About Heartbeat Haven Sanctuary Inc

Heartbeat Haven Sanctuary Inc is a registered animal rescue charity based in Toogoolawah, Queensland.

We rescue and rehabilitate animals in need, provide lifetime sanctuary care where appropriate, support ethical rehoming, and are developing a Safe Haven program to provide temporary animal care for people experiencing family and domestic violence, hospitalisation or other serious crises.

As a relatively new charity, we are now building the governance, risk, policy and operational systems needed to support our work as we grow.

The opportunity

We are looking for an experienced Governance, Risk & Policy Specialist to help strengthen the systems that support Heartbeat Haven Sanctuary Inc.

This is not a general administration role.

We already have a growing body of policies, procedures, registers and operational systems. We need someone who can review what we have, identify gaps, help prioritise what needs to be developed, and turn operational requirements into clear, practical and usable policies and procedures.

You will work directly with the founders. We will provide operational context and make organisational decisions. Your role will be to help research, structure, document and strengthen the systems around those decisions.

What you’ll be doing

Depending on your experience, the role may include:

• Reviewing existing governance policies, procedures and registers

• Identifying governance, compliance and risk gaps

• Reviewing and strengthening our organisational risk register

• Developing practical risk assessments and controls

• Helping establish and maintain a policy and procedure register

• Drafting and reviewing governance and operational policies

• Developing procedures for animal rescue and sanctuary activities

• Supporting Safe Haven policy and procedure development

• Developing incident and near-miss reporting processes

• Reviewing volunteer conduct, safeguarding and management processes

• Helping document delegations, responsibilities and decision-making

• Supporting privacy, confidentiality and records-management procedures

• Helping strengthen financial and organisational controls

• Establishing document control, versioning and review schedules

• Identifying areas where specialist legal, accounting or other professional advice may be required

The work may cover areas such as governance, risk management, conflicts of interest, financial controls, volunteer management, complaints and incidents, privacy, safeguarding, emergency management, animal intake, biosecurity, medication and veterinary procedures, animal welfare monitoring, rescue and rehoming, Safe Haven crisis support, records management and document control.

You will not be expected to independently determine organisational policy.

Adam and Jess, the founders of Heartbeat Haven Sanctuary Inc, will remain responsible for operational decisions, with formal approvals undertaken by the appropriate office holders or management committee where required.

The impact you can have

Good governance and risk management directly affect our ability to rescue animals safely, support volunteers, work with vulnerable people, build partnerships and grow responsibly.

The systems you help develop will be used to guide real rescue cases, animal care, volunteers, decision-making and future community programs.

Who we’re looking for

You may have professional experience in governance, risk management, compliance, policy development, quality assurance, internal audit, not-for-profit governance, community services, health, government, operational risk or animal welfare governance.

You do not need previous animal rescue experience.

We are particularly interested in people who are comfortable reviewing existing systems, asking good questions, identifying gaps and developing practical policies and procedures that people can actually use.

Commitment

Approximately 3–5 hours per week.

The role is flexible and can be completed remotely from anywhere in Australia.

We envisage an initial project period of approximately 3–6 months, with the opportunity to remain involved longer if mutually suitable.

You will work directly with Adam, with a short regular check-in to agree priorities, discuss decisions and review completed work.

Why volunteer with us?

Heartbeat Haven Sanctuary Inc is at a stage where the systems we build now will shape how the organisation operates for years to come.

This is an opportunity to use your professional experience on meaningful, practical work and help build a strong foundation for a growing animal rescue charity.