Conducting an Executive Search for a Chief People Officer in the Public Health Sector. A strategic executive role leading People and Culture to deliver exceptional healthcare through workforce excellence.
The Brief
Future Leadership™ was engaged by a major Victorian public health service to appoint a Chief People Officer at a time of significant organisational evolution. The organisation had recently welcomed a new Chief Executive, creating the need for a People and Culture leader whose cultural alignment, strategic capability and technical competence would be foundational in shaping a refreshed executive dynamic.
The health service operates in a rapidly growing corridor of metropolitan Melbourne, with a highly diverse community and a large, complex, multidisciplinary workforce. The role required a leader capable of guiding organisational culture, workforce strategy and executive cohesion, alongside deep expertise in employment law, industrial relations and contemporary HR practice.
During the briefing process it was made clear that a critical component of the search would be to ensure the successful candidate could partner effectively with the new Chief Executive and Executive Team, strengthening collective leadership capacity during a period of strategic renewal.
Candidate net Promote Score
Future Leadership combines truly personalised relationships with innovative technology solutions to ensure an approachable and efficient process for all our Net Promoter Score across clients, successful candidates and unsuccessful candidates is well above industry standard.
Candidates supported every year
We maintain genuine relationships with past candidates and continue to support them with leadership solutions long term, after they land their role.
Senior Women Appointed since 2002
Over half of the executive search assignments undertaken by our team have resulted in the appointment of outstanding female or LGBTQI+ leaders to high profile roles.
Candidate Retention Rate for 12 months since 2002
Our thorough briefing process and ability to engage passive candidates mean that we go to great lengths to find the right person for the role – long term!
The Process
Future Leadership™ undertook a comprehensive, national executive search to ensure the organisation accessed the strongest possible field of candidates.
Key steps included:
- Briefing and Strategy Development
Engaged with the Chief Executive and key stakeholders to understand the organisation’s culture, workforce challenges, strategic priorities and expectations for the CPO role. - Targeted Candidate Search
Conducted a national search across Australia and New Zealand, focusing on senior HR leaders within large, complex and multidisciplinary organisations, particularly those with public health experience. Leveraged proprietary databases, referral networks, and prior assignment insights. - Assessment and Alignment Review
Evaluated candidates against required technical competencies, leadership attributes and cultural fit considerations, including the ability to influence senior stakeholders, lead through complexity, champion innovation and uphold the organisation’s values of Safe, Kind and Together. - Shortlisting and Selection Committee Engagement
Provided a curated shortlist, facilitated structured panel processes, and supported the Selection Committee comprising the Chief Executive, Board Chair and an external subject matter expert. - Final Evaluation
Conducted referencing, stakeholder feedback consolidation and advisory support through final negotiations.
Emerging Capabilities
Culture and Engagement
Fosters a positive culture, creating a sense of belonging and inclusiveness. Creates an environment that encourages diverse perspectives and facilitates a psychologically safe environment.
Stakeholder Relations
Establishes rapport with stakeholders, builds and sustains trusted and collaborative relationships. Identifies and draws on relevant and diverse perspectives and integrates them to support productive interactions.
Governance and Compliance
Establishes, champions and measures the effectiveness of an organisation’s regulatory and reporting systems. Identifies and evaluates risks, develops strategies to mitigate risk.
Organisational Capability
Anticipates future workplace skills and requirements and builds capability across the organisation. Pro-actively seeks opportunities to develop other people’s talent and career pathways and takes appropriate action to address skill gaps in others.
Strategy and Purpose
Develops and leads strategy for the function/organisation, taking a broad and long-term perspective. Understands and considers context. Communicates and gains buy-in to the function/organisation goals, direction and vision, promoting change initiatives.
Systems Thinking
Views situations in their entirety, understanding all the parts at play. Identifies the interconnected factors and how they influence each other, impacting the whole system. Takes a strategic perspectives
The Outcome
The search resulted in the appointment of a highly experienced senior People and Culture executive with a strong history of leading transformation, rebuilding organisational culture and strengthening governance in large, complex and community‑facing environments. The appointed candidate brought extensive executive experience across health, emergency services, education and the not‑for‑profit sector, including responsibility for large multidisciplinary workforces, significant operational budgets and enterprise wide reform programs. Their background demonstrated a strong commitment to values based leadership, stakeholder engagement, and capability development, with particular depth in industrial relations, cultural uplift, workforce planning and governance reform. Their return to the health sector aligned closely with their professional purpose and long‑term commitment to public value and community impact.
The appointment provided the organisation with a trusted strategic people leader able to partner effectively with the Chief Executive and Executive Team during a period of organisational renewal. Their capability in navigating politically sensitive, operationally complex and industrially challenging settings has enabled strong workforce engagement, improved governance practice and the advancement of a safe, inclusive and high performing organisational culture.
