Executive Class

**Overview**:
**Work Type**:Fixed-term - Full-time

**Salary**: Salary not specified

**Grade**:Grade not specified

**Occupation**:Principal and assistant principal

**Location**:Melbourne - Northern suburbs

**Reference**:1486070

**Selection Criteria**:
**KEY SELECTION CRITERIA**

**Human leadership**
- Develops constructive and respectful relationships with staff, students, carers and stakeholders, characterised by high expectations and optimism, and proactively leads peers and colleagues to fully engage with students in care. Demonstrates effective people management and contributes to the personal and professional development of staff. Sets a clear vision for the LOOKOUT Centre and a strategy for achieving the Centre's goals.

**Educational leadership**
- Understands and has experience in using trauma-informed approaches to improve student learning and engagement. Sets high expectations for all students and reinforces student achievements. Understands and demonstrates the requirements for quality education provision, the characteristics of effective school leadership and strategies for improving student outcomes. Understands and promotes high expectations of what students in care can and should achieve, and relentlessly pursues equity in outcomes for them.

**Symbolic leadership**
- Creates and sustains effective professional networks amongst the stakeholders connected with the LOOKOUT Centre and extends that professional learning to schools and Early Childhood Education and Care settings who are supporting children and young people in care. Shows experience in working in partnerships with other principals, schools and stakeholders to develop strong and collaborative professional relationships that directly benefit vulnerable learners. Speaks out for better outcomes for children and young people in care in our schools in professional and public forums.

**Cultural leadership**
- Has experience in trauma-informed education leadership and practice, including developing staff to incorporate trauma-informed practice in classroom settings. Leads the LOOKOUT Centre by unifying staff and stakeholders around a common purpose underpinned by values of inclusion, professional practice, peer learning and high expectations for the service to learners. Demonstrates a good understanding of the specific issues affecting children and young people in care and takes on the role of a committed corporate parent. Shows the ability to challenge decisions made by stakeholders that could have a negative impact on educational opportunities and outcomes for children and young people in care. Demonstrates positive interpersonal skills, including dealing sensitively with people and resolving conflict promptly.

**Technical leadership**

**Role**:
**ROLE CONTEXT**

The Victorian government has established the LOOKOUT Centres to act as the advocate for our out-of-home care children and young people in the education system. As corporate parents we behave as all caring and responsible parents do, wanting and demanding the absolute best for our children. We make sure our children and young people attend the best possible education setting and that the adults who support them have the highest possible expectations for their success and their futures. We ensure access to support services and the full range of personal learning experiences tailored to our children and young people's interests and needs.

The LOOKOUT Centre is a virtual setting - not a physical institution - that performs a critical advocacy, support and entitlement function by securing the rights and best outcomes for children and young people in out-of-home care within our existing educational system. It will monitor and track children and young people between placements and ensure they do not fall through the cracks but are provided with consistency and a positive focus on their educational progress. The LOOKOUT Centre can provide critical support to the schools in terms of knowledge of each student's progress through placements and their education plan.

LOOKOUT Centre staff are located across regional offices within each region, making the team geographically diverse.

The LOOKOUT Centre will:

- set educational outcome targets for children and young people in care
- monitor and evaluate the educational progress of children and young people in care
- manage additional funding
- support the development of the child's Individual Education Plan
- help to evaluate the quality of educational provision accessed by children and young people
- build the capability of internal and external stakeholders to support the child or young person in education
- facilitate access to a range of additional services and supports that may not be available through the young person's school or the child's funded kindergarten.
- challenge decisions that may have a negative impact on a child or young person's progress acting as an advocate for young people and their carers

ROLE PURPOSE & KEY