Assistant Director of Clinical Services

Better and fairer care. Always.

We are St Vincent's Health Australia, Australia's largest not-for-profit provider of health and aged care services.

Founded by The Sisters of Charity in 1857, our +30,000 healthcare superheroes operate public and private hospitals, residential aged care, community and virtual care, and outreach programs.

About the role:

The Assistant Director of Clinical Services - Surgical Services provides strategic leadership and operational oversight for Surgical Services at St Vincent's Private Hospital Sydney. This encompasses a diverse portfolio, including 16 Operating Theatres, the Central Sterilising Department, DOSA Unit, and Continuum of Care Unit. This role requires a proven leader with experience in building high-performing teams, optimising operational efficiency, and ensuring exceptional patient care within a complex surgical setting. The Assistant Director collaborates with surgeons, anaesthetists, and the Executive Team to achieve strategic goals, maximise resource utilisation, and drive continuous improvement.

Key Responsibilities: Driving Excellence in Surgical Services:

This strategic and operational leadership role requires the Assistant Director to ensure the seamless, high-quality, and efficient functioning of the entire Surgical Services portfolio.

• Strategic Operational Oversight: Lead and optimise the day-to-day operations across the perioperative complex, focusing on patient flow strategies, patient forecasting, and maximising resource utilisation.

• Clinical and Quality Governance: Drive a culture of exceptional patient safety and care by integrating clinical risk management, quality principles, and continuous improvement methodologies into all operational processes.

• Financial Stewardship: Manage and contribute to the departmental budget planning, developing and executing strategic initiatives to ensure financial targets are met while maintaining optimal service delivery.

• Stakeholder Engagement and Growth: Act as the primary liaison with Visiting Medical Officers (VMOs), building and maintaining collaborative relationships to support business development, promote optimal clinical outcomes, and achieve strategic hospital goals.

• Workforce Leadership and Development: Build, mentor, and sustain high-performing multidisciplinary teams through strategic workforce planning, professional development investment, and fostering a positive, fair, and high-accountability workplace culture.

• Compliance and Performance Monitoring: Develop, monitor, and report on Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to ensure compliance with clinical, administrative, and budgetary standards, driving data-informed decisions.

What You'll Bring to Our Team:

We are seeking a proven leader with a strong track record in perioperative management who embodies the values of Better and fairer care. Always.

Essential Experience & Qualifications

• Advanced Perioperative Leadership: Minimum of five (5) years of varied and progressive perioperative services experience or perioperative nursing management experience, demonstrating a clear trajectory of increasing administrative responsibility and authority.

• Quality & Risk: Expert-level knowledge and demonstrated application of clinical risk management, clinical quality principles, and regulatory compliance standards within a complex hospital environment to ensure outstanding patient safety outcomes.

• Strategic Communication: Demonstrated superior written and verbal communication skills, with previous success in developing and presenting high-quality business plans, strategic correspondence, and complex data to executive and clinical audiences.

• Performance Management Acumen: Proven ability to develop, implement, and monitor robust KPIs and metrics to assess performance, drive accountability, and ensure compliance across a diverse portfolio.

Key Skills & Attributes

• Exceptional Interpersonal Skills: High-level ability to engage, negotiate, and build consensus with diverse, senior stakeholders, including Surgeons, Anaesthetists, VMOs, and the Executive Team.

• Organisational & Operational Dexterity: Strong organisational skills with the capacity to manage a diverse, high-volume surgical portfolio, effectively prioritising critical tasks and optimising complex patient flow pathways.

• Technical Proficiency: High-level computer literacy, including proficiency with the Microsoft Office suite and experience navigating and utilising electronic health records (EHR) and administrative applications relevant to modern health services.

Why work at St Vincent's?

• Join us on our mission to provide care to all, including the most at-risk people in our community

• Discounted access to many gyms for you and your family with Fitness Passport

• Access to discounted private health insurance with Medibank

• Access to a government salary sacrifice program. Make a proportion of your salary tax-free

• Committed to financial support for educational development, scholarship programs, paid study leave

About the hospital

In this role you will be based at St Vincent's private hospital, Darlinghurst.

• A state-of-the art hospital in a beautiful inner-city location

• Surrounded by great cafes, galleries and theatres, parks, nightlife, and nearby glorious beaches

• Closely partnered with universities & affiliated research institutes, many of which are located on-campus

• Groundbreaking technologies, including world-first robotic-assisted surgeries

• Highly specialized services in orthopaedics, heart and lung, head and neck, neurosurgery, urology, vascular surgery, upper GI/hepatobiliary surgery, ENT, colorectal surgery, gynaecology, neurology, plastic and reconstructive surgery, cancer services, and mental health

Sponsorship / work rights for Australia

Please note, visa sponsorship is not available for this position. For this role you must be an Australian or New Zealand citizen or have an Australia visa that grants you the work rights necessary for the role.

Pre-employment checks

Your employment is conditional upon the completion of all role-required pre-employment checks, including relevant immunisations.

Equal opportunity

We celebrate diversity & inclusion and are committed to equal employment opportunity for everyone.

As part of our commitment to reconciliation we encourage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to apply and join us in delivering care that heals body, mind, spirit and community.

How to apply

Please submit your resume and a brief cover letter highlighting how your interest, skills, and experience align with each of the things listed in the About You section of this job advert.

Respectfully, this role is not open to recruitment agencies.

Questions, please reach out to

At St Vincent's we acknowledge the importance of creating a work environment that is welcoming, safe, equitable and inclusive for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Employees. As part of our Commitment to Reconciliation and Closing the Gap in employment related outcomes, we encourage applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.

For further information, visit or get in contact at

View Reconciliation Action Plan

View Code of Conduct