About us

Macular Disease Foundation Australia is a national for-purpose organisation fighting for sight and representing people living with macular disease and their carers. Our purpose is to reduce the impact of macular disease – the leading cause of blindness and severe vision loss in Australia.

Macular Disease Foundation is building our impact and expanding our reach to benefit more Australians living with eye disease.

Macular Disease Foundation works across four strategic pillars:

1. Support and care for people living with macular disease

We provide information and support to people living with macular disease, as well as their families and carers. This support includes evidence-based information and education resources, psychosocial support, and practical assistance to help people navigate the health and aged care systems.

2. Advocacy

We advocate to influence government policy on the health and social issues affecting our community, with the aim of improving access to affordable treatment and better quality of life for people living with macular disease.

3. Research

We invest in vital research focused on improving the management and treatment of macular disease, advancing towards cures, and building the evidence base through social impact studies.

4. Community awareness and early detection

We deliver public awareness campaigns and education to promote early detection of macular disease, including our annual awareness campaign held each May, known as Macula Month.

About this role

There are currently two vacancies on the Board of Macular Disease Foundation.

The Macular Disease Foundation Board are all volunteers committed to improving the lives of those living with macular disease.

Macular Disease Foundation is a national organisation and we welcome applications from all parts of Australia, and people with lived experience of vision loss.

The Board meets 6 times a year with a combination of in-person and online meetings.

Our Board Directors are responsible for:

• Setting the culture, values and ethical standards throughout the organisation
• Upholding MDFA’s reputation and corporate integrity
• Driving MDFA’s strategy and monitoring business performance
• Oversight of the financial performance of the organisation
• Establishing appropriate standards of corporate governance and legal and regulatory compliance
• Oversight of the risk management framework, and ensuring appropriate systems are in place to identify and manage business risks.
• Effective engagement with MDFA’s stakeholders.

About you

This role requires:

• AICD qualifications and/or previous Board experience
• Strong interpersonal skills; and commitment to working constructively with the Board and management.

The ideal candidate(s) will contribute to the following areas of experience and expertise

• Individuals who can bridge clinical eye health knowledge and industry experience with commercial or business expertise.
• Enhanced capability in media, marketing and communications, potentially incorporated within broader digital capability.
• Digital/data capability, including data and systems; and emerging capability in artificial intelligence (AI), particularly in driving operational efficiency and organisational effectiveness.
• People who can bring lived experience of macular disease either through their own condition or from a family connection.

Essential requirements

• Directors should devote the necessary time and attention to enable the Board to carry out its responsibilities.
• Directors should be free of any business or other relationship that could materially interfere with, or could reasonably be perceived to materially interfere with, the oversight of the organisation.
• Directors are not offered remuneration. This is a volunteer role.

Contact

Please contact Dr Kathy Chapman via [email protected] using the subject line: Non-Executive Board Directors x2 (Voluntary) enquiry via EthicalJobs for further information about the role.

No recruiters please.