A rare opportunity to join Melbourne Recital Centre as Chief Operating Officer.

About Melbourne Recital Centre

Melbourne Recital Centre (MRC) is an award-winning live music venue, where artists and audiences build a lifetime of experiences.

Established in 2009, Melbourne Recital Centre has been a major contributor to Australia’s vibrant musical landscape. It is one of the world’s few purpose-built live music venues dedicated to all genres of music, welcoming 178,000 attendees in 2023-24.

With a unique focus on music, MRC is celebrated for its exceptional acoustics and architecture, and presents and hosts hundreds of concerts each year for all ages and backgrounds, representing the pinnacle of the art form as practiced by local and international performers. From the likes of cellist Steven Isserlis, pianist Yeol Eum Son to Australian icon Courtney Barnett and European electronic music festival Dekmantel, MRC continues to be an aspirational destination for artists.

MRC is embarking on a new strategic plan (2025- 2028) under CEO Sandra Willis, to enhance Australia’s music ecology, build sustainability, and advance the Centre’s vision of universal access to music and storytelling, supported by a refreshed brand and digital presence.

Exciting developments across the Melbourne Arts Precinct Transformation Project on the Centre’s doorstep signify a new era of change and boundless opportunities to grow, evolve and engage with music-lovers and visitors.

About the job

The newly created position of Chief Operating Officer is in response to the organisation’s focus on strategic renewal, amplifying Australia’s diverse music ecology, and driving sustainable growth to fulfill MRC’s wider 2028+ ambitions.

Reporting to the Chief Executive Officer, the Chief Operating Officer (COO), incorporating the role of Chief Financial Officer, plays a pivotal leadership role in advancing Melbourne Recital Centre’s financial performance, business growth and commercial success while ensuring robust governance and organisational integrity.

Ignited by a pursuit for organisational progress and community impact, the COO will lead a proactive growth strategy that seeks to stimulate commercial activity and foster partnerships which ensure maximum optimisation of the venue and capacity building, supporting both short and long-term success.

The successful candidate will bring enthusiasm, ideas and a delivery mindset to the role.

They will be:

• A strategic and forward thinker
• An innovative enabler who champions growth
• An insightful leader who upholds transparency and accountability through change
• An effective communicator and collaborator with a high degree of integrity, personal drive and professionalism

Please note: Interested applicants are encouraged to contact REA to obtain a copy of the COO Candidate Pack and a confidential discussion about the role and their potential candidacy, prior to submitting an application.

Vanessa Duscio
REA arts + culture
+61 409 977 312
vanessa@reaartsandculture.com

Applications close before midnight, Monday 25 November.

We are an inclusive workplace that promotes and values diversity. We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds, ages, religions, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, LGBTQIA+ people, those with disability, women, and people with cultural or linguistically diverse background. We embrace flexibility as a key principle to allow our people to manage the changing demands of work, personal and family life.

Applications are open to those with full working rights in Australia.

Employment at Melbourne Recital Centre is conditional upon the satisfactory completion of a Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check, and on holding and maintaining a valid Working with Children Check.