Selection Criteria

KEY SELECTION CRITERIA

- Victorian Public Sector Values as detailed in Organisational Values section above
- Proven record of leading high-effect improvement strategies across school settings in order to lift performance and achievement levels.
- Extensive knowledge of and experience in education and training sectors including strategic acumen and an understanding of systems, institutions and stakeholder perspectives.
- Extensive strategy and change management experience, and experience in the leadership and management of policy implementation and service delivery in large complex organisations undergoing significant structural and cultural change.
- High effect interpersonal, communication, facilitation and people management capabilities, and a demonstrated capacity to build strong stakeholder relationships and to work effectively at the community level to gain commitment of others to agreed goals.
- Demonstrated financial acumen and highly effective budget management experience.
 

Role

ROLE CONTEXT

Schools and Regional Services 

Schools and Regional Services comprises 17 Areas within four regions across the state, as well as 5 central Divisions. The responsibilities of Schools and Regional Services include:

- service delivery including performance, contract management, funding delivery and acquittal
- program implementation including detailed implementation planning and delivery
- local area engagement, advice, support and partnerships
- workforce capability development, professional practice leadership and delivery
- emergency management including critical incident response
- supporting strong regional partnerships with early childhood services, schools and other education providers to deliver high-quality services and outcomes with a 0-18 focus.

 The regional model is designed to:

- connect between central government policy and the delivery of high quality services to Victorians
- drive outcomes across all stages of learning through expert advice and support
- connect with families, service providers, schools and communities
- lead, collaborate and partner at a local level to overcome social and economic challenges facing our communities, towns and cities
- deliver health, wellbeing and support services to children, young people and their families to assist them in their learning and development
- improve connectedness and transitions between important points in a child's life - such as between early childhood, kindergarten, school and tertiary education
assist and support children and young people who are vulnerable, disengaged, and those with disabilities or challenging behaviour.

ROLE PURPOSE & KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

Senior Education Improvement Leaders (SEILs) play a key leadership role for Schools and Regional Services (SRS) within the Department of Education and Training (DET).  The role provides critical system leadership, supporting the Deputy Secretary to ensure that the regions operate efficiently, cohesively and in alignment with the Schools and Regional Services Strategy.

The role is primarily responsible for providing local leadership in the multi-disciplinary area teams, collaborating across and within area teams to identify and address support required, and drive coordinated action to ensure schools take the most effective and strongly evidenced based approaches to improvement.

Under the leadership of the Education Area Executive Director, and under the guidance of the region's Executive Director, School Improvement, the SEIL role drives a state-wide consistent, aligned and coherent approach to planning, implementation and delivery of service support to schools and other services for learners, children and families.

SEILs are responsible for the delivery of  improved learning and development outcomes in their local area, by working proactively with approximately 25 schools each, providing enhanced guidance and direction for school improvement, and supporting principals and their leadership teams to:

- Use available data to analyse and interpret school performance indicators in order to assist schools undertake a robust self-evaluation
- Assist schools to evaluate the impact of their school improvement strategies on student outcomes 
- Develop a school strategic plan and annual implementation plan to implement the Framework for Improving Student Outcomes (FISO), in particular the use of high-impact strategies that focus on high-quality teaching, deliver instructional improvement, and the evaluation of the impact of these strategies to drive an unrelenting focus on improving student outcomes
- Actively support principals to manage their workforce, and in particular, helping them to regularly engage in meaningful performance conversations with teachers which use evidence to identify professional learning needs, recognise high performance and address persistent underperformance or unsatisfactory performance. 
- Oversee sound financial practices and managing all resources strategically, including the Student Resource Package (SRP), 
- Broker internal support as appropriate from the area multi-disciplinary team for individual schools, geographic networks or FISO initiative networks 
- Participate in joint work on areas of common practice and facilitating the sharing of excellent practice across the system, particularly relating to the high impact strategies in FISO
- Broker links with organisations, early years and VET services and agencies that support the learning, development and wellbeing of their students
- Play a key role in school networks, building the collective school improvement capacity of network schools to implement FISO, facilitating a robust, Community of Practice approach and behaviours within networks, and collaborating closely with network chairs on network strategy.
- Ensure that principals establish an on-site professional learning program based on evidence that includes  collaborative practice such as classroom observation and feedback, curriculum planning and assessment and student voice that drives collective responsibility for all learners.

SEILs, in conjunction with Education Area Executive Directors, support the integration of the local area learning and development system by:

- strengthening relationships, networks and partnerships between corporate DET, school leaders and other government and community organisations; 
- facilitating the area's contribution to lifting learner achievement and outcomes for all schools and early childhood services; and improving pathways and transitions to higher education.
- Liaising with early childhood providers on provision challenges, drawing them into networks as appropriate to facilitate the joining up of services and the delivery of seamless transitions for children and young people, and identifying opportunities to improve early childhood outcomes.
- Supporting schools and early childhood services to meet their obligations in supporting vulnerable children and families, Koorie children and young people, learners with disabilities and special learning needs, refugee and asylum seeker children, and learners at serious risk of educational failure
- Identifying local issues that might require a system response and providing feedback to central Groups as appropriate through the Education Area Executive Director or Regional Director
- Ensure that principals create leadership structures and program build learner and teacher capacity in their schools and support state-wide programs for building capacity such as Local Leaders program and Professional Learning Communities. 

Senior Education Improvement Leaders:

- are a trusted mentor and collaborator for principals, in regular contact, engaging in conversations about how to continually improve and sharing successful strategies to tackle specific challenges or take advantage of opportunities- are the primary point of contact for Principals but able to refer on to the correct person or service in DET for more tailored support
- provide proactive support for new and acting principals, as well as principals operating in difficult and challenging circumstances
- play a key role in principal appointment, performance and development, and school review processes (as delegated by the Regional Director)
- demonstrate strong financial management skills, exemplify integrity and set a standard for others, support others to manage conflicts of interest, use resources responsibly, and model public sector values (integrity, accountability, impartiality, responsiveness, respect, leadership and commitment to human rights).

Responsibilities

KEY ACCOUNTABILITES AND KEY ACTIVITIES 

Regional leadership, strategy and service delivery development

- Contribute to the development of regional priorities and service delivery with a focus on lifting outcomes for all children and young people at the local level. 
- Contribute to regional system and service redesign and improvement.
- Support schools to build their leadership and school improvement capacity, particularly in the implementation of FISO.
- Play a key role in the leadership of multi-disciplinary area teams.
- Take a leadership role for specific region and area-wide projects or committees as required by the Regional Director or Education Area Executive Director. 
- Maintain a focus on high risk and/or high impact areas and take personal responsibility for managing issues and risks effectively at the regional and local level, including integrity and compliance risks.

Facilitating and maintaining effective regional relationships

- Manage internal and external relationships to initiate and implement system change as related to the Education State. 
- Build strong relationships with individual principals, as well as across school networks, and facilitate positive relationships between the multi-disciplinary area team, the region, the centre and schools, principals and networks.
- Contribute to cross-agency and sector collaboration, strengthening relationships, networks and partnerships between corporate DET, school leaders and other government and community organisations within the local area.
- Influence change in the area, including through the exchange of information, and through proactive advocacy for lifting child and learner outcomes. 
 

System planning

- Play a key role in the implementation of Education State initiatives and provide implementation insights to inform ongoing policy design.

School and early childhood service monitoring and  improvement strategies

- Play a key role in the implementation of the Regional Performance Framework through area-level assessment and monitoring of the quality and effectiveness of area-level service delivery, identification of risks to quality and effective service delivery and gaps in service provision.
- Support all schools to implement the FISO improvement cycle, including tailoring, amending and monitoring their School Strategic Plans, Annual Implementation Plans, and principal and teacher performance and development plans to reflect FISO initiatives.
- Lead improvement strategies at the local level.
- Participate as agreed in government school principal selection and contract renewal, and support principal performance and development processes.
 

Who May Apply

This role is open to all classifications.

EEO AND OHS Commitment

Child Safe Standards

DE Values

Other Information

Conditions of Employment

Location Profile