Chief Operating Officer

The **Chief Operating Officer** of the Lowy Institute is an important and dynamic leadership role at Australia’s leading international think tank. Given the Institute’s stakeholders include world leaders, business leaders and internationally-regarded thinkers, this role will give you access to people and networks that shape salient global issues. It would suit a high performing professional, perhaps from a legal or finance background, who has a natural inclination for efficient process, and displays pragmatism and good judgement.

**The Lowy Institute**:
The Lowy Institute is Australia’s leading international think tank, providing high-quality research and distinctive perspectives on the international trends shaping Australia and the world. It is celebrating its twentieth year since it was founded by Sir Frank Lowy AC.

The Lowy Institute hosts events with leading national and international figures (for example, in the past few months, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ngozi Okonko-Iweala, Anthony Albanese, Sanna Marin and Bill Gates) and publishes influential research on the world written from Australia’s perspective. It aims to deepen the international policy debate in Australia and to give Australia a greater voice on the international stage.

**The Chief Operating Officer Role**:
The COO will be a key direct report to the Executive Director and will work closely with that role, the Research Director and the other members of the Institute including its Board of Directors, the Executive and its researchers. The COO will lead the Institute’s small, high performing operations team. The COO is a critical leadership role within the structure of the organisation (which is circa 40 employees). The COO will play a central role in the efficient day-to-day operations of the organisation which allow it to meet its longer-term strategic goals. This could include running or involvement in the organisation’s: logistics and high-profile events, revenue development, internal policies and processes (including HR), financial reporting, legal, etc.

The stakeholders to the Institute, including the Board, are accustomed to high quality and efficient operations in the organisations they interact with. Therefore, the bar is set high to ensure logistics run smoothly, and details are attended to. As stated above, the role will work shoulder-to-shoulder with the Executive Director and in this sense has elements of a Chief of Staff role. The COO is a member of the Institute’s Executive, which meets weekly. This role is based in Sydney at the Institute’s headquarters in Bligh Street.

**The Person**:
To be successful in this role you will need the intellect and comportment to interact with world leaders and a distinguished Board but also be flexible and willing to get into the detail. You may have trained in your early career in a profession such as law, finance or management consultancy and transitioned into a broader operational role such as Chief of Staff, at a later point in your career. You will have a strong eye for detail and the ability to communicate in an efficient but compelling manner. You will display the highest levels of pragmatism, judgement and common sense. You need to be flexible in your approach and help support policies and processes which are tailored to the Institute rather than larger or more complex organisations.

The Lowy Institute is a relatively small and collegial organisation and therefore the style of the individual as a colleague is equally important. You will also have a good sense of humour and the ability to work well under pressure.