• Full time, ongoing role, 38 hours per week
• Parkville location, with multiple public transport options available
• $127,722 - $132,371 base + salary packaging + super + 5 weeks annual leave

Lead the future of perioperative care at the Women's!

The Royal Women's Hospital is Australia's first and leading specialist hospital dedicated to improving the health and wellbeing of women and newborns. As a major tertiary referral centre, we provide world-class maternity, gynaecology, reproductive health, neonatal and cancer services, while advocating for women's health issues that have historically been overlooked or under-recognised.

About the team

Perioperative Services at the Women's comprise seven operating theatres, a dedicated emergency theatre, recovery services and a Day Procedure Centre, delivering approximately 12,000 surgical cases annually. The Day Surgery Unit is integral to the patient journey, supporting women through admission, preparation for surgery, and safe discharge home, ensuring a seamless, efficient and patient-centred experience.

We are entering an exciting period of service evolution, with significant opportunities to redesign models of care, strengthen governance structures and enhance the way perioperative services are delivered. This role offers the opportunity to contribute to the future direction of Day Surgery as part of a broader transformation and future restructure across the perioperative portfolio.

About the role

Reporting to the Director of Women's Health, the Nurse Unit Manager (NUM) – Day Surgery Unit is responsible for the strategic and operational leadership of a dynamic and patient-focused service. You will lead a dedicated multidisciplinary team to deliver safe, high-quality, evidence-based and person-centred care while driving service performance, workforce development, innovation and continuous improvement.

This role is ideally suited to a motivated nursing leader who enjoys balancing operational excellence with strategic thinking and is excited by the opportunity to help shape the future of perioperative services at the Women's.

Key responsibilities will see you:

• Lead and develop a high-performing clinical team focused on delivering exceptional patient care and experience.
• Drive clinical governance, quality improvement and patient safety initiatives.
• Manage workforce planning, recruitment, performance development and staff engagement.
• Ensure effective utilisation of financial, human and physical resources.
• Lead service improvement, innovation and change initiatives aligned with organisational priorities.
• Build strong relationships across medical, nursing, allied health and executive teams.
• Contribute to strategic planning and the future development of perioperative services.

About you

You are an experienced nursing leader with a collaborative and authentic leadership style who can inspire teams and navigate complexity with confidence.

You'll bring with you:

• Current AHPRA registration as a Registered Nurse
• Significant perioperative or procedural area experience with demonstrated leadership experience in a senior nursing role
• Proven ability to lead and develop high-performing teams, especially through change and continuous improvement initiatives
• Experience managing operational performance, workforce planning and resource allocation
• Strong clinical governance, quality and safety expertise
• Excellent stakeholder engagement and relationship management skills
• A commitment to women's health, health equity and the Women's values

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
• Mentoring, learning and career development opportunities
• Five weeks annual leave, 17.5% leave loading and purchased leave options

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!

This is an exciting opportunity to lead a highly valued service while helping shape the future of perioperative care at the Women's. 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 further information, please contact Bronwyn Le Busque, Acting Director Women's Health, on (03) 8345 2043 or Bronwyn.LeBusque@thewomens.org.au.

Closing date: 11.59PM Sunday 5th July 2026