Head of Strategic Relations

Sydney · Part-time (1–2 days per week) · Flexible Arrangement

Organisation: ECI Partners

Role Title: Head of Strategic Relationships

Engagement: Part-time - 1 to 2 days per week to start Location Sydney (with national exposure)

Reporting To: Partners

Sector Focus: Corporate, Government, Infrastructure, Professional Services, NFP

ABOUT ECI PARTNERS

ECI Partners is a boutique advisory firm operating at the intersection of strategy, leadership and team effectiveness. We help organisations sharpen direction, lift leadership capability and align people behind purpose - transforming ambition into action and leadership into lasting impact.

Recent client feedback indicates ECI is consistently experienced as a high-trust, high-impact boutique partner that delivers meaningful leadership and team performance outcomes in complex environments. Clients select ECI primarily due to the strength of relationships, the quality and credibility of the team, and the ability to translate complex leadership challenges into practical, actionable outcomes.

We don't do off-the-shelf. Every engagement is bespoke and deeply contextual. Our team brings the credibility of lived experience - former executives, entrepreneurs, psychologists and coaches who've genuinely sat in the seat. While accomplished, our team is highly authentic and 'low ego'. We work at enterprise level, with teams and with individuals, and we're trusted for the quality of our thinking, the depth of our relationships and the real-world impact of our work.

Our clients include major corporates, government agencies, infrastructure organisations and leading professional services firms. We have a strong, respected brand - and the feedback we receive is consistently clear: our clients trust us, value us and want more of us. This role is about connecting that capacity to more of the right organisations.

WHY WE'RE CREATING THIS ROLE

We know our work creates significant impact. Our client feedback is clear - there is appetite for deeper, broader and more enterprise-wide engagement, and genuine demand in sectors including state government, infrastructure and complex industrial environments. What we need is someone who can systematically open those doors.

This isn't a traditional sales role. Our services are intangible and deeply relational - credibility, trust and judgment matter far more than a script. We're looking for someone who understands that, and who can build genuine commercial relationships at a senior level on behalf of a firm they're proud to represent.

THE ROLE

Reporting directly to the Partners, you will lead ECI's business development effort - principally focused on developing new B2B relationships and converting them into engagements. You will also nurture and grow a number of existing client relationships, identifying opportunities to deepen our work with organisations we already partner with.

This is a senior, autonomous role with real commercial accountability. You'll work closely with the Partners on strategy and positioning, while owning the BD pipeline and relationship development activity day to day.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

New Business Development

–Identify, target and build relationships with prospective client organisations across private and public sectors

–Develop and execute a structured approach to prospecting - including very selected state government procurement opportunities and panel registrations

–Represent ECI at senior levels, building credibility and trust with C-suite, HR and People & Culture leaders, and board-level stakeholders

–Convert relationships into initial engagements through thoughtful, consultative selling - never high-pressure, always genuinely value-led

Existing Client Growth

–Manage and develop a portfolio of existing client relationships, deepening ECI's engagement and identifying adjacent opportunities

–Work with the Partners to convert strong individual relationships into more embedded, organisation-wide partnerships

–Support clients in articulating the value of our work internally - helping to make our impact more visible and measurable

Strategy & Market Positioning

–Bring informed, current market intelligence - what's shifting in leadership development, organisational consulting and adjacent spaces

–Contribute to ECI's thinking on how to position the firm for growth, including around scalable offerings, thought leadership and market visibility

–Identify and help navigate government procurement frameworks and panel opportunities

WHO YOU ARE

You are a commercially sharp, senior professional who has built a career on developing trust-based B2B relationships and selling services where the value is genuinely intangible. You know how to navigate complex organisations, read the room in a senior conversation and represent a firm with authenticity.

You're mature and measured, but still genuinely energetic about new conversations and new opportunities. You bring approaches and perspectives that may be new to us - and you're excited by that. You don't need a large team or infrastructure around you to be effective. You work with discipline and judgment.

EXPERIENCE & ATTRIBUTES

Essential

-Demonstrated track record selling intangible professional services — executive search, recruitment, management consulting, leadership advisory, organisational psychology or similar

–Confident and credible representing a firm at CEO, CHRO, General Counsel and senior public sector levels

–Genuine hunter mentality — you enjoy the early stages of a relationship and can create opportunity through your own activity, not just inbound leads

–Commercial acumen and a current, informed perspective on the business and organisational landscape — particularly in Australia

–Experience navigating B2B sales cycles for relationship-led, project-based or retainer services

–Exposure to state or federal government as a client base — with an understanding of procurement frameworks

Highly Regarded

–Background in executive search, management consulting, leadership consulting or organisational development

–Existing network across HR, People & Culture and senior leadership communities in Sydney and beyond

–Experience introducing new offerings or thought leadership to market

–Understanding of coaching, facilitation or leadership development as a service category

The Person

–Professional and polished, but not formal - warm, direct and easy to be around

–Self-directed and disciplined - comfortable working independently without a management layer

–Genuine curiosity about organisations, leadership and what makes people and teams effective

–High integrity - you represent the firm's reputation in every interaction

THE ARRANGEMENT

We're open to the right structure for the right person. Initially, we're envisaging 1–2 days per week - which could grow as the relationship develops. We expect this to be a mix of base retainer and performance-linked components, with remuneration commensurate with the seniority and experience required.

This is an opportunity to work closely with a respected, high-quality team and to play a meaningful role in shaping the next chapter of ECI's growth. If you're looking for an engagement that's genuinely interesting - where you'll be trusted, respected and well supported - this may be the right conversation to have.

EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

We welcome a confidential conversation. Please reach out directly to the Partners at ECI.

Email: ***email_hidden***

Web: www.eci.net.au

Phone: +61 2 9227 4500