Chief Executive Officer

The organisation

Inclusion Melbourne (IM) is Victoria’s oldest community support provider for people with an intellectual disability.  It was formed in the late 1940s as the Gawith Villa by a group of revolutionary parents who wanted to find an alternative to the institutional care that was the only option being offered at the time.  By the early 1990s, IM transformed from the old day program model to personalised services, placing the organisation ahead of its time in the sector for disability support, and as a leader under the current NDIS climate. Today, IM is the only service provider for adults with intellectual disability that at the core focuses on social inclusion, employment, education, community participation and citizenship. 

With a staff of 84 and annual revenue of circa $ 7 million, the organisation is also extremely proud of its own, highly regarded volunteer program. Some 200 volunteers with extraordinary levels of application and participation allow IM to extend their mission delivery.

IM is also a registered training organisation (Inclusion Training) with three training sites around Melbourne in Malvern East, Sunshine and Armadale. Since the late 1990s, the organisation has been providing highly personalised literacy and numeracy classes to people with a disability, utilising the Partner Assisted Learning System that was jointly developed with Deakin University.  The RTO also offers courses for individuals working in the Disability Sector.

IM is the first disability service provider in Victoria to have transitioned into a fully personalised, flexible person-centred service that supports more than 155 adults with an intellectual disability to live the way they want.  Service offerings include support coordination, direct support, community visitation, and volunteering. 

The brief

Through best practice research and innovation, Inclusion Melbourne provides leadership to both state and federal governments in policy development and sector reform. Inclusion Designlab is the engine room for policy development, research and innovation, providing accessible materials (published assets) and training for families and collegiate organisations.  Bringing together people with an intellectual disability, community organisations, and the world’s leading disability researchers, Inclusion Designlab develops cutting-edge models of practice, choice and citizenship. The team’s combined work in community development projects, research partnerships, quality, practice training, communications, and project design is unique in Victoria’s disability sector.

IM is also an auspice of the Community Visitor Scheme, an Australian government initiative that aims at reducing and/or preventing the impact of social isolation amongst older Australians. The program achieves this by matching volunteers with older Australians in the local community. Inclusion Melbourne is proud to have been an auspice of the Community Visitor Scheme since 2014, with the role of recruiting, training and supporting volunteer-friendly visitors; matching friendly visitors to care recipients and supporting constructive visitor and recipient relationships.

Following the resignation of the CEO, Andrew James, the IM Chairman, Chris Allan, invited Brooker Consulting to submit a confidential proposal for the provision of executive search and selection services to assist the Board in the appointment of an outstanding Chief Executive Officer, to build on the organisation’s strong foundations.

The process

Inclusion Melbourne chose Brooker Consulting to partner with, and following a comprehensive executive search process, underpinned by extensive external advertising, a shortlist of nine outstanding candidates was presented to the selection panel. After two rounds of panel interviews, Helen Williams was identified as the preferred candidate.

The outcome

Helen has had over 25 years’ diverse industry experience across the not-for-profit, sport, education, and corporate sectors. Most recently, Helen held the role of Executive Director of Business Engagement and Inclusion at Jobsbank Ltd, a not-for-profit, for-purpose Victorian authority on social procurement, diversity, and inclusive employment. 

Helen’s career experience and achievements in senior management and leadership roles are a testament to her capacity to understand and navigate complex environments. She is an influential and decisive leader who has built strong financial success, robust and strategic relationships with corporate and community sectors, government, and civil society.

Helen commenced as the CEO in December 2022.