Director, Commissioning & Partnerships

• Join a leadership group transforming education in NSW, and make a difference to students in NSW
• Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Identified role
• Influence and improve outcomes for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander children, young people and communities
• Ongoing Public Service senior executive band 1 role with a remuneration range of $231,159 - $255,262 per annum
• Based in Parramatta with flexible work options

About us

Our purpose in Education is to equip young people to lead rewarding lives in a complex and fast-changing world. This is important because the learners of today are the foundation of a prosperous Australia tomorrow.

To support our young people to thrive, we must ensure we are one of the best education systems in the world. This means building a system focused on student outcomes, and a system that offers a great place to work. Explore the Department of Education website for more information.  

About the role

The Director, Commissioning and Partnerships plays a critical and strategic role in leading and developing tactical plans and initiatives to foster partnerships with key providers to ensure effective delivery and monitoring of Aboriginal education and community engagement programs. 

Working collaboratively with the NSW Aboriginal Education Consultative Group (NSW AECG) and other key stakeholders, this role provides high quality strategic advice and identifies Culturally responsive and innovative practices and pedagogy to enable systematic reform and positive education outcomes for our learners. 

For more details about this role, please click here to view the Role Description.

About you

You are a passionate and influential strategic leader with demonstrated experience in leading change and shaping reforms. With a deep understanding of issues impacting Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people, you possess the ability to connect with and develop strong links with NSW Public schools and local/regional and State Aboriginal communities. 

You hold a strong commitment to the NSW Plan for Public Education, the NSW Aboriginal Education Policy, the Connected Communities Strategy and the NSW Aboriginal Education Consultative Group Inc. (*AECG)  and NSW Department of Education’s Partnership Agreement and thrive in building and maintaining effective relationships with internal and external stakeholders to support collaboration and partnerships. 

As a leader you will join an executive team focused on driving improved ways of working to deliver meaningful and long-lasting impact. You will be collaborative, courageous, agile, and disciplined about delivering outcomes for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander students within and across NSW Public Schools.

To be successful in this role, you will have:

• Aboriginal identified role: Aboriginality is an essential requirement and typically all or the majority of the work will involve the development and/or delivery of policy, programs and services which impact on Aboriginal young people and/or involve liaising directly with Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people and communities.
• Tertiary qualifications in a relevant discipline such as education and/or equivalent knowledge and experience.
• Hold a valid clearance to work with children (Working with Children Check).
• Hold a current NSW Driver’s license.
• Demonstrated capacity to lead staff in implementing the Department’s NSW Plan for Public Education, the NSW Aboriginal Education Policy, the Connected Communities Strategy and upholding the Department’s Partnership Agreement with the NSW AECG and to realise high quality outcomes for Aboriginal people.
• Demonstrated understanding of and commitment to the value of public education.
• Demonstrated extensive experience at a senior level in the management of multiple projects within a large complex organisation.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate respectfully, sensitively and effectively with, and understand issues impacting on Aboriginal and /or Torres Strait Islander people.
• Demonstrated experience in leading whole system reform and change, within complex organisations including the ability to manage and mitigate strategic risk.

As a condition of employment, successful candidates who have not previously worked for the department will be required to provide a current Working with Children Check (WWCC) Clearance number. This option would allow the WWCC to naturally expire without further communication needed with the employee. The employer obligations under the WWCC would apply for duration of the WWCC’s validity (up to 5 years).

Please note this position is targeted to the employment of an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander person and is authorised by the Department's EEO Management Plan in accordance with Part 9A of the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977. When applying for an identified position, applicants must provide confirmation of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander descent upon interview as defined in the Confirmation of Aboriginality Guidelines.

Interested?
To apply for this role, please submit an online application and attach your resume along with a cover letter which describes how your capabilities, knowledge and experience make you the best person for this role.

Applications Close: 11:59pm on Sunday, 10 August 2025

Contact: For enquiries about the recruitment of this role, please contact Michele Hall, Executive Director, Aboriginal Education and Communities via email michele.hall4@det.nsw.edu.au. 

Please note: 
We welcome applications from all ages and genders, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, culturally and linguistically diverse groups, the LGBTQIA+ community, veterans, refugees, and people with disability. If we can make some adjustments to our recruitment/interview process to better enable you to shine, please contact the Diversity and Inclusion Team (dandi@det.nsw.edu.au) or visit NSW Department of Education Diversity and Inclusion.

A talent pool may be created for future ongoing and temporary roles and is valid for a period of up to 18 months. Candidates on a talent pool may be chosen and directly offered employment in other or similar roles (ongoing or term) in the near future.