CARE Educators Boarding – Walk With Young Women Towards Empowerment

Full-time, part-time, and casual roles available – Immediate start

Are you ready to create meaningful relationships, nurture resilience, and empower young women and their children within a therapeutic boarding school setting?

As a CARE Educator, you'll go beyond traditional youth support—you’ll champion the core principles of the Children and Residential Experiences (CARE) model to build an environment where young Indigenous women and their babies feel safe, respected, and inspired to thrive.

Why Join Us?

Balanced rosters that honour your life outside of work

Purpose-led work with young mothers and their children in a culturally rich setting

Trauma-informed and relational practice at the heart of every shift

Up to 11 weeks of paid school holiday leave annually

Salary packaging to increase your take-home pay

About Cape York Girl Academy

Cape York Girl Academy is a small, residential boarding school that supports young Indigenous mothers and their babies through a holistic model of care and education. As an initiative of Djarragun College, our approach is grounded in cultural identity, relational practice, and intergenerational healing.

About the Role

The role of a CARE Educator is deeply aligned with youth support and therapeutic care work. You’ll support students emotionally, socially, and practically, applying the CARE framework to ensure every young woman is understood in context, supported with intention, and empowered to succeed.

Your day-to-day work will centre around building trust, nurturing development, and fostering safety in a structured residential and learning environment.

What You'll Be Doing

Relationship-Based Practice

Form meaningful, trusting, and consistent connections with each student

Be a stable adult presence who models healthy boundaries, emotional regulation, and respectful communication

Build relational safety as the foundation for learning and change

Developmentally Focused

Tailor support to each student’s individual stage of development, parenting journey, and lived experience

Promote daily routines, emotional literacy, and life skills to build resilience and capability

Offer praise, structure, and guidance that meets them where they are

Trauma-Informed Practice

Respond with compassion and curiosity, not judgement

Understand behaviours in the context of trauma and use de-escalation, reflection, and emotional coaching

Help students understand themselves and their strengths

Family Involved

Respect the central role of kinship, culture, and community in a young person’s healing

Involve families and Elders in ways that honour their knowledge and relationships

Strengthen ties between students, their families, and their children

Competence Centred

Promote independence, confidence, and voice—through everyday interactions, encouragement, and opportunity

Support students in developing parenting skills, managing appointments, building friendships, and navigating schoolwork

Celebrate achievements, no matter how small

Ecologically Oriented

See the young person within the broader context of their identity, culture, relationships, and environment

Advocate for student needs through collaborative, wrap-around care with educators, health services, and families

Contribute to whole-of-school wellbeing and behaviour support strategies

Additional Duties

Provide supervision and emotional support during structured routines and informal settings (meals, free time, study, etc.)

Participate in activities, outings, and programs that enrich learning and promote belonging

Assist with transportation to appointments and excursions (MR licence or willingness to obtain required)

Help maintain a calm, safe, and organised residential space

What You Bring

Genuine care, consistency, and cultural humility

Experience in youth work, residential care, or therapeutic settings

A strong understanding of trauma, adolescent development, and Indigenous community dynamics

Confidence to work collaboratively and independently in a residential care setting

Required Credentials

✅ Blue Card (for paid employment)
✅ COVID-19 vaccination or exemption
✅ First Aid and CPR (or willingness to obtain)
✅ Open Driver’s Licence (MR desirable or willingness to obtain)
✅ Bronze Medallion (or willingness to obtain)
✅ Qualifications in youth work, community services, or similar field preferred
✅ Cultural competence and experience with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth strongly valued

How to Apply

Submit your application via SEEK addressed to the Head of Campus, Cape York Girl Academy, including:

Your current CV

Contact details for two recent professional referees

A short cover letter outlining how your experience aligns with the CARE model and youth support practice

This is more than a role—it’s a calling.

Be the calm. Be the care. Be the connection.
Join us and walk alongside young Indigenous women as they write the next chapter of their lives.