Help make rights real for children in Australia! 54 reasons is looking for a creative and motivated Ux or human centred design leader with experience working directly with children, young people and their carers to help shape our service offer and improve our client experience.

54 reasons is Australia’s leading child rights organisation – no ordinary not-for-profit.

Proudly part of the Save the Children Australia Group and global movement, we’re here to make sure that children and young people have their rights met and thrive, in all their diversity.

With the child’s voice at the centre, we provide quality services and advocate with children and their caregivers in every state and territory, and across regions, remote areas and capital cities.

A place to make a difference:

In this part-time (.6-.8 FTE) permanent role, you’ll work as part of our Strategy and Partnerships team in Melbourne help us create lasting change for children everywhere. This role leads design-led innovation at 54 reasons, ensuring that services, experiences and new initiatives meaningfully improve outcomes for children, young people and their families.

You will make a difference by:

• Setting and driving our approach to design and innovation as an organisation
• Facilitating design, development and testing for new and/or improved service models so that innovation translates into sustainable, fundable and implementable services
• Championing design across 54 reasons and building organisational capability, and
• Building and supporting partnerships and business development pathways required to scale innovation across Australia.
• Working collaboratively with state and territory operational leaders, internal and external subject matter experts, service delivery and funding partners.

A place to feel valued

Your deep expertise in human-centred design or social innovation with the ability to oversee design into test and delivery combined with a deep commitment to child rights and voice, will make you invaluable.

This role requires:

• Deep experience in design, service design, innovation or social innovation, ideally in a senior role within complex social services or child and youth-focused contexts
• Demonstrated ability to lead design and innovation strategy, not just projects
• Experience translating innovation into implemented, funded and scaled services
• Proven capability in business development, partnerships or funding-related work linked to innovation
• Strong track record of engaging children, young people and families ethically in design processes
• Ability to influence senior leaders and work across organisational boundaries
• Ability to self organize and ‘right-size’, with initiative and a feedback and learning mindset

A place to belong:

At 54 reasons, we invest in the development and wellbeing of our people. Our workforce is approximately 600 people strong, and proudly diverse, whether in race, ethnicity, gender, age, disability, sexuality, cultures and beliefs.

It takes all types of people to do the challenging work we do. We are diverse personalities, backgrounds and talents, embracing our differences as one strong and united team. We see and celebrate the unique value you bring to our organisation, and offer a range of rewards for your effort, including:

• Full salary packaging benefits – use this link to see how much this benefit could mean to you!
• Individual learning plans to assist in your career development
• Flexible working, including the ability to work from home (WFH)
• Pet and child friendly work environment
• Support for workplace wellness, including access to our free, confidential Employee Wellbeing Program
• Celebrate and feel supported in your diversity. We have a highly inclusive culture and diverse workforce reflecting the communities we serve, allowing you to bring your whole self to work (if that’s what you want!).

Follow this link for the full list of our employee benefits.

Does this sound like the place for you?

We’d love to hear from you. Submit your cover letter and resume below.

We strongly encourage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander candidates to apply.

Applications close: Tuesday 27 January 2026. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis as they come in, so don’t delay in applying!

Position Description: Manager Design and Innovation

For more information about this position, please contact Sim Gianelli at people.culture@savethechidlren.org.au OR for more information about a career at Save, visit our Careers Page visit our Careers Page.

We have tested our application process with diverse groups in mind, with the intent to ensure its straightforward and accessible for all to apply. Diversity and inclusion are fundamental to our culture and improve our ability to reach our most vulnerable client groups. But we also know there is no one-size fits-all when it comes to recruitment - so if we didn’t quite hit the mark for you, please let us know at people.culture@savethechildren.org.au. We’re dedicated to ensuring Save the Children Australia is a place where everyone can feel supported – no matter your race, ethnicity, gender, age, disability, sexuality, neurodiversity, culture and beliefs.

Save the Children Australia is a child-safe organisation. All employees are required to undergo a National Police Check, a Working with Children Check, and sign our Child Safeguarding Policy and Code of Conduct. We also support the Inter-Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme.

Save the Children is committed to providing and maintaining a safe working environment for its employees and client groups, consistent with our obligations under OH&S legislation.

If you are having any issues with uploading your application for this role, please contact people.culture@savethechildren.org.au for further support.