State Officer - Victoria

State Officer – Victoria
National Peak Body | National Role
Salary: $100,000 + Super
Location: Brunswick, Melbourne
Hybrid (3 days in office)
Permanent, full-time

About the Organisation
Our client is a national peak body representing a specialised sector of the Australian building and construction industry. With a membership spanning sole traders through to large national businesses, the organisation exists to support its members, drive industry standards, and ensure the sector has a strong, credible voice in the policy and regulatory environments that shape its work.

Victoria is a key growth market for the organisation, and this is a pivotal hire. There is a significant and largely untapped membership opportunity in the state, and the person stepping into this role will have real scope to make their mark — building relationships, growing the Victorian footprint, and becoming the face of the organisation in the state.

The Role
Based in Brunswick and reporting to the CEO, the State Officer – Victoria is the organisation's primary presence on the ground in the state. This is a varied, outward-facing role with three broad areas of focus:

• Member engagement and growth (~70%) — building strong relationships with existing Victorian members while actively identifying and acquiring new ones. This is a genuine B2B membership development role, and there is plenty of runway.
• Policy and advocacy awareness (~20%) — keeping a watching brief on Victorian legislative and regulatory developments relevant to the industry, communicating key updates to members, and feeding the Victorian perspective into the organisation's national advocacy work.
• Events and meetings (~10%) — planning and delivering member meetings, networking events, and industry forums across the state.

No two days are the same. You will be out meeting members, attending industry forums, supporting government engagement, preparing member communications, and coordinating events — all while keeping a clear eye on where the next membership opportunity lies.

What You'll Be Doing
Member Engagement & Growth

• Serving as the primary point of contact for Victorian members — building trusted relationships through regular phone, email, and face-to-face engagement.
• Proactively identifying, approaching, and onboarding prospective members from across the sector, with a focus on growing the Victorian membership base.
• Conducting member check-ins and site visits to understand needs, gather feedback, and ensure members are getting genuine value from their membership.
• Maintaining accurate member records in the CRM and escalating emerging member issues or trends to the CEO.

Policy Awareness & Stakeholder Engagement

• Monitoring Victorian legislative, regulatory, and policy developments affecting the sector and preparing timely, accessible member updates.
• Developing and maintaining working relationships with Victorian government agencies, regulators, and industry bodies.
• Attending government meetings, industry forums, and roundtables on behalf of the organisation.
• Supporting the development of state-based advocacy positions and contributing a Victorian perspective to national policy efforts.

Events & Communications

• Planning, coordinating, and delivering Victorian member meetings, networking events, and industry forums end to end.
• Preparing meeting papers, minutes, member alerts, newsletters, and other communications to a consistently high standard.
• Coordinating the organisation's participation in Victorian trade shows, conferences, and industry events.

What We're Looking For
Essential:

• 2–3+ years of stakeholder engagement or membership experience, ideally within an industry association, peak body, or related environment.
• A natural relationship-builder with a proactive, commercially minded approach — comfortable picking up the phone, getting in front of people, and converting conversations into memberships.Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to produce professional correspondence, member updates, and meeting papers.
• Well-organised and self-directed, with the ability to juggle competing priorities and manage your own workload in a small, busy team.
• Current Victorian driver's licence and willingness to travel across the state for member visits and events.

Desirable:

• Experience in or exposure to the building and construction sector, or another regulated industry.
• Familiarity with government engagement, regulatory processes, or advocacy at a state or local level.
• Experience with CRM or membership management systems.
• Tertiary qualifications in business, communications, public policy, or a related field.

What's on Offer

• Real autonomy and scope to grow - Victoria is a priority market and you will have genuine influence over how the organisation's presence develops in the state.
• A varied, outward-facing role with a mix of relationship management, events, policy communications, and membership development.
• A collaborative national team culture in a purpose-driven organisation where the work genuinely matters.

How to Apply
This search is being managed exclusively by Cox Purtell. For a confidential conversation about the role, please contact Sophie Kelly at Cox Purtell on (02) 9216 6700 or apply via the link below.

Applications will be reviewed on w/c 6th July.