The Organisation
The Global Mining Guidelines Group (GMG, https://gmggroup.org/) is a not-for-profit, member-driven organisation that serves as the mining industry’s trusted, neutral platform for collaboration. Founded to address challenges that no single company can solve alone, GMG brings together operators/mining companies, OEMs, technology partners, and other stakeholders to produce practical standards, guidelines, and reference practices that accelerate safe, productive, and sustainable mining.
GMG’s membership spans approximately 200 organisations globally, including many of the world’s largest mining companies and technology providers. Its work is delivered through volunteer-led working groups, industry forums and events held across multiple continents, and a growing portfolio of published guidance documents.
The organisation is incorporated in Canada under the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act and governed by an elected Board of Directors representing member organisations across Australia, Canada, Europe, and Latin America.
The Opportunity
GMG is at a pivotal point. Following a period of leadership transition, the Board has completed a comprehensive strategic review to define the organisation’s direction and the leadership it needs. That process produced a clear mandate:
Re-engage GMG’s community and deliver focused, tangible outcomes that are adopted and demonstrate clear value to members and the mining industry — within the first 12-18 months.
This is a transformation leadership role. The new CEO will take an organisation with a strong brand, a loyal volunteer community, a unique position in the industry, and a clear mandate from its Board — and turn those assets into sustained, demonstrable impact.
The opportunity is to:
-Lead a focused organisation — GMG’s Board has done the strategic groundwork. The direction is set. The CEO’s job is to execute.
-Build on a unique industry position — No other organisation occupies GMG’s space as a neutral, cross-industry collaboration platform. The foundation is strong; it needs disciplined leadership to realise its potential.
-Re-energise a global community — GMG’s members and volunteers are its greatest asset. Many are deeply committed but need renewed confidence in GMG’s direction and delivery.
-Shape the future of mining collaboration — The mining industry faces generational challenges in safety, sustainability, technology adoption, and workforce transformation. GMG is positioned to be central to how the industry responds — with the right leadership.
Key Responsibilities
Strategic Execution
• Translate the Board-endorsed strategic direction into a focused operational plan with clear priorities, milestones, and completion criteria
• Manage a disciplined portfolio of working groups and initiatives — ensure each has a clear objective, defined scope, and measurable outcomes
• Drive the adoption of GMG’s outputs, not just their production — value is created when guidance is used, not when it is published
Member and Stakeholder Engagement
• Rebuild and strengthen relationships with member organisations at multiple levels — from C-suite sponsors to technical working group participants
• Represent GMG credibly to industry executives, government bodies, partner organisations, and the broader mining community
• Develop and maintain GMG’s value proposition so that members can clearly articulate why they belong
Financial Management
• Manage GMG’s finances with discipline and full transparency to the Board
• Deliver sustainable revenue through membership growth, event strategy, sponsorship, and new funding streams
• Operate within approved budgets with proactive reporting on variances and risks
Team and Volunteer Leadership
• Lead a small, dedicated staff team — set clear expectations, build accountability, and create a high-performance culture
• Sustain and grow GMG’s volunteer community — understand what motivates voluntary participation and create the conditions for productive engagement
• Manage contractor and advisory relationships effectively
Governance and Board Partnership
• Work with the Board as an active strategic partner — provide transparent reporting, seek input on direction, and maintain clear governance boundaries
• Operate with full autonomy over day-to-day operations while keeping the Board informed and engaged on strategic matters
Candidate Profile
Essential Capabilities
Execution and Delivery
A proven track record of taking plans from conception through to completion. You set clear objectives, manage to milestones, and close out initiatives. You have demonstrable experience of delivering tangible results, not just developing strategies.
Financial Discipline
You manage finances with rigour and full transparency. You forecast honestly, report proactively, allocate resources with discipline, and raise concerns early. Boards you have worked with will confirm they always knew where things stood.
Stakeholder Communication
You represent your organisation credibly across multiple audiences — from technical practitioners to senior executives. You adapt your communication to the audience without losing substance. You can deliver difficult messages with clarity and empathy.
Industry Credibility
You are taken seriously by senior leaders in the mining or resources sector. You have the standing and gravitas to engage C-suite executives at major companies and industry bodies as a peer, not a supplicant.
Strategic Focus
You know how to prioritise. You can evaluate competing demands against clear criteria and make the difficult choice to stop doing things that do not serve the organisation’s core mission. You resist the temptation to spread resources too thin.
Important Capabilities
Trust-Building
You rebuild confidence through consistent delivery and transparent communication. You understand that trust is earned through action, not words, and you have experience repairing relationships in organisations or communities that have been through difficult periods.
Courage
You are willing to make tough decisions — on priorities, on performance, on resource allocation — and communicate them directly. You act with conviction while remaining open to feedback.
Planning and Implementation
You can break strategic direction into resourced, time-bound work programmes and manage them through to adoption. You understand the difference between producing an output and achieving an outcome.
Domain Expertise
Mining industry experience is strongly preferred. GMG’s membership is composed of mining professionals who expect their industry body to be led by someone who understands their world. Candidates with significant mining or resources sector experience will have a natural advantage in building credibility with the community.
Strong candidates from adjacent industries — heavy industry, resources, professional associations, or international not-for-profit organisations — will be considered if they demonstrate exceptional capability across all other criteria.
Character
Three qualities are non-negotiable:
• Integrity — You are honest, ethical, and do the right thing even when it is difficult
• Accountability — You own outcomes, take responsibility, and follow through on commitments
• Transparency — You communicate openly, share information proactively, and operate without hidden agendas
What the Board Offers
This is not a role where the CEO is left to figure things out alone. GMG’s Board brings:
• A clear strategic mandate — The direction has been defined through a rigorous, consensus-driven process. The CEO’s job is to execute, not to start from scratch.
• Decision rights from day one — Full operational authority within approved governance and financial frameworks. The Board is hands-on for strategy and governance, hands-off for operations.
• Collective industry experience — Board members represent major mining companies and bring decades of operational, technical, and leadership experience across multiple continents.
• Active partnership — Monthly structured engagement with the Chair, quarterly reviews with the full Board, and genuine support — not just oversight.
The Board wants a mature, autonomous leader. Coaching and strategic support are available; close management is not the intent.
Success in Year One
The Board will assess the CEO’s impact against these markers:
Within the First 6 Months
• Clear strategic priorities established and communicated — no more than five
• Financial reporting framework delivering monthly Board visibility
• Working group portfolio reviewed — low-value initiatives paused or closed
• Key member relationships actively re-engaged
• Staff team aligned to clear objectives with accountability structures
Within the First 12 Months
• Tangible outputs delivered from priority working groups — with evidence of adoption
• Membership retention improved — renewal rates trending upward
• Financial position stabilised and tracking to budget
• Events strategy clarified — each event has defined success criteria
• GMG recognised as a credible and active voice in its priority areas
About the Mining Industry Context
The global mining industry is navigating significant transformation — electrification, automation, decarbonisation, digital technologies, and evolving workforce expectations. These challenges are too large and too complex for any single company to address alone, which is precisely why GMG exists.
The industry’s largest companies — BHP, Rio Tinto, Vale, Epiroc, Caterpillar, Komatsu, and many others — participate in GMG because collaboration on pre-competitive challenges accelerates progress for everyone. The CEO’s role is to ensure that GMG delivers on this promise in ways that are tangible, practical, and valued by the industry.