About the National Film and Sound Archive

The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA) is Australia’s audiovisual archive, telling the national story by collecting, preserving and sharing audiovisual media, the cultural experience platforms of our time. The collection itself dates back to 1935 making it one of the world’s oldest audiovisual collections. It is also one of the country’s most used cultural collections, with around 125 million views of collection content each year. The NFSA is in a period of significant change. Following increased Government investment, the institution is in a process of transformation, with a goal to establish the NFSA as Australia’s most dynamic and valued cultural organisation.  

The NFSA aligns our work with the National Cultural Policy Revive, with the principle of ‘First Nations First’ being our priority. The NFSA collection includes significant First Nations film, video and audio recordings that are representative of culture, language, ceremony, story and song. We take our responsibility as custodians of this important material seriously, and our approach to collecting, preserving and sharing First Nations material in the collection takes place across every part of our organisation, led by our First Nations Engagement team and by First Nations individuals, communities and organisations. 

Our First Nations Engagement Strategy 2025-28 outlines the NFSA’s objectives: to ensure a culturally safe workplace and deliver First Nations employment pathways; to improve our understanding of First Nations collection material; to develop and preserve the First Nations collection; to repatriate and provide cultural access to the collection for First Nations communities; and to ensure First Nations perspectives and stories are front and centre in our sharing activity.  This is an exciting and ambitious agenda, and one which the NFSA is already well advanced in delivering, in partnership with First Nations people and organisations across Australia.  

Our work is guided by the expert advice of the NFSA First Nations Engagement Committee, comprising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people from across the GLAM and audiovisual sectors.  Further information on the membership of the Committee can be found at First Nations Engagement Committee | National Film and Sound Archive of Australia. 

Cultural Values

NFSA is an ambitious organisation, and we aim to be an employer of choice within the Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums (GLAM) sector, providing exciting and challenging work, as well as favourable employment conditions and unique development opportunities for our staff. 

3.5% of NFSA staff identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, and our goal is to increase this.   NFSA actively works across the GLAM sector and screen industry to attract skilled First Nations staff.  We also partner with training providers such as Artsready to provide professional training opportunities and career pathways for First Nations people.

NFSA has had a Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) in place since 2018, and in 2025 the NFSA launched its first Stretch RAP which sees reconciliation activity embedded across the organisation.  The NFSA CEO is the RAP Champion, and the whole of the NFSA Senior Executive team is responsible for facilitating and encouraging reconciliation activity. 

We are an equal opportunity employer, embracing a diverse range of applicants such as those identifying as LGBTQIA community members, individuals with disabilities and/or health conditions, as well as those from varied faith and cultural backgrounds. 

At the NFSA we prioritise the development of a safe, inclusive, and high-performance culture through shared actions and behaviours that align with our strategy and direction. This empowers our employees to effectively contribute to our goals.

The NFSA is committed to ensuring a child-safe and child-friendly environment. All employees are expected to demonstrate a commitment to, and support for these principles in theory and practice. 

About the Team 

The First Nations Engagement team comprises six staff based in Sydney and Canberra.  The team is supervised by the Deputy CEO and works closely with the CEO, the Chief Curator and the Chief Collection Preservation Officer.  The team comprises First Nations and Non-Indigenous staff with a broad range of expertise including curatorial, archival, digitisation, audiovisual production and project management skills. The team works with every area of the business to guide the responsible management, custodianship and appropriate sharing of First Nations material within the national collection.

The Opportunity

The Head of First Nations Engagement is a leadership role within the NFSA. The role reports to the Deputy CEO and works closely with the CEO (who is the RAP Champion) and the Senior Executive Team. The position also advises the Board and the First Nations Engagement Committee. 

The successful candidate will be an established First Nations leader in the Australian audiovisual industries or GLAM sector, as a curator, practitioner, producer, academic or executive. They will have a deep understanding of and experience with First Nations values and communities, experience working with audiovisual material and, ideally, an understanding of the archival collecting environment.

The filling of this vacancy is intended to constitute an affirmative measure under section 8(1) of the 'Racial Discrimination Act 1975'. This vacancy is only available to Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people. 

Please note: This recruitment process is intended to fill both current and future vacancies. While the position on offer is ongoing, a merit pool of suitable applicants may be established to fill similar ongoing and non-ongoing positions within the next 18 months.