Michelle Varcoe MAICD MAHRI MFIA
CEO & Founder / Director
Michelle has 20+ years’ experience in Executive Search, Recruitment & HR. She transitioned her recruitment career to focus on the ‘for purpose’ sector in 2008 and has since successfully managed many CEO’s and Senior Leadership appointments, mainly in Fundraising, Philanthropy, Marketing, Communications, Finance, HR and Operations. Previously, she led recruitment assignments across the Commercial, Health, Financial Services, Sales & Marketing sectors.
Michelle brings recruitment expertise, plus insights in fundraising and philanthropy, having managed capital and major gift programs from feasibility and strategy through to implementation and ‘the ask’ to confirm transformational gifts.
Michelle is a Director, Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria Foundation, Trustee of Museum of Australian Photography (MAPh, formerly Monash Gallery of Art) and an active member of the Melbourne Women’s Fund. Michelle is a professional member of the Fundraising Institute of Australia (FIA), Philanthropy Australia, Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), EducatePlus, Australian Human Resources Institute (AHRI) and Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Jenni D’Orival
Recruitment MANAGER
B.Management (Marketing, HR), B.A.Sc (Human Movement)
Jenni has experience in the not-for-profit sector which spans more than 15 years and she brings an understanding of and passion for the sector. Jenni joined Gembridge in 2020, and combines her NFP knowledge and recruitment skills to lead various projects, with a focus on fundraising, philanthropy, marketing & communications appointments.
Jenni has a background working in fundraising, communications and marketing within the sector including roles such as Fundraising Manager and Direct Marketing & Communications Manager, managing many aspects of fundraising including appeals and campaigns, trusts and foundations, corporate partnerships, and fundraising strategy.
MALU FABELLO
SENIOR RECRUITMENT CONSULTANT
Master’s (Management), B.A.
Malu is a seasoned professional with extensive experience in recruitment, executive advisory roles and strategic leadership. Dedicated to making a positive impact on the non-profit sector, Malu brings a strong commitment to fostering positive change.
Malu is particularly passionate about promoting the arts as part of her broader commitment to community development, empowering minority groups and celebrating diversity.
DAWN PATRICK
RECRUITMENT CONSULTANT
Dawn has a background working in the Healthcare and Education industries as well as Event & Project Management, spanning over the last 15 years. It was through these roles that she cultivated the skills that now enable her to move clients and candidates efficiently and effectively through the recruitment process and onto successful outcomes for both.
Dawn enjoys meeting people and forging new relationships. In doing so, she searches for ‘gem’ candidates, to connect them with roles they can shine in. After joining the team in 2022, Dawn is enjoying her focus on working with the For Purpose sector, covering roles from Partnerships to Direct Marketing to Trusts & Foundations.
TESSA O’NEILL
RECRUITMENT CONSULTANT
Joining us with a diverse background in both recruitment and hospitality management, Tessa is passionate about curating memorably positive client and candidate experiences. She approaches recruitment with kindness and empathy, endeavouring to go above and beyond to understand the intricacies of each unique project, team and organisation.
Tessa is passionate about DEIB, understanding the immense benefits that mindfulness within this space can offer organisations and individuals. She is committed to ongoing development within this area and the continual management of unconscious biases that can arise throughout the recruitment process.
Out of office hours, you'll find Tessa practising yoga, reading or searching for Melbourne's best coffee and croissant.
lauren taylor
associate consultant
With a diverse background in Healthcare, Arts and most recently Healthcare Recruitment, each of Lauren’s experiences over the last 15 years has been underpinned by a strong customer focus.
Lauren is passionate about providing outstanding candidate care and understands the nuances of supporting people through that important journey.
Lauren also holds a Certification in Professional Writing & Editing. When she is not crafting job advertising or articles for Gembridge, she is writing her first novel.
Jenny Nicholls
Marketing & communications Manager
Jenny brings more than 10 years of experience in the not-for-profit sector through roles in fundraising, marketing and communications.
Jenny’s introduction to fundraising began through donor care roles. She then worked in regular giving, and later on, direct marketing, appeals and campaigns in community radio. It was through direct marketing that she found her passion for storytelling and therefore trained as a fundraising copywriter.
After spending some time as a freelance writer, she joined an international development organisation where she led end-to-end, multi-channel fundraising campaigns as well as strategy, graphic design, donor communications and digital platforms such as website development and management and social media.
TROY VARCOE
DIRECTOR, Manager OF FINANCE, TECHNOLOGY & BUSINESS TRANSFORMATION
With a background embedded in business transformations and establishing high performing teams, Troy brings a wealth of knowledge for strategy and business improvement and managing business operations including finance, technology, systems, risk and compliance.
Leroy
Director of Wellbeing
Recruitment Services
Have a look at the range of recruitment services we provide to the not-for-profit sector…