Manager, Early Childhood Education Services

**Job no**: 0056819
**Location**:Parkville
**Role type**: Full time; Continuing
**Department/School**: Early Childhood Education Services (ECES)
**Salary**: UOM 9 - $129,154 - $134,374 p.a. plus 17% Superannuation
- **Creative, Inspiring, Sustainable - **Your work will be guided by these three themes of ECES
- **Drive cultural change - **Use your energy and enthusiasm to lead by example
- **Career growth - **Bring your expertise and fresh new ideas and have a far-reaching impact on the success of ECES at Australia’s leading University

The University of Melbourne would like to acknowledge and pay respect to the Traditional Owners of the lands upon which our campuses are situated, the Wurundjeri and Boon Wurrung Peoples, the Yorta Yorta Nation, the Dja Dja Wurrung People. We acknowledge that the land on which we meet and learn was the place of age-old ceremonies, of celebration, initiation and renewal, and that the local Aboriginal Peoples have had and continue to have a unique role in the life of these lands.

**About** Early Childhood Education Services**
Early Childhood Education Services (ECES) is located within Student and Scholarly Services (SASS) at The University of Melbourne, comprising the Early Learning Centre, Abbotsford (90 places daily), Queensberry Children’s Centre (94 places daily) and Swanston Street Children’s Centres (40 places daily). These centres provide early childhood education for approximately 350 children aged 6 months to five years from the University and the surrounding community. The centres operate for a minimum of 48 weeks per year and are open for 10 hours per day. The early childhood education staff team is comprised of approximately 60 staff working either full-time or part-time across the three centres.

**About the Role**
This newly created role is a fantastic opportunity for the right person to innovate, lead and deliver best-in-class early childhood education services and make a true impact on the success of the three Centres.

As the Manager, Early Childhood Education Services, you will provide pedagogical, operational, and commercial leadership in ensuring that high quality education and care outcomes are provided to some of the youngest members of the university community and their families. Your work will be grounded in a thorough understanding of early childhood theory and practice, as well as all relevant government compliance, accreditation and reporting requirements.

You'll have autonomy and independence in this role and will work closely with your team to implement _New Directions_, an important framework to guide the ongoing development of ECES as a department of the University. The three themes underpinning this work are _creative, inspiring, and sustainable_, and you will ensure that day-to-day operations align with the ECES Mission, _to provide an exemplary educational experience in a humanistic and environmentally mindful setting. _

Key Responsibilities:

- In collaboration with the Centre Directors, lead the development, delivery and evaluation of the early learning programs across all Centres, including overseeing the staff professional learning program across the domains of research, education and scholarship
- Oversee the ongoing development of key accreditation processes for each Centre, including those related to the National Regulations and the National Quality Framework (NQF)
- Lead the development and implementation of an ongoing series of program, process and practice enhancements, that ensures ECES continues to deliver outstanding education and care programs for members of the University and wider community
- Implement innovative and creative initiatives within the Centres that connect and leverage the resources available from across the wider University community

**About You**
You will have significant experience in operational leadership, with a passion for providing best practice early childhood education and care. As an innovator, you regularly seek out creative new ways of doing things and collaborate with your team to implement changes. You will be highly organised with strong attention to detail, enabling you to evaluate problems quickly and provide sound solutions. Through your high level interpersonal and communication skills, you'll effectively manage and enhance relationships and partnerships through tact and diplomacy.

Your ability to lead, inspire and engage with your teams will set you up for success in this role.

You will also have:

- A Master of Education with a specialisation in Early Childhood, or an equivalent level of tertiary qualification or combination of relevant experience and/or education or training.
- Demonstrated experience in leading an early childhood service, to meet/exceed the requirements of the Australian Children’s Education & Care Quality Authority (ACECQA) National Quality Framework (NQF), including the Education & Care National Law and the Education & Care Services National Regulations
- Demo