Client: Access Industries
Role: General Manager – Vocational Services, Safety & Risk
Location: NSW
Sector: Disability Services / Supported Employment
The Challenge
Be Recruitment was engaged to support the appointment of a General Manager to lead Vocational Services, Safety, and Risk for a disability services provider undergoing a period of significant change and growth.
The organisation had recently restructured parts of its operations and was seeking to strengthen governance, risk management, and safety oversight, while also continuing to deliver meaningful employment outcomes for people with disabilities.
The challenge with this role was the unique blend of responsibilities required.
The successful candidate needed to:
Lead vocational and supported employment programs
Oversee Work Health and Safety (WHS) and enterprise risk frameworks
Ensure compliance with NDIS Practice Standards and Quality & Safeguards Commission requirements
Integrate multiple service streams, including employment services, training (RTO), and participant wellbeing supports
Provide executive leadership during a period of organisational growth and service transformation
This required a rare combination of operational leadership, compliance expertise, and experience within disability employment or vocational services.
Many candidates in the market typically specialise in either safety and risk or service delivery leadership. Finding someone who could credibly lead both at an executive level was a key recruitment challenge.
Our Approach
Be Recruitment conducted a targeted executive search across:
Disability and NDIS service providers
Supported employment and social enterprises
Employment services organisations
Training and vocational education providers
Leaders with strong WHS and governance experience in human services
Our approach included:
Market mapping of senior leaders across disability employment and social enterprise organisations
Targeted outreach to candidates with combined service delivery and governance experience
Structured screening against NDIS compliance, leadership capability, and change management experience
Assessment of candidates’ ability to integrate multiple service streams and lead cross-functional teams
The Outcome
Be Recruitment delivered a shortlist of high-calibre candidates with proven experience in disability services leadership and governance.
The successful candidate demonstrated:
Strong experience leading vocational and employment programs for people with disability
Deep knowledge of NDIS compliance, safety frameworks and risk management
A track record of leading organisational change and service integration
The ability to build a culture of safety, accountability, and continuous improvement
The appointment has positioned the organisation to strengthen governance, enhance safety systems, and support the continued growth of its vocational services, ensuring sustainable employment opportunities for people with disabilities.
Impact
Through this placement, the organisation has been able to:
Strengthen leadership across vocational services and supported employment programs
Improve safety, risk management and compliance oversight
Integrate multiple service areas under a cohesive leadership structure
Support long-term growth and service quality within the NDIS environment
This assignment was managed by Jenny Rosser [email protected]
