Head of Environment & Sustainability

• High-impact environment and sustainability leadership role with a major infrastructure asset owner
• Cairns-based role with relocation assistance available
• Culture that values ownership, pragmatism, and outcomes

Our client is a major infrastructure asset owner operating across geographically diverse and strategically significant assets. With a strong focus on long-term asset stewardship and regional economic contribution, the business is entering a critical phase of strengthening environmental governance, systems, and performance.

The organisation offers a high-impact setting where pragmatic, commercially grounded environment and sustainability leadership is essential to balancing operational realities with regulatory obligations and long-term outcomes.

This is a pivotal leadership role responsible for resetting the environmental foundations of the organisation.

The immediate priority is the end-to-end overhaul of the Environmental Management System (EMS) and the establishment of robust, risk-informed compliance frameworks. This initial focus of the role is building core systems, controls, and continuing to strengthen credibility with regulators. Over time, the position will evolve to shape broader sustainability outcomes, influence master planning, and embed environmental thinking across operations.

Key Roles and Responsibilities

• Lead the overhaul, implementation, and continuous improvement of the Environmental Management System (EMS), ensuring it is fit-for-purpose and demonstrably effective
• Establish risk-informed environmental compliance frameworks, strengthening controls and ensuring alignment with regulatory requirements
• Prepare and submit environmental reports to regulatory bodies, including annual environment reports and quarterly updates
• Identify and proactively address legacy environmental risks and compliance gaps, including historical issues and approvals oversight
• Design practical initiatives to reduce the company's environmental footprint, including energy efficiency projects, waste reduction programs, and sustainable procurement practices
• Provide practical input into master planning and environmental strategy, ensuring outcomes are deliverable and commercially realistic
• Partner with internal stakeholders and external advisors to support operational compliance and continuous improvement
• Deliver timely and complete reporting on environment, sustainability and heritage management functions to the Regulator, Management, Board and Shareholders as required

You are a pragmatic and systems-oriented environmental and sustainability leader who thrives on bringing order to complexity.

You are motivated by the challenge of fixing what isn’t working - whether that’s fragmented systems, unclear processes, or unmanaged risks - and you take a structured, hands-on approach to building solutions that stand the test of time.

Importantly, you balance environmental responsibility with commercial and operational realities, bringing a practical lens rather than an idealistic one. You are comfortable working autonomously, setting direction, and taking ownership in an environment that values initiative and accountability.

• Demonstrated experience leading environmental management systems (EMS) development, overhaul, and auditing
• Strong knowledge of environmental regulation and compliance frameworks, ideally within infrastructure, ports, energy or water utilities or similarly regulated sectors
• Proven ability to apply risk-based approaches to environmental management and compliance
• Experience improving systems, records management, and reporting frameworks to support compliance and performance outcomes
• Capability to manage complex environmental risks, including legacy issues and regulatory approvals
• Strong stakeholder engagement and influencing skills across operational and executive levels
• Tertiary qualification in Environmental Science, Engineering, Sustainability, or a related discipline

• A high-impact leadership role with the autonomy to shape systems, frameworks, and long-term environmental performance
• Opportunity to work across diverse and complex assets with unique environmental and sustainability challenges
• A culture that values ownership, pragmatism, and outcomes over process for its own sake
• Significant scope to build foundational capability first, then influence broader sustainability direction
• Competitive executive-level remuneration package including relocation allowance

Apply now by submitting your current CV (in Word format) via our online application process.

For a confidential discussion or to review the information pack and full PD please contact Liz Floyd on 0411 884 *** or via ***email_hidden***.

To be eligible to apply, you must have unrestricted rights to work in Australia.

Talent Nation encourages applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and people of all cultures, abilities, sex, and genders. Applicants can request a reasonable adjustment at any stage during the recruitment process.