Chief Executive Officer
| Location: | sydney |
| Salary: | $400000 - $450000 per annum, Benefits: Bonus |
| Job Type: | permanent |
| Contact: | Ben Maurer |
The Company
The National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA) is Australia's leading accreditation organisation, playing a vital and trusted role in the nation's quality infrastructure. As the authoritative body for the accreditation of laboratories, inspection bodies, calibration services and related organisations, NATA underpins the integrity of testing, measurement and conformity assessment across virtually every sector of the Australian economy. Operating in the public interest, NATA is recognised by government, regulators and industry as an independent, impartial and technically credible institution — one whose work directly supports consumer protection, regulatory confidence and Australia's participation in international trade and standards frameworks. This is an organisation with genuine national significance and a mandate that matters.
The Role
Reporting directly to the Board, the Chief Executive Officer holds accountability for the principled, strategic and operational leadership of NATA. This is a pivotal moment for the organisation, with a clear brief to drive commercial uplift and capability modernisation while preserving the independence, integrity and public-interest purpose that define NATA's standing. The CEO will set and execute a multi-year strategy with defined priorities and measurable outcomes, lead organisation-wide transformation across systems, processes and digital capability, and ensure long-term financial sustainability through prudent stewardship and risk-based investment. Equally, the role demands credible stewardship of NATA's accreditation mandate — maintaining the highest standards of impartiality and technical governance while driving operational excellence across accreditation and assessment services. The CEO will serve as the public face of the organisation, leading complex stakeholder relationships across government, regulators, industry bodies and conformity assessment bodies, and will maintain a high-trust, transparent partnership with the Board to ensure effective governance and timely escalation of risk.
The Person
The successful candidate will be an accomplished senior executive with prior CEO experience and a demonstrated track record of strategic leadership and execution in complex, stakeholder-rich environments. You will bring the credibility and depth to engage across accreditation, regulatory and technical domains — ideally with exposure to conformity assessment, standards, scientific services or regulated industries — combined with the commercial acumen to drive financial sustainability and organisational performance. You are a values-led leader who sets the tone for culture, builds strong executive teams and creates the conditions for accountability and psychological safety to thrive. You will possess the stakeholder sophistication to balance competing expectations across government, industry and membership, and the presence and communication skills to represent NATA with authority at a national and international level. A tertiary qualification in a relevant discipline — such as business, law, science, engineering or public policy — is required. Above all, you will be motivated by purpose: understanding that at NATA, the integrity of what you do is inseparable from the value it delivers to Australia.
Six Degrees are the retained partner for this search, any direct approaches to NATA will be referred back to Six Degrees for assessment. Only Australian citizens or PR holders with local experience will be considered. Ben Maurer is the Senior Partner managing this search, for any enquiries please reach out to my colleague, Head of Research, Alisa Imfield via email: alisai@sde.com.au or you can leave her a message via our Melbourne office. Sydney is the preferred location however the role can also be based in Melbourne.
Six Degrees Executive acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the lands on which we work and live. We are also committed to equal opportunity and strive to promote diversity, inclusion, belonging, flexibility, and accessibility in all that we do.
Should you require assistance in your interactions with us or through a recruitment process, please let us know so we can provide adjustments for you.
The National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA) is Australia's leading accreditation organisation, playing a vital and trusted role in the nation's quality infrastructure. As the authoritative body for the accreditation of laboratories, inspection bodies, calibration services and related organisations, NATA underpins the integrity of testing, measurement and conformity assessment across virtually every sector of the Australian economy. Operating in the public interest, NATA is recognised by government, regulators and industry as an independent, impartial and technically credible institution — one whose work directly supports consumer protection, regulatory confidence and Australia's participation in international trade and standards frameworks. This is an organisation with genuine national significance and a mandate that matters.
The Role
Reporting directly to the Board, the Chief Executive Officer holds accountability for the principled, strategic and operational leadership of NATA. This is a pivotal moment for the organisation, with a clear brief to drive commercial uplift and capability modernisation while preserving the independence, integrity and public-interest purpose that define NATA's standing. The CEO will set and execute a multi-year strategy with defined priorities and measurable outcomes, lead organisation-wide transformation across systems, processes and digital capability, and ensure long-term financial sustainability through prudent stewardship and risk-based investment. Equally, the role demands credible stewardship of NATA's accreditation mandate — maintaining the highest standards of impartiality and technical governance while driving operational excellence across accreditation and assessment services. The CEO will serve as the public face of the organisation, leading complex stakeholder relationships across government, regulators, industry bodies and conformity assessment bodies, and will maintain a high-trust, transparent partnership with the Board to ensure effective governance and timely escalation of risk.
The Person
The successful candidate will be an accomplished senior executive with prior CEO experience and a demonstrated track record of strategic leadership and execution in complex, stakeholder-rich environments. You will bring the credibility and depth to engage across accreditation, regulatory and technical domains — ideally with exposure to conformity assessment, standards, scientific services or regulated industries — combined with the commercial acumen to drive financial sustainability and organisational performance. You are a values-led leader who sets the tone for culture, builds strong executive teams and creates the conditions for accountability and psychological safety to thrive. You will possess the stakeholder sophistication to balance competing expectations across government, industry and membership, and the presence and communication skills to represent NATA with authority at a national and international level. A tertiary qualification in a relevant discipline — such as business, law, science, engineering or public policy — is required. Above all, you will be motivated by purpose: understanding that at NATA, the integrity of what you do is inseparable from the value it delivers to Australia.
Six Degrees are the retained partner for this search, any direct approaches to NATA will be referred back to Six Degrees for assessment. Only Australian citizens or PR holders with local experience will be considered. Ben Maurer is the Senior Partner managing this search, for any enquiries please reach out to my colleague, Head of Research, Alisa Imfield via email: alisai@sde.com.au or you can leave her a message via our Melbourne office. Sydney is the preferred location however the role can also be based in Melbourne.
Six Degrees Executive acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the lands on which we work and live. We are also committed to equal opportunity and strive to promote diversity, inclusion, belonging, flexibility, and accessibility in all that we do.
Should you require assistance in your interactions with us or through a recruitment process, please let us know so we can provide adjustments for you.
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Back to Job Details
- Contract Type permanent
- Reference BH-34334
- Industry
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Salary$400000 - $450000 per annum, Benefits: Bonus
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Contact Name
Ben Maurer
Chief Executive Officer
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