About the Company
Davidson is proud to be partnering with Iberdrola Australia on the VNI West Project – a nationally significant transmission project supporting Australia’s clean energy transition.
Backed by Iberdrola’s global renewable energy expertise, VNI West will strengthen the national grid while delivering long-term economic, social and community outcomes across regional Victoria.
We are now seeking an experienced First Nations Engagement Lead to oversee Traditional Owner and First Nations engagement across the project corridor.
About the Role
Reporting to the Stakeholder Engagement Lead, the First Nations Engagement Lead will be responsible for developing and delivering the project’s Traditional Owner and First Nations engagement strategy.
This is a senior, highly visible role requiring strong cultural intelligence, commercial awareness and experience operating within major capital projects.
You will provide strategic advice to senior leadership while building long-term, respectful relationships with Traditional Owners.
What you’ll be doing
- Developing and leading the First Nations engagement strategy across the VNI West project
- Establishing and maintaining trusted relationships with Traditional Owners
- Leading negotiations relating to land access, cultural heritage and agreement frameworks
- Ensuring compliance with Native Title and cultural heritage legislation
- Advising senior project leaders on engagement risks and opportunities
- Managing Advisors and Coordinators within the engagement team
- Representing the project in high-level stakeholder and community forums
- Aligning engagement activities with project milestones and regulatory obligations
What you’ll bring
- Demonstrated experience leading First Nations engagement on major energy or infrastructure projects (ideally transmission line projects)
- Proven experience negotiating complex agreements with Traditional Owners
- Strong understanding of Native Title, ILUAs, CHMPs and land access frameworks
- Experience operating within large, structured capital project environments
- Highly developed stakeholder management and leadership capability
- Strong commercial and strategic judgement
Highly regarded experience includes:
- Experience across transmission, renewable energy, pipeline, rail or major corridor-based infrastructure projects
- Experience working within government-regulated project environments
This is an opportunity to play a defining role in one of Australia’s most significant energy infrastructure projects, ensuring respectful and meaningful partnerships with Traditional Owners throughout delivery.
Please apply with current resume in Microsoft Word format only (.doc or .docx). If you would like to have a confidential discussion, please contact William Stock on william.stock@davidsonwp.com, quoting reference JN -022026-42567. Want to know more about Davidson? Visit us at www.davidsonwp.com
