Defence Housing Australia (DHA) was established in 1988, to meet the operational needs of the Australian Defence Force and the requirements of the Department of Defence by providing adequate and suitable housing for, and housing related services to Australian Defence Force (ADF) members and their families. DHA is currently looking for a Head of Development & Construction, to be employed on a contract for 12-18 months. This position can be based in any of the DHA major offices including Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide or Brisbane. Frequent travel to other locations nationally is expected. DHA currently has a development pipeline that includes 11 major projects and plans for portfolio expansion over the next five years. This pipeline involves land acquisition, property development and construction, leasing as well as upgrading and constructing Defence-owned properties. As Head of Development & Construction, you will be responsible for developing and implementing DHA's Development program in support of business objectives as well as driving compliance, innovation, contributing to corporate vision and goal-setting and fostering an innovative culture within the organisation as part of the senior executive group. Primary Objectives of the Role: Lead Development Program: Develop and implement DHA's comprehensive development program, ensuring alignment with overall business objectives. Manage End-to-End Process: Oversee the entire lifecycle of development projects, from feasibility studies through acquisition, delivery, and sale, while effectively managing market reputation and commercial risks. Strategic Contribution: Play a key role in shaping the future development and housing strategies of a nationally significant government-owned enterprise. Dual Operating Challenges: Navigate the unique challenges of operating within both commercial and public sector environments to achieve successful outcomes. Leadership Excellence: Provide strategic leadership to a geographically dispersed team, motivating and guiding them to deliver profitable land development, housing, and apartment construction projects. Commercial Outcomes: Drive complex development projects to achieve commercial success, supporting organisational sustainability and profitability. Stakeholder Management: Establish and maintain strong relationships with DHA Senior Management, the DHA Board, senior Australian Defence Force representatives, government entities, industry representatives, and communities. Governance & Reporting: Implement and enhance systems for cost management, scheduling, risk identification and mitigation, compliance, quality assurance, and status reporting to ensure objectives and targets are met within set budgets and timeframes. About you An outstanding leader with an impressive strategic perspective, high level communication skills and excellent interpersonal and representational skills. You will have experience managing complex development projects and the capacity to achieve commercial outcomes that support organisational sustainability. You will possess business acumen with a focus on customer, knowledge of best practice methodologies and the ability to foster positive relationships with stakeholders. A deep understanding of residential development, backed by a solid foundation in construction expertise. The key duties of the position include Main Duties of this role are: Provide strategic leadership expertise, direction and specialist construction and development expertise to lead the delivery of multi project housing related programs to schedule and budget with the aim of maintaining and improving risk management, compliance, quality, profitability and customer satisfaction. Build and maintain the capability of a multi-disciplinary team of development and construction experts, promoting a culture of high performance, risk management and accountability that ensures the effectiveness of data driven decision making and delivery of services. Manage the cross functional project team environment, including achieving deadlines, allocation of priorities, mentoring, monitoring progress and managing effective utilisation of resources. Utilise highly advanced communication, negotiation and persuasive skills, including the ability to write and present business cases, reports, presentations and budgets to the Senior Executive. You will have a proven ability to articulate complex, strategic, specialist and technical advice to Senior Executives and/or Board Committees to facilitate effective outcomes. Manage customer expectations and provide recommendations as to the most appropriate use of available funds. Apply extensive technical, analytical, and financial expertise to make efficient and effective decisions to achieve best outcomes for improving development and construction maturity, maximising strategic whole of life investment and positively contribute to the customer experience. Establish and maintain effective working relationships with key stakeholders including DHA Senior Management, senior Australia Defence Force representatives, Government and industry representatives. Be an active member of the Property Leadership team. Prepare project analysis reports, detailed briefs for external consultants, DHA Board papers and high-level policy documentation, briefing papers and ministerial correspondence as required. Identify business improvement opportunities to enhance efficiency and/or reduce risk exposure. Perform other duties at the request of management. #J-18808-Ljbffr
