• Full time ongoing role
• Parkville location with flexible, hybrid working
• Competitive salary
The Royal Women’s Hospital is one of Australia’s oldest and most distinguished tertiary hospitals dedicated to improving the health and wellbeing of women and newborns, offering specialised services within maternity, neonatal and women’s health. Our goal is to be the best place to work, learn and contribute, and to provide exceptional experiences for our patients and consumers.
About the team
The Royal Women’s Hospital (the Women’s) is Australia’s first and largest specialist hospital dedicated to improving the health and wellbeing of women and newborns. As a major teaching hospital and a key partner within the Parkville biomedical precinct, the Women’s integrates clinical care, research, education, and advocacy to deliver world-leading outcomes.
Research is central to the Women’s mission and strategic plan, driving innovation in women’s health, reproductive medicine, oncology, neonatology, and gender-based health equity.
About the role
The Research Director is a senior leadership role at the Royal Women’s Hospital, responsible for building and sustaining a high-impact research program that advances clinical excellence, improves health outcomes for women and newborns, and strengthens the hospital’s reputation as a leader in translational research and innovation.
Working in partnership with clinicians, academic partners, and the broader health system, the Director will foster a culture where research is embedded in clinical care. The position oversees research strategy, governance, partnerships, funding development, and translation of research into practice.
This role will also oversee the mapping of functional requirements for research accommodation, including optimal location planning and adjacencies, to support future growth and integration.
Through strategic leadership and collaboration, the Research Director will position the Women’s to deliver high-impact, translational research that advances sex and gender health equity and health outcomes for women and newborns locally and globally.
A regular day will see you:
- Lead the strategic planning of research including the development and implementation of a multi-year Research Strategy.
- Drive integration of research with clinical services to ensure translation into improved patient outcomes.
- Developing and maintaining strong partnerships with local and international affiliates to ensure our commitment to teaching and multidisciplinary research is fostered.
- Overseeing research budgets and infrastructure planning to ensure effective resource allocation and workforce capability planning.
About you
You are a strategic, influential research leader committed to improving health outcomes for women and newborns. A highly effective collaborator, you build strong partnerships and align research strategy with clinical and organisational operations to drive innovation and impact. You confidently navigate complexity, influence at strategic stakeholder and executive levels, and translate strategy into results.
You’ll bring with you:
- A doctoral research qualification (PhD)
- Significant senior leadership experience in research strategy, partnerships, or capability development within a large health, academic, or research institution.
- Demonstrated ability to implement enterprise-level initiatives that build research performance, culture, and collaboration.
- Strong experience in engaging government, universities, and other funding partners in co-investment or policy-aligned initiatives.
Our benefits
At the Women’s you will enjoy a culture that is collaborative, supportive and passionate about learning. We have a strong sense of purpose, and engage in meaningful work every day. We offer our people a range of rewarding benefits, including:
- Up to $11,660 in salary packaging benefits, for living expenses, meals and holiday accommodation
- A suite of wellness initiatives designed to support you, including discounted financial, lifestyle and health options, and a comprehensive wellbeing program
- Public transport options at our doorstep and end of trip facilities for cyclists.
- Onsite post office, eateries, retail stores and library services.
- Breastfeeding and pumping rooms, and a range of daycare centres nearby.
- Flexible, hybrid working arrangements.
Inclusion and belonging
The Women’s celebrates, values and supports a diverse and inclusive environment which reflects our vibrant community. We encourage applications from anyone identifying as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander. We also welcome anyone who identifies as LGBTQIA+, linguistically, culturally and/or gender diverse, people with disability, and people of any age to apply for our roles. We are committed to gender equity principles, and our people have an awareness of and sensitive approach to violence against women and family violence matters. We are proudly Breastfeeding Association accredited and, as a child safe organisation, have a strong commitment to child safety and wellbeing.
Join us!
If you feel this role is right for you we warmly invite you to apply, and encourage your early application. All appointments are made subject to a satisfactory Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check (NCCHC) and a valid Working with Children Check. Clinical staff are required to be vaccinated against, or demonstrate immunity to, COVID-19, influenza, and a range of other diseases.
Should you need assistance or require any adjustments or accommodations to fully participate in the application or interview process, or if you require an accessible copy of the position description, you are most welcome to reach out to the contact person listed. We acknowledge that not all applicants will meet the full list of selection criteria outlined, and wherever possible we will consider applications where relevant experience can apply.
For more information, please view the Position Description for this role.
For a confidential discussion, please contact Nicola Yuen on (03) 8345 2005 or Nicola.yuen@thewomens.org.au.
Application closing date: 15 July 2026