Religious Education Coordinator

**Introduction**:
St Patrick's Primary School Cessnock is seeking a Permanent Full Time Religious Education Coordinator to join the team in 2026.
Are you ready to be a transformational leader in Catholic education? As a Religious Education Coordinator (REC), you won’t just teach—you’ll shape hearts, minds, and futures, embedding faith, excellence, and a sense of community into every aspect of school life. We have an exciting opportunity for the right person located in the beautiful Hunter Valley area of New South Wales cratering for students from Kindergarten to Year 6. Surrounded outside of the city centre by verdant countryside,
Cessnock is the largest town in Australia’s oldest wine region. The region is full of activities catering to various lifestyle pursuits and is less than an hour outside of the Newcastle CBD. A school of 362 students, St Patrick's provides a place, built on the Josephite tradition, where creative learning and the individual talents of each student and teacher is appreciated, embraced and encouraged. The school has a strong focus on community and is committed to supporting each individual student and teacher.
**Description**:
POSITION DESCRIPTION
In the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle, Religious Education Co-ordinators (REC's) are recognised and acknowledged as significant religious leaders for our primary school communities. They are members of the school executive team and are tasked with the role of supporting the Principal and Parish Priest in promoting and affirming the Catholic culture, identity and mission of the school.
REC's represent the school and the teaching profession in the community, especially the parish. They are professional, ethical and respected individuals within and outside the school.
REC's develop and shape a shared vision focused on providing quality and educational experiences and learning outcomes for all students.
**Skills and Experiences**:
EXPERIENCE/CRITERIA
- Practising Catholic who is committed to the life of their Eucharistic community with exemplary values and attitudes appropriate to professional practice
- An implicit and relevant understanding of the philosophy and theology of Catholic Education and be able to articulate this clearly to others
- Capacity to ensure staff incorporate key understandings and appropriate methodologies in the teaching of Religious Education (RE) which will lead to students knowing the core teachings of the Catholic faith and how these are lived in the world today
- proven capacity to build links between the school and its broader parish community in ways that foster the Mission of the Church and have a capacity to promote faith formation within the community
- Proven ability to work collaboratively as a member of the school’s leadership team with a proven capacity to facilitate improvement in student learning
- Compliance or preparedness to work towards and comply with the CSO Accreditation to Work, Teach and Lead Policy - Accreditation at Category E - Accreditation for Senior Leadership (within a time frame specified at time of appointment)
- An ability to demonstrate high-level knowledge and understanding of the relevant Religious Education Frameworks and the Diocesan (K-6) RE Syllabus (Desirable)
- Proven capacity to lead curriculum innovation (Desirable)
- Proven capacity to mentor colleagues through the PP&D process (Desirable)
- Proven capacity to manage COSI compliance matters in both curriculum and non-curriculum areas (Desirable)
- Proven capacity to foster in students those skills that are required in a contemporary educational setting (Desirable)
- Proven capacity to implement the school’s Behaviour Policy (Desirable)
- Proven capacity to be pastorally present to staff, students and their families and to continue to work with the school’s Pastoral Team in implementing pastoral care initiatives within the school (Desirable)
- Have well developed communication and interpersonal skills (Desirable)
- Proven capacity to lead professional learning across K-6 classes in the area of Religious Education (Desirable)
- Capacity to positively communicate with the Parish and work collaboratively to support their initiatives (Desirable)

QUALIFICATIONS
- Four-year trained teacher classification with at least four years successful teaching experience consistent with the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers
- NESA Teacher Accreditation
- Working with Children Clearance number
- Completion of anaphylaxis training
- AWTL appropriate to your current position

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT
Salary is in accordance with New South Wales & Australian Capital Territory Catholic Systemic Schools Enterprise Agreement 2023.
BENEFITS OF WORKING WITH US
Work in quality schools where students are nurtured, challenged and encouraged to excel and grow
A corporate fitness program through Fitness Passport (T&C's apply)
Employee assistance program (EAP)
Training and staff development programs
Paid parental leave for eligible employees
Acc