General Manager Stakeholder Engagement

• Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC)
• Join GRDC’s ELT and transform strategic stakeholder engagement
• Canberra or Sydney | Remuneration negotiable

Australia's grain growers fund more than a billion dollars in research, development and extension every five years. GRDC is the statutory corporation responsible for directing that investment – and for ensuring that growers, government, and industry understand its value and the outcomes it delivers. As GRDC's ambition grows, so does the complexity of the environment in which it operates. This is a new executive appointment, created to provide dedicated senior leadership across GRDC's stakeholder engagement function.

The role
Reporting to the Managing Director, the General Manager, Stakeholder Engagement (GM) is a new appointment to GRDC’s executive leadership team. It has been created in direct response to a stakeholder environment that has become significantly more complex. The GM will lead two branches: a Communications branch of approximately eight people, and an Industry and Government Relations function.

As a member of the executive leadership team, the GM shares collective responsibility for organisational strategy, performance, culture and contributing to the decisions that shape GRDC as a whole. The GM will provide timely, evidence-based advice to the Managing Director, executive, and Board on stakeholder risks, opportunities, and priorities, ensuring that intelligence gathered across the stakeholder landscape informs strategic decision-making at the highest level.

The incoming GM will establish and maintain a stakeholder governance framework that provides visibility and consistency across GRDC's engagement activity. They will build and sustain strategic partnerships across government, industry, and grower organisations, represent GRDC's investment rationale clearly and credibly in a range of forums, and ensure that external communications effectively conveys how GRDC is investing in RD&E and what it is delivering for Australian grain growers.
GRDC operates within a governance framework that includes two ministers, government departments, and a range of representative bodies. The incoming GM needs to be capable of navigating that environment with confidence – reading stakeholder sentiment proactively, getting ahead of emerging issues, and working across the executive to ensure GRDC's position is articulated consistently and with authority.

The person
The successful candidate will bring a corporate affairs or public affairs background at a senior level, ideally combined with established relationships across the agricultural sector. The ability to engage credibly with government, industry bodies, grower organisations, and commercial partners and to represent an organisation’s position clearly and confidently in complex environments are critical capabilities.

Experience spanning agribusiness, peak industry bodies, or Commonwealth agencies with deep agricultural stakeholder networks would be attractive. Grains-specific experience is an advantage but not essential.

GRDC's executive team operates as a cohesive, high-performing group of self-starters. The culture is one of initiative, accountability, and delivery – people who think strategically, proactively build momentum, and follow through consistently. The successful candidate will bring both the stakeholder credentials and the leadership character to contribute to that culture.

How to apply:
Candidate information: Please click on the "Additional Information" button to download a copy of the Candidate Information Pack. For more information, please Emma Alberici on email publicsector@derwentsearch.com.au or call 0419 683 660 quoting reference number: 34350.

To apply: Please provide a cover letter highlighting your suitability for the role and a resume by the due date.

Applications close: Sunday, 24 May 2026.