Terms of Reference: People, Culture & Safeguarding Director
Location: Fiji (with regional oversight across the Pacific and Timor-Leste)
Duration: 24 months (with possibility of extension)
Supervisor / Manager: Team Leader
Performance: Management and Reporting Framework
About Pacific Australia Skills
Pacific Australia Skills is a significant Australian investment which stands to make a major contribution to supporting social and economic growth in the region through strengthening the skills and training sector across the Pacific and Timor-Leste. Pacific Australia Skills builds on the achievements of more than 17 years of Australian Government support for skills and training in the Pacific. Pacific Australia Skills is currently operating in ten countries, with the intention of expanding up to 17. The program is delivered through a Regional Head Office (RHO), based in Suva, Fiji, and country offices. In-country presence and staffing vary by country; in total, the program has approximately 175 staff.
Objectives of Role
The People, Culture & Safeguarding Director is a senior leadership role responsible for the strategic leadership, governance, oversight, and continuous improvement of Pacific Australia Skills' people, culture, and safeguarding functions. Reporting to the Team Leader and serving on the Executive Leadership Team, the Director provides expert advice and leadership to ensure the program attracts, develops, and retains a high-performing workforce while maintaining a strong safeguarding culture and robust governance and compliance frameworks. The role is based at the Regional Head Office (RHO).
The Director leads the development and implementation of workforce, organisational culture, safeguarding, and employee engagement strategies that enable the program to deliver high-quality outcomes across a diverse, multi-country operating environment. The role ensures compliance with applicable local and Australian employment, workplace, privacy, and safeguarding legislation, as well as DFAT requirements, DT Global policies, and international safeguarding standards.
The position is responsible for the leadership and management of the People & Culture team, which delivers end-to-end people services across the employee lifecycle, including workforce planning, safe recruitment, onboarding, performance management, learning and development, employment & Industrial relations, remuneration, compliance, payroll oversight, and workforce wellbeing.
The Director also leads the Safeguarding team and oversees the implementation of safeguarding systems, policies, and practices across the program. Working closely with senior leaders, the role ensures program activities are delivered in accordance with DFAT and DT Global safeguarding requirements and a 'keeping people safe' approach. This includes fostering a culture of safety, respect, accountability, and zero tolerance for child exploitation, abuse, sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment.
As a member of the Executive Leadership Team, the People, Culture & Safeguarding Director contributes to program strategy, operational effectiveness, risk management, governance, and continuous improvement across the program.
Roles and Responsibilities
Strategic Leadership
- Provide strategic leadership and oversight of the People & Culture and Safeguarding functions across Pacific Australia Skills.
- Ensure that the Team Leader, Executive Leadership Team and managers receive legislatively appropriate and actionable Human Resources advice in areas of workforce, organisational development, culture and safeguarding matters.
- Develop and implement people, culture and safeguarding strategies aligned to program objectives and contractual requirements.
- Lead organisational change, workforce planning and capability-building initiatives to support program growth and evolving operational needs.
- Foster a high-performing, values-driven culture that promotes accountability, inclusion, collaboration and wellbeing.
- Contribute to program governance and risk management aligned to Australian and local legislative requirements.
People & Culture Leadership
- Lead the People & Culture team, providing strategic oversight of recruitment, mobilisation, onboarding, performance management, talent development, workforce planning and employee relations activities, in alignment with the program’s locally led approach and all legislative requirements
- Ensure fit-for-purpose policies, procedures, tools and systems are implemented and continuously improved.
- Ensure compliance with employment legislation, donor requirements, DT Global policies and ethical employment practices across all operating locations.
- Champion diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, with a strong focus on Gender Equality, Disability and Social Inclusion (GEDSI).
- Support managers in building leadership capability and managing workforce challenges and opportunities.
- Manage employee relations and address grievances. In collaboration with the Contractor Representative and DT Global People & Culture team, lead or support investigations into allegations of employee misconduct, in alignment with DT Global policies.
Safeguarding Leadership
- Provide strategic oversight of the program's safeguarding framework, policies, systems and culture.
- Lead and support the Safeguarding team in implementing DFAT and DT Global child protection, PSEAH and broader safeguarding obligations across the program including with delivery partners.
- Provide executive oversight of safeguarding risk assessments, and partner due diligence processes throughout the project cycle.
- Monitor emerging safeguarding risks, trends and best practices and ensure program responses remain current and effective.
- Ensure that effective and accessible pathways exist for reporting suspected or actual safeguarding incidents including with partner organisations. In collaboration with the Contractor Representative and DT Global Safeguards team, support the investigation of safeguarding incidents, including through development of investigation plans, high level communications and risk management and engaging in a lesson learned/ improvement process post-incident.
- Strengthen safeguarding capability among staff, partners and stakeholders through mandatory and activity specific training, awareness and leadership initiatives.
Stakeholder Engagement
- Build and maintain strong relationships with DFAT, implementing partners, government counterparts, the corporate People & Culture team and other stakeholders.
- Represent the program on people, culture and safeguarding matters with internal and external stakeholders.
- Collaborate with regional and country program teams and the corporate People and Culture, to ensure consistent implementation of policies and practices.
- Leadership and Team Management
- Lead, mentor and develop direct reports through coaching, performance feedback and professional development.
- Model the behaviours, values and standards expected of a senior leader within the program.
Other
- Undertake other reasonable duties, as required.
Selection Criteria
Essential Experience and Knowledge
- Relevant tertiary qualification in Human Resources, Organisational Development, Business, Psychology, Law, International Development or a related discipline.
- Minimum 10 years' senior leadership experience overseeing people and culture functions within complex, multi-country organisations.
- Demonstrated experience leading end-to-end people and culture functions including workforce planning, recruitment, employee relations, organisational development, learning and development, remuneration and performance management.
- Ability to locate, read, interpret and operationalise a broad range of employment and industrial relations laws appropriate to a multi-jurisdictional workforce.
- Leadership or practical experience developing and implementing safeguarding frameworks, including child protection and PSEAH, within donor-funded programs, across multiple countries.
- Demonstrated experience collaborating with and supporting country office teams to implement safeguarding frameworks within diverse country contexts and aligned with DFAT requirements and managing contractor policies.
- Demonstrated ability to manage, mentor, and inspire direct reports and team members.
- Experience leading organisational change and culture transformation initiatives.
- Strong analytical, strategic planning and problem-solving capabilities.
- Exceptional written and verbal communication skills.
- Experience working in the Pacific and/or Timor-Leste, with knowledge of labour markets, workforce trends and cultural contexts.
- Excellent stakeholder engagement, influencing and relationship management skills.
Essential Personal Attributes
- Strategic and innovative thinker with sound judgement.
- Strong leadership presence and ability to inspire, influence and build trust.
- High degree of integrity, professionalism and discretion.
- Commitment to fostering inclusive, respectful and safe workplaces.
- Ability to work effectively across diverse cultural contexts and geographically dispersed teams.
- Resilience, adaptability and ability to manage complexity and competing priorities.
- Commitment to gender equality, disability inclusion, child protection, PSEAH, anti-corruption and broader safeguarding principles.
About DT Global Asia Pacific
At DT Global Asia Pacific, we aim to positively impact people’s lives through delivery excellence. As a leading implementing partner across Asia and the Pacific, we co-create locally led solutions in partnership with governments, communities, and stakeholders. We bring together talented teams and deep regional expertise to deliver initiatives that promote inclusive economic growth, essential services, and resilient, secure communities. With over 1,500 staff, experts in 22+ countries and more than 60 years of development experience, we tackle complex community, national and transnational challenges — from governance and justice systems to climate resilience, infrastructure and social equity — with innovative thinking and a commitment to long-term impact.
Other Information
Amendments to the position’s terms of reference may be made during the period of the engagement as required.
DT Global is deeply committed to safeguarding, which refers to how we keep people and the environment safe from harm. This includes children and vulnerable groups that we interact with as beneficiaries; partners who we collaborate with to deliver our programs; government stakeholders who we support; and importantly, our own personnel.
We take a zero-tolerance approach to sexual exploitation, abuse and harm of adults and children; fraud, corruption and bribery; modern slavery; and any form of exploitation across our operations, partnerships, and supply chains. We uphold the highest standards of integrity and expect the same of those we work with.
Engagement with DT Global is subject to formal background screening, criminal record checks, employment verification, and periodic compliance checks. All DT Global staff receive safety, compliance, safeguarding and integrity training, and we expect our personnel and partners to always act in alignment with our company values.