Head of Department

**About Us**:
We believe in learners who flourish. We value thinking big, stepping up, paying it forward and being kind. By helping our students to reflect and build their self-efficacy we create life long, flourishing learners who experience academic success. We trust that every student, every day, has the opportunity to feel a sense of belonging in our community through teamwork, loyalty and leadership, and is able to engage in learning that sparks their engagement, curiosity, joy and passions. Situated in the leafy suburb of The Gap, The Gap State High School has a population of 1750 students.

**About the Role**:
Heads of Department (HOD) are key figures in the wellbeing of students. Working within the Wellbeing Hub and with the Year level Deputy Principals, HODs play an important role in maintaining the school's high expectation culture - promoting school pride and belonging, developing student's personal responsibility, motivating academic engagement, facilitating school and community participation, enhancing positive relationships and supporting every student, every day to achieve success at school.Head of Department know their cohort and ensure they are connected to their peers and feel a sense of belonging at school. They support students, year level teachers, connect teachers and parents to maintain student wellbeing.The role of Head of Department is proactive, data driven and relational. Heads of Department know the students in their Year level and can advocate for, and facilitate programs to address, the cohort's wellbeing needs. Head of Department is a pivotal role to assist students to be the best they can be through a focus on both student well-being and the good order and management of the school.
Responsibilities include, but not limited to;
- Embed socially just practices in daily school life.
- Set high standards for student and staff performance.
- Actively participate in lifelong learning and ongoing professional development.
- Form partnerships with students, parents, other government agencies, and community groups.

The position requires commitment to The Gap SHS vision and values and develop the school culture which reflects the community identity as a leading independent public school. In many instances, the Head of Department is the initial point of contact for the range of enquiries made by parents, staff, students, residents, the business community and other schools. Consequently, to be able to make informed decisions quickly and effectively, a good knowledge of school policies, procedures and activities is essential.This role necessitates intentional collaboration and consultation between fellow Heads of Department, GO, School Based Youth Health Nurse, Chaplain, and Deputy Principals and an ability and willingness to operate as part of a team within the Wellbeing Hub.Each Head of Department will report to DP Wellbeing and Inclusion and work with an associated Year Level DP. The Heads of Department will work in partnership with DP line manager of Student Leadership to ensure whole school alignment across student leadership, student leadership activities, e.g. Free dress days, house week, year level initiatives etc.
Please refer to the attached role description for any mandatory requirements for this position.

**How to Apply**:

- Please attach a brief resume including contact details for 2 referees (referees should have an understanding of your relevant previous work history); and
- A 2-pg response to the How you will be Assessed section of the attached role description.

We welcome all applicants to share any support needed to ensure our recruitment process is inclusive.
Applications remain current for 12 months from the closing date and may be considered for appointment to identical or similar vacancies within the Department.
Applications from recruitment agencies will not be accepted.
When working in regulated employment an employee must have a current Working with Children Clearance (blue card) issued by Blue Card Services.
Salary rate shown is reflective of full-time (1.0 FTE).
The Department of Education is a family inclusive workplace. Click here to find out more about our Inclusion and Diversity strategies.This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia License.