Senior Program Officer, Strategic Projects

• Join an exciting and supportive project team committed to supporting In Home Care services provide safe and high-quality education and care.
• Opportunity for flexible work arrangements including from our office located on Gadigal Land in Sydney CBD, under our hybrid working arrangements policy.
• Work life balance | Great work culture.

About You

To be successful in this role you will need:

• Knowledge of contemporary best-practice children's education and care practice, current legislation and emerging policy trends, including highly developed knowledge of the NQF.
• Ability to build and sustain collaboration with children's education and care service providers and service leaders to support quality practice improvement.
• Conceptual, analytical and research skills including recent experience undertaking policy analysis and review to develop advice to inform organisational and/or government decision making.
• Oral and written communication skills, including the ability to facilitate training and consultation, develop and edit reports, policy papers, frameworks and tools, and develop engaging resources for a diverse range of audiences.
• Microsoft 365 Suite skills to develop and deliver professional and engaging resources, reports and presentations, including Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Teams.
• A tertiary qualification in early childhood education, special education, or a related field of study (or comparable professional experience).
• A tertiary qualification in adult learning and development (or equivalent experience in a similar role).

While not essential, the following attributes will greatly assist you in the role:

• Experience leading or supporting professional development for approved providers or service leaders in an education and care context.
• Microsoft Excel skills to generate data visualisations, charts and reports.

About ACECQA

We want children in Australia to have the best start in life.

We provide national leadership on the implementation of the National Quality Framework (NQF) and collaborate with the Australian and state and territory governments to:

• implement changes that benefit children birth to 13 years-of-age and their families
• monitor and promote the consistent application of the Education and Care Services National Law across all states and territories
• support the early childhood education and care sector to improve quality outcomes for children

We strive for innovation and continuous improvement and are committed to keeping the sector and the community informed with the latest developments in early childhood education and care.

ACECQA is committed to being a child-safe organisation, implementing the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations and actively promoting the safety and wellbeing of children.

The Role

The Australian Government has engaged ACECQA to deliver the In Home Care Quality and Safety Project to strengthen the capability of In Home Care services to provide safe and high quality education and care. You can read more about this project on our website: www.acecqa.gov.au/resources/projects/home-care-quality-and-safety-project

Reporting to the Manager, Strategic Projects, the Senior Officer, Strategic Projects will provide both policy and practice expertise to support the delivery of the In Home Care Quality and Safety Project. This includes undertaking legislative analysis and review to develop policy papers and proposals; reporting on project deliverables and milestones; developing professional learning resources aligned with contemporary best practice; and providing coaching and mentoring support to service leaders and approved providers.

This role is full-time and fixed term to 30 June 2026 at ACECQA Band 5/6 ($103,179-$140,976) with possible opportunity for extension for the right candidate. Flexible work arrangements will be considered.

ACECQA is committed to removing barriers and opening up opportunities. As an employer we seek to ensure people with differing needs and abilities have the same opportunities to successfully gain skills, knowledge and experience through work, social activities, education and training irrespective of their age, disability, colour, race, gender, religion, sexuality, family responsibilities, or location. We are committed to improving opportunities and outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

You must have the right to work and live in Australia to apply for this role.

The successful candidate will be required to consent to a national police check.

How to apply

The closing date for applications is Tuesday, 16 September 2025 at 11.59pm.

Important Note: Please ensure you follow the recruitment process outlined below, otherwise you may not be considered for the role.

To apply, please register with the ACECQA Recruitment Candidate Portal, navigate to Senior Program Officer, Strategic Projects vacancy and click Apply for Job. The application process will require you to:

1. Clearly address each of the essential and desirable criteria contained in the position description in a cover letter of no more than 3 pages.
2. Attach a CV of no more than 3 pages.
3. Attach a written response to the targeted question below of no more than 300 words.
4. Provide the details of at least two referees within the last three years of employment who can attest to your capability for this role.

All complete applications will be acknowledged.

Targeted Question

You have been asked to develop and lead a 30-minute webinar on the topic of continuous quality improvement. How would you approach this task? What concepts would you cover?

More information

If you have any questions about the role, please email the Manager, Strategic Projects Megan Bedford at Megan.Bedford@ acecqa.gov.au

If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please email the HR team at recruitment@ acecqa.gov.au.

Notice to agencies

ACECQA will not accept applications from any source other than directly from a candidate for this vacancy. Recruitment agencies must have received instructions from ACECQA in relation to a specific vacancy in order to submit applications on behalf of candidates.

ACECQA is collecting the information requested in the advertisement for the purpose of selection, recruitment and engagement of staff. ACECQA is authorised to do so by the Education and Care Services National Law. Please refer to our Privacy Policy which can be accessed at http://www.acecqa.gov.au/privacy-policy