructively challenge practices that require improvement.

While Service Managers remain accountable for implementing agreed changes, leading their teams and sustaining improvements, you will provide the governance, education, oversight and review that enable and verify this work.

Through service visits, audits, observations, feedback and outcome reviews, you will identify strengths and gaps, establish improvement priorities with managers and monitor progress. Where concerns remain unresolved, you will escalate them through the appropriate operational and executive channels.

Education and coaching will be central to your approach. You will equip managers and teams to support decision-making, balance dignity of risk and tailor care to each individual. Your impact will be reflected in stronger leadership capability, more confident staff practice and better experiences for residents and clients.

Key Responsibilities

• Strengthen manager capability and accountability by helping leaders translate AQ's expectations into measurable service-level actions with clear responsibilities, timeframes and outcomes.
• Embed dignity, choice and individualised care by ensuring governance frameworks, policies and practices support personal preferences, goals and participation in decision-making.
• Challenge established practices that unnecessarily restrict choice or independence, and support managers to implement practical alternatives.
• Build capability through education by partnering with People & Culture and operational leaders to deliver coaching, mentoring and education in dementia care, clinical judgement, dignity of risk and supported decision-making.
• Lead clinical governance systems that support safe, effective and personalised care across residential, community and home-based services.
• Drive meaningful service reviews through analysis of audits, incidents, complaints, feedback and clinical indicators to inform continuous improvement.
• Strengthen care planning and coordination by improving assessment processes, documentation, escalation pathways and continuity of care.
• Promote resident and client voice by ensuring meaningful opportunities for feedback, participation and service co-design.
• Provide executive assurance on clinical outcomes, risks, regulatory preparedness and improvement priorities.
• Lead the Clinical Governance and Quality team, setting priorities, developing capability and fostering collaborative relationships across AQ.

About You

You are a clinically credible, practical and collaborative leader who builds trust, communicates expectations clearly and follows through. You work alongside operational managers to strengthen leadership capability, support sound decision-making and maintain accountability for service delivery.

You recognise that a life worth living involves choice, and that choice sometimes comes with risk. Rather than focusing solely on risk avoidance, you help teams balance safety, clinical judgement and individual preferences to support outcomes that reflect what matters most to each person.

Through education, coaching and practical guidance, you build leaders' and teams' confidence to apply dignity of risk and supported decision-making in everyday care, enabling residents and clients to maintain independence, autonomy and quality of life.

You Will Bring

• Relevant tertiary qualifications in nursing or another clinical health discipline, with current professional registration where applicable.
• Demonstrated senior leadership experience in clinical governance, quality and risk within aged care.
• Strong understanding of residential aged care, community care and home-based service delivery.
• Experience working with service managers to identify performance gaps, implement change and sustain measurable improvements.
• Demonstrated success embedding dignity of risk, supported decision-making and personalised care into service delivery.
• Strong education, coaching and mentoring skills, with evidence of improving leadership capability and staff practice.
• Sound knowledge of applicable aged care legislation, quality standards and regulatory requirements.
• Excellent analytical and communication skills, including the ability to provide clear, practical advice to managers and executive leaders.
• The confidence to challenge established practices, address concerns and maintain accountability with fairness and respect.

Travel to AQ's residential services, community centres and hubs across Queensland and New South Wales may be required.

Why Join AQ?

• Contribute to AQ's strategic direction as a member of the Executive Leadership Team.
• Shape services that place dignity, choice and quality of life at the centre of everyday decisions.
• Work alongside leaders to turn ideas and evidence into meaningful and lasting improvements.
• Lead and develop a Clinical Governance and Quality team focused on measurable outcomes.
• Access not-for-profit salary packaging benefits.

Apply Now

Please submit your CV and a cover letter outlining your relevant leadership experience.

As part of your application, please provide an example of how you have supported service managers to challenge an established practice, lead implementation and achieve better outcomes for people receiving care.