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Programs Manager
FORE Australia
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For the right person, this is an opportunity to take real ownership in a core, energetic team and make a meaningful contribution to how evidence, expertise and strong policy ideas reach decision-makers in Australia.
Why us?
Help us drive impact in:
The opportunity:
Why you might love this opp:
- Part-time (3 days per week) to start, with potential to grow to full-time, subject to funding
- Remote/Hybrid within Australia | Melbourne / Sydney preferred
- $70,000–$85,000 FTE pro rata, plus super
- Applicants are reviewed on a rolling basis
- We welcome applicants of all ages who are aligned with FORE Australia’s mission.
“For the right person, this is an opportunity to take real ownership in a core, energetic team and make a meaningful contribution to how evidence, expertise and strong policy ideas reach decision-makers in Australia.”
FORE Australia is hiring a Programs Manager to take end-to-end responsibility for the management, delivery and growth of our core programs, with oversight from the CEO.
This is a high-trust, high-impact role within a small core team with outsized reach. You’ll be one of three staff members, helping lead programs that engage large volunteer cohorts and support practical pathways into policy and public decision-making.
We are looking for someone who can both run and build: someone who can manage the day-to-day complexity of delivery while also improving systems, strengthening quality, and helping scale our programs over the next phase of FORE’s growth. You’ll need to be as comfortable improving a spreadsheet or volunteer workflow as thinking through how FORE scales across jurisdictions.
At FORE, we do not just talk about policy — we build tools, programs and pathways that help shape it. This role is central to that mission.
What's involved:
About FORE Australia
FORE Australia is a youth-led, non-partisan organisation working to bridge decision-makers with experts, strengthen the advocacy ecosystem, and support more people to contribute meaningfully to public policy and reform.
Through our programs, we train and empower hundreds of emerging leaders, support stronger engagement between experts and institutions, and help create the conditions for faster, fairer reform in Australia.
Policy shapes everything. Yet too often, expert-led and community-grounded ideas don’t reach decision-makers in the right format or at the right time - stalling progress.
FORE Australia, a youth-led, non-partisan organisation, bridges this gap. Working with experts, they’re building Australia’s first Policy Library of One-Page Briefs - an online, centralised resource helping policymakers quickly find, evaluate, and act on evidence-based policy solutions.
Their youth-led model fuels the Library. Each semester, they train 80-100 participants (selected from 300+ applicants) who join to help build the Library 1-4 days each week. In return, they get critical early career policy experience and an opportunity to publish on topics that are important to them.
In under 18 months, they’ve launched in Federal and Victorian parliaments, trained over 350 new policy professionals, and published briefs that have made it onto the floor of parliament - all to help make reform faster and fairer.
After all, we can’t act on solutions we don’t know exist.
About the role
The Programs Manager will be responsible for the end-to-end management of FORE Australia’s core programs, with support and oversight from the CEO.
That means owning program coordination, delivery, volunteer recruitment, logistics, systems, reporting, stakeholder relationships, and continuous improvement — while also helping shape the future growth of the programs.
Our current programs include a large Volunteer Policy Training Program, with 80-130+ volunteers in each intake, and a smaller Volunteer Parliamentary Liaison Program, with around 10 participants. While we currently operate at both federal and Victorian levels, we have ambitious plans to grow our work across all Australian jurisdictions by the end of 2028.
This role will be central to making that possible.
We are looking for someone who is excited by growth, motivated by mission, and keen to help build an organisation with real influence on Australian policy and politics.
We care a lot about doing excellent work, and we also care about being a thoughtful, supportive and enjoyable team to be part of. Curious about what it’s like to work with us? Check out our Culture Guide to see if our team values and environment feel like the right fit for you. See our Culture Guide here.
What you’ll do
- Take end-to-end responsibility for the delivery and management of FORE Australia’s core programs, with CEO oversight
- Lead the day-to-day coordination of the Policy Program and Parliamentary Liaison Program
- Support the growth and scaling of the programs, including preparing for expansion across all Australian jurisdictions by the end of 2028
- Coordinate volunteer leaders and oversee large volunteer cohorts across each program intake
- Lead volunteer recruitment processes, including outreach, administration and coordination
- Improve internal systems, workflows and processes to strengthen quality and scalability
- Support program measurement, reporting and evaluation
- Build and maintain strong relationships with relevant partners and stakeholders
- Oversee operational details including logistics, CRM administration, compliance, record-keeping and reporting
- Work closely with the CEO on program priorities, strategic development and long-term growth
What success looks like
In the first few months, success will look like getting across the programs quickly, building confidence in the details, and taking ownership of day-to-day delivery with strong CEO support and oversight.
Over time, success will look like stronger systems, smoother delivery, better-supported volunteers, stronger relationships, and programs that are well-positioned to scale nationally.
By 2028, we want to be serving all Australian jurisdictions. The right person will play a major role in helping us get there.
Why this role matters
This is a part-time role, but it is not a small one. We are currently seeking funding to bring this role to FTE.
It is integral to FORE Australia’s mission and offers the chance to help shape programs that train and empower hundreds of people, strengthen the broader advocacy sector, and build stronger links between experts and decision-makers.
For the right person, this is an opportunity to take real ownership in a core, energetic team and make a meaningful contribution to how policy and reform happen in Australia.
Role details
- Part-time, 3 days per week (with potential to grow to full-time subject to funding)
- Flexible arrangement across the week
- Remote/hybrid within Australia - office space available in Melbourne CBD
- Melbourne/Sydney preferred
- $70,000-$85,000 FTE pro rata, plus super
- There may be scope for the role to grow over time, subject to funding
Key criteria:
We’re looking for someone who is warm, capable, organised and ambitious — someone who wants to be part of a core team doing serious work with a growing national reach.
This role will suit someone who is comfortable taking ownership, enjoys making things work well, and cares deeply about building something that matters. You should be able to move between big-picture thinking and practical execution, and be equally comfortable improving a process, managing a spreadsheet, supporting volunteers, or helping shape a growth plan.
We’re looking for someone who notices what others miss, takes pride in getting the details right, and can be trusted to follow things through.
You may be a strong fit if you bring:
- strong experience in program management, project management, operations, or a similar role
- excellent organisational skills and strong attention to detail
- confidence with systems, spreadsheets and administrative tools
- the ability to improve and scale processes, not just maintain them
- strong written communication and stakeholder engagement skills
- good judgement, initiative and follow-through
- the ability to work autonomously while staying collaborative and accountable
- a warm, confident and team-oriented working style
A background in policy, government, the public sector, advocacy, or another mission-driven environment would be highly valued, but is not essential. We would especially welcome candidates with experience in parliamentary offices, public service, advisory roles, or policy-adjacent organisations.
Most importantly, we are looking for someone who is ambitious for FORE’s mission — someone who cares about what we are building and wants to help take it further.
How to apply:
Please submit the following as part of your application:
1. Your CV
Please upload a current CV outlining your professional experience, education, and any relevant volunteer, policy, advocacy, public sector, parliamentary, operational, or program management experience.
2. A cover letter
Please upload a cover letter that addresses the following:
- why you are interested in the Programs Manager role at FORE Australia
- how your relevant experience aligns with the responsibilities and qualities outlined in the position description
- how you would approach the role in its early stages, including what your first priorities would be and how you would help the programs run effectively and scale over time
- what you see as the opportunity for FORE Australia nationally, including your ambition for what this work could achieve across both Australia and eventually internationally
- how your experience, judgement, systems thinking, stakeholder skills, and working style would support you to succeed in a small, high-trust, high-impact team
We encourage applicants to draw on experience across paid work, volunteer leadership, policy, government, advocacy, operations, program delivery, stakeholder engagement, project coordination, or other mission-driven environments where relevant.
Your cover letter does not need to respond to every criterion separately, but it should help us understand:
- your motivation for applying
- your fit for the role
- your understanding of FORE Australia’s mission
- the strengths and perspective you would bring to the team
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