Job Description

Optus is an Australian telecommunications company, delivering more than 11 million services to our customers every day across mobile, broadband, and digital solutions.

Optus is undergoing one of the most significant transformations in its history, bringing cyber, physical and enterprise risk together under a single integrated Security & Risk function. This is a rare opportunity for a seasoned enterprise risk leader to help shape the future of enterprise risk management in one of Australia's largest and most complex organisations.

We're looking for an accomplished risk governance leader who as Senior Director, Enterprise Risk Management will own the Risk Management Approach (RMA), Risk Management Framework (RMF), Risk Appetite Statement (RAS), Three Lines model, enterprise risk profile and risk culture agenda bringing people, process, accountability, governance and capability together into one coherent enterprise risk management system. You will shape how Optus understands its material risks, sets risk appetite, governs risk ownership, escalates emerging threats and reports the enterprise risk profile to Executive management and the Board.

The role carries genuine visibility and influence at the most senior levels of the organisation, with direct input into Executive Risk Committee and Board Risk Committee reporting. Success is measured by whether enterprise risk insight changes decisions, directs resources toward the highest exposures and produces demonstrable, measurable risk reduction in an environment where customer trust, network reliability, cyber security, privacy, regulatory confidence and critical service resilience are central to business performance.

What You’ll Do

• Lead and continuously enhance Optus' enterprise risk management approach, ensuring it remains effective, practical and fit for purpose.
• Own the enterprise Risk Appetite Statement, including key risk indicators, tolerances and escalation triggers that guide business decision-making.
• Own the Three Lines model and ensure accountabilities, independent challenge, oversight and assurance operate effectively in practice.
• Maintain and evolve the enterprise risk profile, risk taxonomy and risk register, providing a clear view of material and emerging risks.
• Drive enterprise-wide risk assessments, scenario analysis and risk aggregation activities to identify priorities and inform strategic decisions.
• Own the enterprise risk assessment methodology, including rating criteria and scales, and lead risk aggregation and scenario analysis across material and emerging risks.
• Lead enterprise risk assessments across material risk categories and challenge the credibility of risk ratings, target states and management responses, with Line 2 Business Partners.
• Own the enterprise risk culture agenda, including leadership expectations, behavioural measures, capability and interventions, using culture insights, incidents and issues to identify where organisational culture is enabling or inhibiting effective risk management.
• Establish a clear emerging risk process, including thematic analysis and escalation, and drive consistency in risk assessment, rating, reporting and acceptance practices across the business.Create clear line of sight from material risk and appetite to gaps, remediation, investment priorities and residual exposure, driving prioritisation of people, process, control, system and capability improvements toward high exposures.
• Produce the Enterprise Risk Profile and provide the EGM, CSRO, Executive Committee and Board with a forward-looking view of risk trajectory, movement and required intervention.
• Support Executive risk owners to understand, assess and manage their material risks, and work closely with Non-Financial Risk Management, Controls Management & Assurance, Compliance, Cyber, Technology, Legal, Resilience and business teams.

What makes you perfect for the role?

• Minimum 15 years’ experience in enterprise risk management, non-financial risk or risk transformation within banking, financial services, telecommunications, critical infrastructure or another complex regulated organisation.
• Deep expertise in risk appetite, enterprise risk profiles, Three Lines of Defence models, risk culture and enterprise risk management architecture.
• Proven ability to translate risk insights into business priorities, investment decisions and tangible risk reduction outcomes.
• Strong understanding of risk governance, risk ownership and the ability to translate risk frameworks into practical business decision-making.
• Significant Executive and Board reporting exposure, with confidence and judgement to challenge senior leaders constructively.
• Ability to connect risk, controls, incidents, issues, obligations, customer outcomes and resilience into a single coherent narrative.
• Experience in telecommunications, financial services, technology, energy, infrastructure, aviation, transport, government or other regulated sectors would be highly valued.

What’s in it for you?

• Competitive remuneration and employee discounts. Make life easier (and more affordable) with $80 monthly credit and 25% off Optus products and unique shopping discounts with our retail partners.
• Flexible working arrangements with opportunities to work three days in the office, two days remote or home.
• Competitive leave policies, including additional 'Connected’ days to focus on culture, family, health, community, or whatever’s important to you.
• We support growing families with inclusive, carer-neutral paid Parental Leave of up to 16 weeks.
• Build meaningful connections through employee-led networks and diversity initiatives including Culture Connect, Elevate Women, Disability Network and Express Yourself (LGBTQIA+).
• Put your wellbeing first with free access to counselling and support services, 24/7 — in-person, by phone, SMS, or video.

At Optus, we are strengthened by others and that means valuing diversity and saying ‘yes’ to embracing individual differences. We are committed to ensuring that our application process provides an equal employment opportunity to all job seekers, including individuals from diverse gender, cultural and linguistic backgrounds, individuals with a disability, individuals identifying as being part of the LGBTQIA+ community, individuals who may have served in the armed forces or who identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander. We also want to do our best to make our recruitment process inclusive. If you require any adjustments or accessibility support to participate fairly and equitably in the recruitment process, please email AccessibleRecruitment@optus.com.au or call 1800 309 170. We're here to help. When you contact us, please advise your preferred method of contact and we will be in touch within 48 hours.

For more information on Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging at Optus, please visit https://www.optus.com.au/about/inclusion-diversity