Senior Program Advisor - Respectful Relationships Project Lead

Senior Program Advisor - Respectful Relationships Project Lead

Department of Education Victoria – Melton VIC

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) offers 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.

This role is located in the Health, Wellbeing and Specialist Services Branch, Brimbank Melton Area, South Western Victoria Region, SRS. The Health, Wellbeing and Specialist Services Branch promotes and maintains strong relationships with key internal and external early childhood, education and health stakeholders, facilitating wrap-around support for children, young people, a school or group of schools, or a system wide issue.

About the Role

This role is available from 01/01/2027.

Implementation of the Royal Commission's key recommendation to mandate respectful relationships education in all Victorian government schools is supported by 30-40 positions across the Department's regional offices. A dedicated Respectful Relationships Unit in the Wellbeing, Health and Engagement Division of the Department and will work closely with regional staff.

The Respectful Relationships Project Lead will be responsible for supporting and building the capacity of school leaders, teachers, other school based staff and early childhood educators to implement a whole school setting approach to Respectful Relationships as part of a wider whole of community commitment to family violence prevention. The position will develop strong working relationships with key stakeholders in the family violence sector and other key regional partners.

Strong stakeholder engagement skills will be essential to deliver this project - along with a comprehensive knowledge of Victorian early childhood and school education.

The Project Lead will need to have a strong understanding of the current issues and opportunities associated with prevention of family violence and respectful relationships education, in both early childhood and schools.

Attributes

Working Collaboratively: Promotes a culture of collaboration. Identifies and works to overcome barriers to knowledge or information sharing. Identifies opportunities to work with other teams to deliver outcomes.

Strategic Planning: Ensures day to day planning and work processes are in line with team strategy. Identifies and develops own and team objectives linking strategies to actions to achieve these.

Stakeholder Management: Partners with stakeholders to collaborate program design process, to best understand user needs, obtain ideas, insights, and input. Ensures decisions are made within agreed timelines. Monitors stakeholder satisfaction and constructively deals with stakeholder issues.

Enabling Delivery Project Delivery: Translates strategies into programs or projects that actively enable the achievement of outcomes. Defines the governance (e.g., success measures, roles and responsibilities, progress monitoring) required to manage risks and maximise success.

Team Management: Aligns work activities with operational plans and departmental values and goals through effective people management and role modelling. Allocates tasks in line with roles defined.

Develop Capability: Improves others' skills and talents by providing knowledge, constructive feedback, coaching and learning opportunities. Consistently develops team capability and recognises and develops potential in others.

Qualifications and Experience

• Essential: A Bachelors degree in Education, Community Development or other related field.

The successful applicant will be required to provide a current Working With Children Check.

Further Information

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

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 Tina Brooks, Manager HWSS Branch, via Phone: 0448 621 *** or Email: ***********@education.vic.gov.au.

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 advertisement or any attachments in an accessible format (e.g large print) due to any viewing difficulties or other accessibility requirements.

Applications close 11:59pm on Friday 2nd October, 2026

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