Director School Effectiveness – Primary; Catholic Education Services, Cairns, NQ

The Catholic school system is an integral part of the Church. The Catholic Diocese of Cairns extends from Cardwell in the south, west to the Northern Territory border including the Atherton Tablelands, and north to gulf country, Cape York Peninsula and the Torres Strait Islands.

The Catholic Education Community – Diocese of Cairns, is a partnership between Catholic Education Services and twenty-nine schools which provide a quality education to almost 11,200 students. Cairns Catholic Education is partnering with James Cook University to open its 30th school in 2022.

With the exception of schools in Weipa, Cooktown and Thursday Island, all schools and colleges are within two hours driving time from Cairns. Leadership and strategic management of the system of schools is the responsibility of the Executive Director of Catholic Education Services, who is the employer of all Catholic Education staff in the Diocese.

Other quick facts:

• About one in four school students in the Far North attends a Catholic school
• Not all students are Catholic or come from Catholic families or backgrounds – enrolments also comprise families that demonstrate support for the values associated with Catholic schools – social and emotional development, value frameworks, safety and discipline, partnerships and a sense of belonging
• Catholic schools consistently perform well in NAPLAN, QCE and OP results for Year 12, with strong VET pathways, enhanced through the colleges’ Trade Training Centres
• All schools have a strong family focus and dedicated parent involvement through P&Fs and volunteer programs
• Catholic schools and Catholic education employ more than 1,700 people – one of, if not the largest non-government employer in the region

Further Information

Further information about Catholic Education in the Diocese of Cairns is available from the website: www.cns.catholic.edu.au

To access information on the Leadership Team, the current Strategic Directions document and the CES Frameworks click here.

Position Overview

Position Title: Director School Effectiveness – Primary

Reports to:       Deputy Executive Director

Position Purpose

The Catholic Education Community vision ‘to offer quality Catholic education so that each person may know and come to identify more fully with the living Spirit of Christ’ inspires and guides the professional roles of service and ministry to students, families, and schools within a spirit of subsidiarity and co-responsibility.

In this context, the Director: School Effectiveness assists schools and colleges in embedding the dimensions of the School Effectiveness Framework. This is achieved by ensuring that schools and colleges have:

1. Embedded a lived and celebrated Catholic identity that inspires, animates and permeates all relationships, structures, processes, and learning and teaching.
2. Established and are driving an explicit improvement agenda.
3. Prioritised school wide analysis and discussion of systematically collected data on student outcomes.
4. Established respectful, caring and positive relationships between staff, students and parents.
5. Applied resources in a targeted manner to meet the learning and spiritual needs of all students.
6. Procedures in place to encourage a schoolwide, shared responsibility for student learning success. Schools explicitly develop a culture of professional development and spiritual formation that includes on the job learning, collegial feedback, mentoring and coaching arrangements.
7. A coherent, sequenced plan for curriculum delivery that ensures consistent learning and teaching expectations and a clear reference for monitoring learning across the year levels.
8. A plan to identify and address the learning needs of individual students.
9. Encouraged the use of research-based teaching practices in all classrooms to ensure that every student is engaged, challenged and learning successfully.
10. Procedures in place to ensure effective communications and to monitor and evaluate the intended impacts of the school’s partnerships.

These responsibilities will be undertaken in response to system priorities and policy direction from the Board of Governance (through the Executive Director), and in alignment with the CES Strategic Directions, the CES School Effectiveness Framework, the CES Leadership Framework and the Defining Features of Catholic Schools.

A full position description will be provided later in this recruitment process.

Key Relationships

The position reports to the Deputy Executive Director. The position also has a collegial relationship with the Executive Director, The Vicar for Education, Principals, The Bishop and the Clergy of the Diocese.

The position is a member of the Strategic Leadership Team of Catholic Education Services.

The position will also from time to time be a member of various Diocesan committees, QLD Directors Forum committees, National committees and represent the Diocese at QCEC level.

This position currently supports 10 primary schools.

An organisation chart will be provided as you progress through this process.

Commencement

The commencement date is negotiable but ideally the successful applicant will be able to start by the end of Term 2 of the 2021 school year.

Location and Travel

The Main Office is located at 130 Lake St., Cairns. The nature of the role means much time will be spent within schools.

Conditions of Employment

• Total Employment Package – $214,123 which is inclusive of superannuation and leave loading
• Five-year contract with annual review through a review of a Professional Growth in Action Plan. The precise nature and range of duties will evolve and develop during the course of the contract and be determined in consultation with the Executive Director.
• The position is a full-time leadership position, which involves extended hours, evening meetings, overnight absence and interstate travel ranging over seven days.
• A non-smoking policy is effective in CES buildings, offices, and motor vehicles.
• The Diocese has a relocation policy to assist, if required
• Applicants will require a current “C” Class Drivers Licence
• The Working with Children (Risk Management & Screening) Act 2000 requires the preferred applicant to be subject to “working with children check” as part of the employment screening process. Further details may be obtained by accessing the web site of the Public Safety Business Agency at the following internet address: https://www.bluecard.qld.gov.au
• Confirmation of employment is conditional upon the preferred applicant being issued with a suitability card from the Public Safety Business Agency.

Selection Criteria

We invite expressions of interest from people who align with the following:

• Participation in and commitment to the sacramental life of the Catholic Church.
• A strong commitment to the objectives, vision, and ethos of Catholic Education.
• Minimum 5 years of experience as a Principal in a Primary or P-12 school. Secondary principals with an understanding of the primary setting are also encouraged to apply.
• Participation, innovation and research in the disciplines of school organisation and leadership development.
• Registration as Teacher with Post Graduate qualifications in education or related discipline, together with a record of continuing professional development.

Are You Interested in This Opportunity?

If you are interested in this role, simply complete the ‘Express Your Interest’ panel on this page; or email jobs@traksearch.com quoting ref number TS1446. Whichever you choose, please provide a brief resume and contact telephone number.

If you are NOT interested in this role but would like to be advised of future leadership positions, click here to register for our job alerts.

Questions can be directed to either (a) Director John Chesher (0417 068 220) or (b) email to jobs@traksearch.com.

The timeline and details for this project are outlined below. All emails and applications are acknowledged within 48 hours.

The Selection Process

Key dates as follows:

Trak Search has been instructed to provide a process that is welcoming for people interested in this role. Significant aspects include:

• Throughout the process, Trak Search is available for your confidential enquiries.
• Applications are invited until close of business on the date shown above. A late application could be accepted, providing it does not adversely impact other applications or the CES schedule.
• We expect to contact one work-related referee and a Catholic Priest referee prior to shortlisting, with additional references completed later in the process.
• All information provided to Trak Search will be made available prior to shortlisting, in confidence, to the Executive Director or his nominee unless you instruct Trak Search otherwise.
• If you would like a more comprehensive understanding of the Trak Search process, click here to access the ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.

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