Director of First Nations Education

Job No: NATDFNE02
Location: Brisbane
Employment Status: Continuing, Full-time
No. of Vacancies: 1
Closing Date: 19 Sep 2025 AEST

 Director of First Nations Education - National Office (Eagle Farm)

  • Continuing, Full-time
  • Start: 5 January 2026

 

ABOUT US:

Edmund Rice Education Australia (EREA) Flexible Schools Ltd currently educates over 2,400 young people in 21 Flexible Learning Schools (12 based in Queensland and 9 other schools across Australia) and two Special Education Services Schools in NSW, with approximately 700 staff nationally. Flexi schools serve young people who experience complex educational, social or psychological situations which demand unique responses.

They enable young people to engage in education in a supported learning environment through a methodology based on trauma informed practice, to co-create a Common Ground using Operation by Principles, in which the principles of Honesty, Respect, Participation, Safe & Legal are embedded. Our special schools serve young people with mild to moderate intellectual disabilities.

 

ABOUT THE ROLE:

The Director of First Nations Education is responsible for providing strategic leadership, oversight and advice through making meaningful connections with First Nations Peoples, communities, and stakeholders. As a member of the National Team, the Director will bring a First Nations voice and lens to all organisational decisions.

This role will partner with Regional Directors, Principals and regional First Nations Leaders to develop, monitor and support the implementation of the EREA Flexible Schools Ltd First Nations Education Framework, provide support for complex matters, and lead relevant personnel in a strong Community of Practice. The role will also work very closely with the Director of Practice and Identity and the Director of Learning and Pedagogy to foster cultural change and continuous improvement.

 

To view the Position Description, please click HERE. 

KEY ATTRIBUTES AND EXPERIENCE:

  • Understanding of and commitment to the values of a Catholic educational system of schools in the Edmund Rice tradition.
  • Proven senior leadership experience, both strategic and operational, characterised by strong organisational, administrative, communication, and leadership skills, particularly in relation to areas outlined in this position.
  • Able to demonstrate the high-level communication, collaboration and interpersonal skills necessary to be successful in a complex and layered organisational structure.
  • Appropriate tertiary qualifications.
  • Many qualities, skills and cultural supports have been identified by First Nations People, both internal and external to EREA Flexible Schools Ltd, as being important in their leaders. These qualities and skills include:
    • Respect for culture
    • Self-awareness and confidence
    • Integrity and wisdom
    • Clear communication and direction
    • Good mediation and negotiation skills
    • Enthusiasm and ability to inspire and empower
    • Adaptability and humility
    • Strategic thinking 
    • Community-minded
  • Extensive relevant professional experience in working with First Nations People and Communities, along with significant recognition in the area of First Nations leadership.
  • Demonstrated strategic leadership and the ability to develop, implement and manage strategic plans to achieve successful outcomes.
  • Thorough understanding of the national and international contexts for First Nations Peoples in all levels of education
  • Demonstrated capacity to be an innovative, influential and authoritative leader and change agent.
  • Strong networking skills, with demonstrated success in collaboration and engagement with First Nations communities, industry, government organisations, as well as internal stakeholders.
  • Ability to demonstrate the high-level communication, collaboration and interpersonal skills necessary to be successful in a complex and layered organisational structure
  • Organisational and administrative capacity to fulfil the functions of the role and support the National Director of School Support and CEO.
  • Ability to diagnose problems, foresee potential issues and devise appropriate responses.

Additional requirement

To perform this role, it is essential that the person who holds the position be an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander person. The person will be of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander descent, will identify and be known as such, and will be recognised by their community as such. This is a genuine occupational requirement under section 25 of the Anti-Discrimination Act (Qld) 1991.


WHAT WE OFFER:

Our people are our most valuable asset in providing quality Catholic education in the Edmund Rice tradition to the young people in our schools. As an EREA Flexible Schools Ltd employee, you will receive:

  • Salary sacrificing benefits, including FBT exempt payments of up to $15,900 p/a
  • Edmund Rice charism
  • 12.75% Superannuation Contribution
  • Professional development opportunities


HOW TO APPLY: (Please upload documents in PDF format) 

To apply for a position, please complete the application form below. To support your application, you will be required to provide a current CV and Cover Letter highlighting your qualifications, experience and suitability for the role.

For a confidential conversation about the role, please contact Laura McKenzie - National Director of School Support, via email laura.mckenzie@flexi.edu.au 

APPLICATIONS CLOSE 3PM (AEST) 19 September 2025. 

The successful applicant must possess (or be eligible to obtain) and maintain a current Working With Children Check.

All applicants will be subject to EREA and legislative screening procedures. These checks are consistent with EREA’s commitment to child protection policies and procedures.

Edmund Rice Education Australia is committed to ensuring the safety, wellbeing and dignity of all children and young people.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are encouraged to apply.

Edmund Rice Education Australia is an Equal Opportunity Employer. 

Apply Now
Apply with SEEK
Allows you to pre-fill the application using your SEEK profile information and resumé

Privacy Acknowledgment

EREA Flexi Schools Ltd is part of Edmund Rice Education Australia (EREA), which is an organisation consisting of schools, entities and offices offering a Catholic education in the tradition of Blessed Edmund Rice.

  1. EREA Flexi Schools Ltd school’s collects personal information, including sensitive information about job applicants. This includes information provided in your job application, in the course of conversation or as collected from third parties on your behalf, such as employment referees. The primary purpose of collecting this information is to enable the school to consider your application for employment with the school.
  2. Some of the information the school collects is to satisfy the school’s legal obligations, particularly to enable the school to discharge its duty of care to enrolled students.
  3. Laws governing or relating to the operation of a school require certain information to be collected and disclosed. These include relevant Education Acts and Public Health and Child Protection laws.
  4. In order to consider your application for employment and to facilitate and manage your employment relationship with the school, you consent to our collecting personal information about you from recruitment agencies, law enforcement agencies for criminal checks and working with children checks, educational institutions to verify your qualifications, and other individuals or businesses we contact for the purpose of reference-checking as agreed with you.
  5. The personal information that is collected about you will be stored securely in a recruitment record. If you are successful and become an employee then an employee record will be created and the personal information we have collected will be stored in this file. Employee records are exempt from the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) under the Privacy Act 1988.
  6. If you are not offered a position or if you decline an offer of a position at the school the information stored in your recruitment record will be stored for 12 months, unless you advise us to destroy the records at an earlier time. At this time, the school will take reasonable steps to destroy or de-identify the information as appropriate.
  7. The school may disclose personal and sensitive information for administrative, educational and support purposes (or may permit the information to be directly collected by third parties). This may include to: government departments; people providing administrative and financial services to the school; anyone you authorise the school to disclose information to; and anyone to whom the school is required or authorised to disclose the information to by law, including under child protection laws.
  8. Failure to provide the information to the school will affect the school’s ability to evaluate your application and may result in the recruitment process not proceeding.
  9. The school may also use cloud computing service providers to store personal information (which may include sensitive information) on their servers in the 'cloud'. These servers may be located in or outside Australia. This may mean that personal information may be stored or processed outside Australia.
  10. EREA’s Privacy Policy contains further information about its use of cloud and other third-party service providers.
  11. EREA’s Privacy Policy is accessible via the school website or from the school office. The Policy sets out how job applicants and employees may seek access to, and correction of their personal information which the school has collected and holds. However, access may be refused in certain circumstances such as where access would have an unreasonable impact on the privacy of others or may result in a breach of the School’s duty of care obligations. Any refusal will be notified in writing with reasons if appropriate.
  12. EREA’s Privacy Policy also sets out how job applicants and employees can make a complaint about a breach of the APPs and how the complaint will be handled.
  13. If you provide the school with the personal information of others, such as other employment referees, doctors or emergency contacts, we encourage you to inform them you are disclosing that information to the school and why, that they can request access to and correction of that information if they wish and to also refer them to EREA’s Privacy Policy for further detail about such requests and how the school otherwise handles personal information it collects and complaints it receives.

Personal Details * Required field

  2. Digits only or add + for international numbers

  1. (Please click on your profile and copy the URL from your profile page.)

Questions

Your IP address (15.158.61.12) has been logged. 111 Hits.

Edmund Rice Education Australia

Edmund Rice Education Australia (EREA) Flexible Schools Ltd is a child safe organisation committed to the protection of children and has a zero tolerance of abuse of children. We are committed to ensuring the safety, wellbeing and dignity of all children and young people therefore, all applicants will be subject to EREA and legislative screening procedures.

These checks are consistent with EREA’s commitment to child safeguarding policies and procedures. This includes complying with our Child Safeguarding policy and code of conduct.
EREA Flexible Schools Ltd is an equal opportunity employer that promotes the safety and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and encourages applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.