Work collaboratively with early childhood learning advisors and early childhood implementation branches to co-ordinate proactive engagement with child protection
This position can be based at all North-Western Victoria Regional Office locations.
About the Department
The role of the Department of Education is to support Victorians to build prosperous, socially engaged, happy and healthy lives. It does this by supporting lifelong learning and healthy development, strengthening families and helping to equip people with the skills and knowledge for a 21st century economy and society.
About the Group
Schools and Regional Services (SRS) offers central, regional, and local expertise to enhance learning and development outcomes, supported by a diverse and geographically dispersed workforce. It comprises 17 areas within 4 regions, backed by 5 central office divisions, all collaborating to deliver improved outcomes for early childhood services, schools, communities, and learners, in line with Education State commitments. SRS regions serve as a bridge between the central office, schools, and service providers, ensuring smooth transitions for learners and achieving the department's ambitious targets. Each region includes divisions specialising in school performance, student wellbeing and early childhood support, working with area-based teams to tailor local interventions and practices. The 17 areas provide crucial insights into local trends and issues, facilitating effective policy and program development and driving child and learner outcomes across all services and programs.
The Student Wellbeing and Engagement Division is responsible for promoting and implementing regional and statewide consistency in areas relating to school services, student health, wellbeing, inclusion, and engagement supports. The LOOKOUT Centres were established in 2016 to address the educational disadvantage of children and young people in out-of-home care (OoHC) and raise the profile of the Out-of-Home Care Education Commitment. LOOKOUT improves outcomes for children and young people in OoHC through capability building of school staff and leadership teams to understand children's needs and strategies to engage them and their carers to best support their education, strengthening relationships between the service systems (DE, Department of Families, Fairness and Housing, community service organisations and Aboriginal community controlled organisations) and improving monitoring and reporting of children in care, ensuring that they can be tracked and identified within the system and prioritised for support.
About the Role
A Streamlining Access Officer will be located in each LOOKOUT Centre to improve access to high-quality early childhood education for children known to child protection aged under three years of age. Early engagement with quality services that also provide kindergarten will facilitate timely and successful transition to Early Start Kindergarten.
To achieve this, Streamlining Access Officers will work collaboratively with early childhood learning advisors and early childhood implementation branches to co-ordinate proactive engagement with child protection and other relevant stakeholders such as family services, child first/orange door for the purpose of building capacity and capability to enrol children in quality ECEC services. The Streamlining Access Officers will also be available to provide advice in relation to complex cases.
Attributes
To be successful in this role you will be motivated and committed to improving educational outcomes for our most vulnerable children, requiring strong influencing, diagnosing, decision-making and leadership skills. Your capacity to establish and maintain productive and collaborative relationships will be critical, as will the ability to deliver outcomes and influence change in a complex environment.
This is an excellent opportunity for the successful applicant to join and contribute to a team of committed professionals and undertake work that is challenging in nature but rewarding in the outcomes it delivers for vulnerable children and young people. The ideal candidate for this role will have in-depth understanding of early childhood education and care (ECEC), and experience in the sector.
The successful applicant may negotiate to be based in any of the NWVR regional offices but will be expected to travel across the NWVR region with occasional overnight stays required.
Qualifications and Experience
Desirable: Bachelor's degree Early Childhood Education or other relevant discipline.
The successful applicant will be required to provide a current Working With Children Check.