About the Department

The department provides a wide range of learning and development support and services.

The department provides policy leadership, plans for the future of education in Victoria and leads key cross-sector collaboration. The department plays an important system steward role by providing support, guidance, oversight and assurance across early childhood and school education systems, as well as directly providing school education and 50 new early learning centres.

About the Division

The Employee Safety, Wellbeing and Inclusion Division (ESWID) is committed to the Department's vision to create healthy and safe working and learning environments for Department employees to thrive and succeed.

ESWID performs its functions through five branches that span from prevention, through to response and recovery, along with strategy, advice and support. These teams adopt a holistic approach for supporting the health, safety and wellbeing of our workforce across schools, central and regional offices. This includes Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) and Workers' Compensation policy advice and support, for both physical and mental health and wellbeing. The objectives of the Division are to:

• promote positive wellbeing in learning and working environments
• prevent against known and expected risks to health, safety and wellbeing
• respond swiftly and effectively to manage potential issues as they emerge and prevent injuries
• support employees to recover from injury and illness and return to work.

About the Role

There are 4 positions available for this role.

This is a Full Time Fixed Term position until 30 June 2028.

The aim of the Workplace Psychosocial Service Team is to provide expert specialist advice and support to schools to identify, assess and manage psychological hazards and to comply with current and future OHS requirements to prevent and respond to mental injury. The team also plays a lead role in developing policy advice and resources.

The Senior Advisor, Workplace Psychosocial Service will provide hands-on support providing specialist advice, services and resources to schools and regions on identifying and managing psychological hazards, ensuring compliance with OHS requirements and supporting the implementation of mental health programs and projects effectively.

The Senior Advisor will be based in one of the four regional office locations:

• North Eastern Region, Glen Waverley
• North Western Region, Coburg
• South Eastern Region, Dandenong
• South Western Region, Footscray

Alternative regional office locations may be discussed with the preferred candidate.

The Senior Advisor, Workplace Psychosocial Service will proactively identify schools requiring support and triage and respond to deliver consistent, hands-on services to schools to reduce their OHS compliance workload. This will require working closely with the existing OHS Implementation Services team as well as other ESWID Branches and teams including wellbeing promotion and response and intervention. They will also play an educative role, building buy-in, awareness and capability across the department including central, area and regional teams to embed the new OHS Psychological Regulations in schools and lift the maturity of the organisation in the management of psychosocial hazards.

The role will be required to work closely with schools, area and regional workforces directly across a continuum of supports. The Senior Advisor will ideally have demonstrated expertise and skills and experience in the management of psychosocial hazard identification, experience in providing support to schools, and/or experience in developing policies, procedures and practical resources to help guide workplaces to implement OHS legislation relating to psychosocial risk.

Travel and accommodation in regional areas will also be required in this role. In addition, the Senior Advisor will be expected to attending meetings on a monthly basis in Melbourne.

The position will report to the Manager - Workplace Psychosocial Service.

Attributes

The required capabilities for the role are set out in the position description (see attachment).

Qualifications and Experience

Essential:

• Relevant qualification in Occupational Health and Safety or related field, and relevant experience.
• Victorian Driver's license.
• Working with Children Check.

Further Information

Applicants are asked to provide a statement of no more than two pages against the Key Selection Criteria including addressing the essential qualifications and experience listed.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to nominate in their application which region they are applying for.

For more details regarding this position please see attached position description for the capabilities to address in application.

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.

Applicants requiring adjustments can contact the nominated contact person.

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 Lauren Day - Manager, Workplace Psychosocial Service via 7008 8207 orLauren.Day2@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 ad 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 Thursday 22 May 2025.