Clinical Director- Chronic (Mental Health)

St Vincent’s is redefining how chronic disease and mental health care are delivered—moving beyond fragmented systems to integrated, person‑centred care delivered seamlessly in the home. As Clinical Director – Chronic Care (Mental Health), you will lead the clinical vision, governance, and design of this transformation at a national scale. 

This role sits at the heart of Bringing Care Home—a flagship program shaping the future of integrated, home‑based care for people with complex and co‑occurring needs. 

Why This Role Is Different 

•  Build a National Benchmark for Integrated Care 

This is not about maintaining existing systems—it’s about creating new ones. 
You will design and govern an integrated model that brings together mental health, chronic disease, and psychosocial care, setting a new national standard for care delivered beyond hospital walls. 

• Influence at the Highest Level 

You will operate across clinical, strategic, and system leadership, partnering with executive leaders, government, and sector stakeholders to shape how care is designed, funded, and delivered—now and into the future. 

• Rare Executive‑Level Flexibility (0.4 FTE) 

A genuinely rare opportunity to hold a senior leadership portfolio role while maintaining clinical practice, academic work, or broader professional pursuits—without compromising impact or scope. 

The Role – In Essence 

You will provide senior clinical leadership and governance across integrated care pathways supporting people with: 

• Chronic disease and multimorbidity 

• Co‑occurring mental health conditions 

• Complex psychosocial and environmental needs 

Your work will ensure care is delivered safely, consistently, and evidence‑based across home, virtual, community, and acute settings—particularly for patients with the highest clinical and social complexity. 

What You Will Lead 

 Clinical Governance & Safety 

You will establish robust, risk‑aware clinical frameworks that enable safe care beyond hospital walls, including: 

• Escalation pathways for mental health deterioration 

• Suicide risk, behavioural complexity, and substance use 

• Cognitive impairment, capacity, and environmental risk factors 

Integrated Clinical Decision‑Making 

You will design joined‑up clinical pathways where mental and physical health are assessed and treated together—creating clarity, consistency, and safety across all care settings. 

Model of Care Innovation 

You will co‑create future‑focused, multidisciplinary models of care, integrating: 

• Medical, psychiatric, nursing, and allied health expertise 

• Virtual monitoring, early intervention, and proactive escalation 

• Trauma‑informed, recovery‑oriented, and person‑centred approaches 

System Leadership & Partnerships 

You will operate across a complex ecosystem—bringing together: 

• Mental health, addiction medicine, and chronic care services 

• Primary care, PHNs, NGOs, and state services 

• Virtual, community, and acute care environments 

Workforce Capability 

You will uplift capability across teams—ensuring clinicians are equipped to deliver high‑quality, integrated care in complex home environments, with confidence and clinical rigor. 

Who You Are 

You are a respected clinical leader and systems thinker, comfortable operating in complexity, influencing across disciplines, and shaping care beyond traditional models. 

You Bring 

• Current AHPRA registration and senior clinical expertise as a: 

• Psychiatrist 

• Psychogeriatrician 

• General Physician (mental health focus) 

• Addiction Medicine Specialist 

• Senior Mental Health Nurse Practitioner 

• Deep experience in: 

• Clinical governance and risk management 

• Integrated chronic disease and mental health care 

• A proven track record of: 

• Leading multidisciplinary teams 

• Designing, scaling, or evolving models of care 

You May Also Bring 

• Experience in home‑based, community, or virtual care models 

• Trauma‑informed, recovery‑oriented, or psychosocial care expertise 

• Exposure to digital health, innovation, or large‑scale system reform 

Why St Vincent’s 

For more than 165 years, St Vincent’s has led with purpose—delivering care grounded in compassion, justice, integrity, and excellence. 

Today, we are shaping the future of healthcare by: 

• Connecting care across systems and settings 

• Championing equity for people with the most complex needs 

• Transforming how care is delivered—beyond hospital walls 

This role is central to that transformation. 

What Success Looks Like 

In your first 12 months, you will have: 

• Designed and embedded integrated chronic + mental health care pathways 

• Strengthened clinical governance across home‑based models of care 

• Enabled safe, scalable care‑at‑home services for complex patients 

• Reduced avoidable hospital admissions and ED presentations 

• Established strong cross‑sector partnerships and system alignment 

How to Apply 

Please apply via the St Vincent’s Health Australia Careers Portal and submit: 

• Your current Curriculum Vitae 

• A cover letter 

• Responses to the mandatory targeted application questions outlined below 

Please note: Applications submitted via email will not be considered. 

Targeted Application Questions (Mandatory) 

As part of the application process, you are required to respond to the three targeted questions below (maximum 500 words per response). 

These responses are a critical component of the shortlisting process and should clearly demonstrate your: 

• Depth and breadth of clinical expertise and judgement 

• Experience operating in complex, multidisciplinary environments 

• Capability to lead system‑level change, innovation, and reform 

1. Integrated Care & Clinical Leadership 

Describe a time when you have designed, led, or significantly influenced a model of care that integrated mental health and physical health, or supported people with complex chronic disease. 

In your response, outline: 

• Your leadership approach and role in shaping the model 

• How clinical safety, governance, and integrated decision‑making were ensured 

• The measurable outcomes, impact, or system improvements achieved 

2. Clinical Risk, Governance & Escalation 

Provide an example of how you have identified, managed, and mitigated clinical risk in a complex care environment—particularly where factors such as mental health deterioration, behavioural risk, substance use, or psychosocial complexity were present. 

Please include: 

• How risk was assessed and monitored 

• The governance structures, escalation pathways, or frameworks applied 

• The outcome and what was learned 

3. System Leadership & the Future of Care 

From your perspective, what is required to design and deliver safe, scalable home‑based and virtual care models for people with chronic disease and co‑occurring mental health needs? 

In your response, address: 

• The key challenges and opportunities at a system level 

• What success looks like for integrated care delivered beyond hospital walls 

• How your experience positions you to lead this work within a national health system