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) offer 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.
LOOKOUT centres were established in 2016 to address the educational disadvantage of children and young people in out-of-home care and raise the profile of the Out-of-Home Care Education Commitment. LOOKOUT improves outcomes for children and young people in out-of-home care 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 (Department of Education, Department of Families, Fairness and Housing and foster care agencies) 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 LOOKOUT
The LOOKOUT Education Support Centres operate as a multidisciplinary team, working with schools, Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) services, Child Protection Practitioners, case workers and carers to lift educational outcomes for children and young people in care. LOOKOUT Centre staff build the capacity of schools and ECEC services to enable high expectations for all children and young people in out-of-home care and to monitor and evaluate their educational progress. Each DET region has a LOOKOUT Centre, providing state-wide support for students in statutory out-of-home care.
About the Role
An exciting opportunity is available for a Learning Advisor to join the LOOKOUT Centre in the North-Western Victoria Region. This 1.0 FTE role is based at the Department of Education's Coburg Office and will focus on supporting children and young people, in Out-of-Home-Care across the Hume Merri-bek area.
A November 2026 commencement is preferred, however there is flexibility to negotiate the start date with the successful applicant.
The role involves travel across the Hume Merri-bek area and broader North-Western Victoria Region, with occasional overnight travel required.
This is an opportunity to work collaboratively across education and the broader care system to strengthen educational engagement, wellbeing and outcomes for children and young people living in out-of-home care.
Key Responsibilities
Key functions of the Learning Advisor role include:
- Supporting area teams in building the capabilities of schools (including Learning Mentors and Designated Teachers), across their areas and region, to tailor education supports to meet the educational needs of children and young people living in out-of-home care. Activities include delivering professional learning, running workshops, providing consultation, advocacy and advice. This will include building understanding of trauma and how this presents in the education and care/ classroom settings and the impacts on children and young people in out-of-home care.
- Collecting, effectively analysing and implementing findings from data to better direct efforts, and understand the impact of actions (e.g. prioritising support for schools and services with high numbers of children and young people and with complex needs).
- Ensuring decisions are in the best interests of the child and young person's learning and wellbeing outcomes.
- Referring complex cases for support and using this as an opportunity to build the capabilities of schools, area team members and other stakeholders to overcome complex barriers to engagement in education.
- Providing time limited advocacy, and advice (including to carers) in instances where without this intervention a child would not be connected to the support they need to engage in education.
Qualifications and Experience
- Essential: Bachelor's degree (or higher) in education or other relevant discipline.
- Demonstrated experience in the school sector is highly desirable for this role.
- The successful applicant will be required to provide a current Working with Children Check.
Further Information
For more details regarding this position please see attached position description for the capabilities to address in application.
The department values diversity and inclusion in all forms - gender, religion, ethnicity, LGBTIQ+, disability and neurodiversity. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander candidates are strongly encouraged to apply. For more information about our work, working for the Department, diversity and inclusion, and our employment conditions visit the Department website and our Diversity and Inclusion page
Applicants requiring adjustments can contact the nominated contact person.
Information about the Department of Education's operations and employment conditions can be located at www.education.vic.gov.au.
For further information pertaining to the role, please contact Michael Freedman - Lookout Team Leader - Schools via [email protected].
Preferred applicants may be required to complete a police check and may be subject to other pre-employment checks. Information provided to the Department of Education will be treated in the strictest confidence.
Please let us know via phone or email if you require any adjustments to ensure your full participation in the recruitment process or if you need the ad or any attachments in an accessible format (e.g large print) due to any viewing difficulties or other accessibility requirements.
