Governance Lead and Company Secretary

Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) is an international, independent, medical humanitarian organisation that delivers emergency aid to people affected by conflict, epidemics, disasters or exclusion from healthcare. MSF's actions are guided by medical ethics and the principles of impartiality, independence, and neutrality.    

Benefits of working with MSF Australia  

• Flexible & hybrid working arrangements    
• Salary packaging plus insurance benefits & allowances   
• Annual salary review  
• Annual performance review  
• Annual personal training budget & LinkedIn learning Licence  
• Employee Assistance Program   
• Wellbeing support & Headspace membership  
• Strong culture of diversity and inclusion  
• Career growth & development opportunities  
• Additional leave & purchased leave options   
• Novated lease & retail discount benefits  
• Monthly Friday afternoons off  
• Plus more  

Responsibilities   

With direct accountability to the Board and a functional reporting line to the Director of Business Operations this newly designed and highly visible part time opportunity will play a key role in establishing and managing effective governance processes for MSF Australia and MSF New Zealand. 

Leading the Governance Team, comprising yourself and a Board Coordinator, you will ensure the highest standards of probity, regulatory compliance and best practice as well as ensuring the smooth operation of the MSFA Board & Committees and MSF NZ Trust, providing strategic governance advice and fostering a culture of good corporate governance. Accountabilities include:  

• Corporate Governance ensuring compliance with legal and regulatory requirements notably the Constitution, the Corporations Act 2001 and ACNC Act 2012, undertaking ACNC self-assessments against Governance and Conduct Standards.  
• MSF Movement Represent MSFA and MSFNZ in MSF global governance activity, acting as a link between MSFA Board and international Boards and Committees 
• Legal & Regulatory filing ensuring relevant teams have submitted annual reports and financial statements in accordance with the Compliance Calendar Responsible for maintaining Fundraising state licence submissions.  
• Record Keeping to maintain the statutory registers and records including conflicts register. 
• Board and Committee Support with oversight of agendas, calendars, workplans, decisions and communications, as undertaken by the Board Coordinator. 
• Director appointment, induction, training and institutional memory working with the Association Coordinator to deliver a smooth AGM. 
• Board strategy, Review and Evaluation with performance plans, evaluations and self-assessments for the board.  

Requirements   

To be successful in this critical governance role, you will have the gravitas and professionalism to bridge the board and executive leadership providing guidance to both. You'll have a genuine interest in company governance and regulatory compliance and will be motivated by working in a humanitarian aid organisation. Ideally you can demonstrate the following:    

• Qualifications in law, business, governance, commerce or related company secretarial studies.  
• Strong experience in corporate governance, legal compliance and company secretarial duties.  
• Strong knowledge of corporate law, regulatory requirements and industry best practice (ACNC and NZ Charity Services, Corporation Act well regarded). 
• Outstanding communication and interpersonal skills, with excellent written and verbal communication. 
• Capacity and willingness to work outside regular office hours when required for board and related meetings.   

Applications  

Select the Apply button and upload your resume and cover letter. Applications will be reviewed on receipt.   

For more information, see the Job description or contact the MSFA Talent Acquisition team with any questions via      

At MSF Australia, we believe the following five values form the foundations of our culture – Transparency, Respect, Understanding of Diversity, Stepping In and CollaboraTion.   

We value T.R.U.S.T as an essential element to how we operate and believe that these organisation values flow from this trust that we build.   

MSF Australia (MSFA) is committed to developing diversity, equity and inclusion in our workplace and fostering a culture of belonging for all our staff. We believe that a diverse workforce helps us better achieve our social mission of providing aid without agenda. We strongly encourage First Nations peoples, people from LGBTQIA+ communities, people from diverse cultures and language groups, and people who live with a disability to apply. We invite all requests for a reasonable adjustment to the recruitment process if this will support your application. For more information, call or email MSFA Human Resources on

MSF Australia has a Child Protection Policy and COVID-19 vaccination policy in place, all employees are required to comply with these policies.   

In support of the Child Protection Policy, a criminal background check will be required during the recruitment process for selected candidates. A criminal record will not automatically preclude anyone from the position they have been selected for.