At Santa Maria College, our vision of One Community, Three Villages embodies our commitment to educate young women for now and into the future. Acutely aware of the interdependence between Faith, Learning and Wellbeing, our leadership endeavours to build a community of holistic learners, guided by the following four principles:

• Fostering respectful relationships with students, staff and families.
• Create a flourishing learning environment so that all students can learn.
• Leading, empowering and shaping our community within our Catholic, Good Samaritan and Benedictine identity.
• Building individual capacity to enhance communal growth, vision and innovation

‍In this newly created role, the Director of Student Wellbeing will be critical in building on our wellbeing culture across the school community. With a focus on improving our wellbeing practices and programs and continuing to promote a safe, caring and supportive environment for our students, we aim to grow and build our integration between pastoral care, faith and improved learning outcomes.

The Director of Student Wellbeing provides proactive, high-quality leadership and plays a key role in implementing the College’s vision, mission and strategic plan. This leadership role will have an important relationship with our Deputy Principals, Head of Village, Learning & Growth Leaders, the Director of Learning and Enhancement and their team, the College Counselling, Refugee and Indigenous Team, as well as students and parents.

The position will commence at the beginning of the 2024 school year (29 January 2024) or earlier by negotiation and will hold a full-time ongoing teaching role on appointment, with a leadership tenure of 3 years.

‍Responsibilities/Duties:

• Lead the College Wellbeing Team – Heads of Village, Learning & Growth Leaders, Psychologists, Director of Learning Enhancement and Support Team, the College Counselling, Refugee and Indigenous Team.  
• Be familiar with the PROTECT protocols and Child Safety Framework and assist the College’s Wellbeing Team to ensure best and compliant practices. 
• Demonstrate expert understanding of the restorative practices model and be able to coach teachers in applying the model to student management. 
• Ensure accurate recording, secure access and appropriate sharing of information pertaining to individual student wellbeing, student management and attendance records is followed by staff. 
• Lead in the area of policy and procedure development, particularly with reference to PROTECT, Child Safety, student wellbeing and the National safe Schools Framework. 
• Share the responsibility of supporting and monitoring the social – emotional NCCD students with the Director of Learning Enhancement and Support. 
• Work closely with students and parent/guardians in times of crisis. 
• Ensure frequent and effective communication with families in relation to student wellbeing.  
• embed a restorative practices model of student management to promote excellent staff/student relationships.
• Provide professional learning opportunities for staff in the areas of health and student wellbeing that responds to the needs of students and reflects the strategic priorities of the College. 
• Model and champion effective classroom management strategies used by teachers and encourage teachers to share their stories of success with one another in wellbeing practices. 
• Monitor and support the student wellbeing structures of the school and act to ensure their continuing effectiveness and relevance. 
• Be proactive in ensuring the use of SIMON and PAM in order to establish efficient and timely communication between families and staff regarding student wellbeing. 
• Liaise with external agencies supporting students or families where necessary. 
• Further enhance and promote student leadership and student voice. 
• Lead, meet and collaborate regularly with Heads of Village to ensure all new students to the College in Years 7 to 12 are supported in their transition. 
• Chair Learning and Growth leaders’ meetings. 
• Monitor, mentor, and support members of the Village teams in the development and implementation of activities related to their particular Year level or Village. 
• Work alongside the Learning and Growth leaders to develop a comprehensive and sequential proactive student wellbeing program from Years 7 to 12 in areas such as resilience, wellbeing, drug education, cyber-safety, mental and physical health in keeping with the guidelines provided to schools by various authorities. 
• Lead in the management of student behavioural issues in support of Learning and Growth Leaders and Heads of Village

‍Skills & Experience

• Deep understanding and experience in contemporary student wellbeing practices
• Leadership experience
• Experience in supporting and mentoring Classroom teachers in the effective implementation of pastoral care, wellbeing programs and behaviour management
• Demonstrated skills to develop, review and deliver school strategy and operational plans with specific reference to the promotion of wellbeing
• Ability to meet deadlines and to be highly organised
• Ability to perform all tasks with attention to detail
• Ability to demonstrate proactive and responsive decision making and problem solving

Personal Qualities/Attributes:

• Deep interest in and passion for wellbeing 
• Exceptional written, verbal, visual & non-verbal communication skills
• Ability to build rapport and trust with people at all levels
• Possess highly developed social-emotional skills to be able to model care and empathy 
• Commitment to discretion, confidentiality and integrity
• Ability to work collaboratively and respectfully as part of a team
• The ability to lead, build and mentor highly effective teams
• Ability to motivate and engage staff, students and parents to ensure a climate of support and high expectations
• Demonstrated commitment to professional development
• Ability to embrace and contribute to new approaches when dealing with changes in workplace conditions
• A willingness to support and promote Santa Maria College values

Qualifications & Knowledge:

• VIT Registration
• Relevant tertiary qualifications
• Knowledge and understanding of the integration of Faith, student wellbeing and learning and teaching (in the context of student Centered Schools
• A commitment to Child Safety
• A demonstrated understanding and commitment to the ethos of Santa Maria College as a Catholic school in the Good Samaritan/ Benedictine tradition.

Benefits

• Enjoyable and friendly work culture with a great team environment
• Employee Assistance Program to support mental health & wellbeing
• Smart Salary Packaging available
• Use of School Gym
• Staff Functions, Celebrations and Events
• Commitment to Personal Development relevant to your role

Applications must include:

• Cover Letter addressing Selection Criteria 
• A current Resume
• A completed Application Form
• Copies of VIT registration
• Qualifications

For a detailed scope of the role and an application form please contact our HR Manager [email protected].

We encourage you to visit our website for further insight into who we are at Santa Maria College. https://www.santamaria.vic.edu.au/

Applications close Monday 21 August 2023