Chief of Operations

Defence Health is a not-for-profit, purpose-driven private health insurer supporting the health and wellbeing of the Defence community. Since 1953, Defence Health has remained focused on protecting the health of those who protect Australia, operating for members rather than shareholders and reinvesting in the community it serves.

Our culture is values-led, member-focused and built on trust, excellence, community, ownership and putting members first. We are committed to creating an inclusive workplace where people are supported to grow, contribute and make a meaningful difference.

Defence Health is a place where we are all encouraged to excel and where we strive to be a high-performing organisation by continuously setting a better standard. We show up, stick together, solve it, and see it through.

Our promise to our own people is the same as our promise to members; we look after our own

Find out more at defencehealth.com.au

About the Role

As Chief of Operations, you will lead the full end-to-end operation of Defence Health’s core service delivery engine. This executive role is accountable for delivering efficient, effective, high-quality and compliant operations across the member, customer and provider lifecycle, including provider networks, member acquisition, servicing, claims, billing and operational support services.

You will integrate operational performance, service quality, risk management, controls, human workforce capability and digitally enabled ways of working to ensure Defence Health executes effectively at scale. This is a pivotal enterprise leadership opportunity for an experienced operations executive who can set direction, align teams, improve service delivery and drive sustainable cost and performance outcomes

This rare opportunity offers the chance to build and lead a genuinely connected Operations function, not simply inherit an established portfolio.

Key Accountabilities

• Develop and embed medium- and long-term operational plans that align resources, budgets, productivity programs, workforce capability and technology deployment with enterprise priorities.
• Execute the end-end member experience model across administration, servicing and claims management, while setting and enforcing service standards.
• Own execution of Defence Health’s provider network model, including implementation of network design.
• Run acquisition and onboarding operations across all channels, ensuring effective lead conversion of new joins and handover into servicing.
• Deliver core operational support services across operations, such as complaint management, workforce planning and quality assurance
• Manage payment integrity, including claims fraud detection and cost containment controls
• Ensure operational teams understand acceptance criteria and are ready to successfully adopt technical solutions into the operating environment.

About You

You are an accomplished senior operations leader with significant PHI experience. You will have led large-scale, customer-facing operations in a complex and regulated environment.

You bring a strong service delivery mindset, deep operational discipline and the ability to lead large teams through growth, change and continuous improvement.

You will be comfortable operating at enterprise level, advising senior leaders and working with boards, committees, regulators, members and providers. You will bring sound judgement, strong commercial discipline, an evidence-based approach to performance management and a clear commitment to member outcomes.

What You'll Bring

• A relevant tertiary qualification in Business, Operations, Health Administration, Commerce or a related discipline.
• Significant PHI experience leading large-scale operations in a customer-facing, regulated environment.
• Proven experience managing end-to-end service delivery across acquisition, servicing, claims and retention environments.
• Deep expertise in operational performance management, productivity improvement and efficiency programs.
• Experience operating under APRA prudential expectations, privacy obligations and audit frameworks.
• Strong understanding of claims management, payment integrity and cost control frameworks.
• Proven capability in risk management, operational controls, compliance and audit readiness.
• Experience with provider ecosystems, contracting, healthcare delivery models, digital operations, automation or AI-enabled service environments would be advantageous.

Why Join Defence Health?

• Make an impact: as a purpose-driven organisation, we partner with veteran support organisations to offer meaningful volunteering experiences and connect to our community
• Free top-tier health insurance for you and your immediate family valued at approx. $10,000 per year
• Competitive remuneration and health and wellbeing initiatives: Access to discounted gym memberships and an additional paid day of wellbeing leave each year.
• Company funded parental leave: Fully funded paid parental leave for eligible employees with superannuation paid for the entire length of approved parental leave.
• Prime location: Our office is conveniently located on St Kilda Road with great access to public transport and local amenities.

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