Principal – Iona College, Brisbane, QLD

Established in 1957, Iona College is an independent Catholic boys school, owned and administered by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate. It is located in the Brisbane bayside suburb of Lindum, near Wynnum, and caters for approx. 1,600 students from Years 5 to 12 inclusive.

Inspired by the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the life of St Eugene de Mazenod, the Iona College community focusses on educating and empowering young men to dare to make a positive difference throughout their lives and to the lives of others.  Our Mission is to learn, live, lead and serve as a Catholic learning community within the Oblate spirit.

Iona College Ltd was established in 2007 by the Oblates to assume responsibility for governance of the College. The College Board is accountable to the Oblates for the effective operation of the College faithful to the Oblation mission and tradition.

Further Information

Additional information, including the Strategic Plan 2017 – 2020, can be viewed on the College website located at:  https://www.iona.qld.edu.au

The College YouTube channel provides a wide range of videos to allow you to get a sense of the vibrancy of the Iona College community – access by clicking here

Position Overview

Position Title: Principal

Reports to:       Rector, Fr Michael Twigg, OMI

This is a new role, created as an outcome of a strategic review. From this strategic review the Oblates determined that their mission and tradition as well as the College strategic plan would be better served by a restructure of the College leadership team.

Context of the Position

The Rector is the Chief Executive Officer and Executive Principal of Iona College Ltd and is accountable to the College Board for the effective development and implementation of the strategic directions of the College.  The Rector is responsible for and leads the College and has a significant relationship with the Principal to accomplish this at a strategic level.  The Rector has leadership responsibility with the College Strategic Team and the Faith Leadership Team.

The Principal is an executive leadership position, accountable to the Rector, holding significant delegated responsibilities within the operation of Iona College.  The Principal has a significant relationship with, and leadership responsibility for the members of the Education Leadership Team.  The Principal is accountable to the Rector for the day to day operations of the College.   At times of absence of the Rector from the College, the Principal assumes the College leadership role.

Scope of the Position

The Principal has a primary responsibility delegated from the Rector for:

• Leading teaching and learning
• Leading the management of the College

The Principal has shared responsibilities with the Rector for:

• Nurturing Faith-filled culture
• Developing self and others
• Leading improvement innovation and change
• Engaging and working with the Community

In all of these areas of responsibility the Principal is accountable to the Rector.

The Rector and Principal work collaboratively to:

• Discern and nurture the vision and faith life of the College
• Actively promote the pursuit of the Strategic Plan and Strategic Priorities of the College
• Develop a plan for the implementation of the Strategic Plan and Priorities
• Develop short and long term goals to enable the implementation of the Plan and Priorities to be tracked and assessed
• Energise staff, students and parents through the development of quality relationships
• Promote the concept of Ionian referring to all members of the Iona community
• Manage the resources of the College to effectively deliver high quality teaching and learning

 A full Role Description as well as details of the Deliverables and Key Performance Indicators will be provided at a later stage of the process.

Reporting Relationships

Reporting to the Principal are the Dean of Teaching and Learning; Dean of Students; Dean of Performance and Analytics; Director of Music; Director of Sport; and Head of Primary Years.

An organisation chart will be provided at a later stage of this process.

Commencement Date

It is anticipated the successful person will be able to commence for the start of the 2019 school year.

Location

The College is located in the Brisbane suburb of Lindum (85 North Road), situated near Wynnum West and Lytton, 12 km north-east of central Brisbane.

Conditions of Employment

• Remuneration will be discussed as we move through the process and negotiated with the successful person.
• The appointment is for an initial period of five years; and may be reappointed for a further five years subject to a successful performance appraisal and need for the position.
• The appointee to this position will be required to complete a period of 6 month probation, in accordance with The Fair Work Act 2010
• 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 regarding this check 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

Selection Criteria

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

• A personal commitment to the Catholic Church with a sound understanding of the Church’s mission in Catholic education;
• the desire and capacity to learn and promote the Oblate Traditions;
• a career built within secondary education having leadership experience, ideally with a focus on teaching and learning;
• a highly relational style and the capability to build and maintain effective, cohesive relationships with a wide-ranging educational community;
• a track record of ongoing personal and professional learning combined with postgraduate qualifications.

Are You Interested in this Opportunity?

If you are interested in this role, then simply complete the ‘Express Your Interest’ panel on this page; or email us at jobs@traksearch.com stating your interest and nominating ref number TS1386. Whichever you choose, please provide a brief resume and contact telephone number.

At this stage we do NOT ask you to address the selection criteria or provide an application document – just complete the panel on this page or send a brief email to Trak Search to indicate your interest in ‘Iona College Principal TS1386’; and providing your 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 weekly job alert.

Any questions can be directed to either (a) our Director John Chesher by telephone (0417 068 220) or (b) email our office via 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 are 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 confidential discussions and to provide information to allow you to explore this opportunity and determine your interest in the role.
• A range of additional information will be provided to you as we progress through this process.
• At the outset you will not be required to: complete an application form; provide a lengthy document to address the selection criteria; or supply referee details. However, you will be invited to supply us with additional information (verbally and in writing) as you progress through the process.
• A late application could be accepted, providing it does not adversely impact other applications or the schedule. Please be aware however that any application received after close of business on the date noted above is more likely to be returned to you.
• At the appropriate time we will seek written consent to speak with referees – listing referees on your resume does not signify consent to do so
• We expect to contact one work-related referee and a Religious referee prior to shortlisting, with additional references completed later in the process. You should always expect that before reaching the final stage of the project, we will ask to speak with at least one person who has: directly managed you; recently; and for a significant period of time.
• There will be psychometric testing arranged by the College in the latter stages of the process.
• All information provided to Trak Search will be made available prior to shortlisting, in confidence, to the Rector unless you instruct Trak Search otherwise.

60th Anniversary Prayer

Heavenly Father,

We give thanks for the Oblates and the entire community who forged Iona College into existence to serve local needs in the Archdiocese for the past sixty years.

Like those who have gone before us,

fill our souls with your compassion for others,

fire our hearts with your courage and infinite love,

bring us health in body and spirit,

that we may serve you with all our strength,

so that all may live, learn, lead and serve in the Oblate spirit.

Touch gently our lives, which you have created,

now and forever.

Amen.

You are also encouraged to view our Collection Statement which provides details on the manner in which we collect and use information obtained from you during your engagement with Trak Search.