Regional Manager, Executive Level 1, Educator Programs

The Department of Industry, Science and Resources and our broader portfolio are integral to the Australian Government’s economic agenda. Our purpose is to help the government build a better future for all Australians through enabling a productive, resilient and sustainable economy, enriched by science and technology. We do this by:

• Growing innovative & competitive businesses, industries and regions
• Investing in science and technology
• Strengthening the resources sector.

Questacon – The National Science and Technology Centre is a division of the Australian Government Department of Industry Science and Resources. Our vision is of a better future for all Australians through engagement with science, technology and innovation, and our mission is to excite and motivate people through inspirational learning experiences. Our teams work nationwide to deliver diverse programs, exhibitions, and experiences.

Questacon's Educator Programs Team works with educators and STEM sector stakeholders to deliver meaningful, impactful professional learning programs for educators.

In addition to the development and delivery of professional learning, the team works to develop and sustain communities of practice across the country to support educators and build connections with STEM professionals, to ensure young Australians have the skills needed to enter the STEM workforce.

The Educator Programs Team is a creative, innovative and dynamic team with extensive reach, responsibility and opportunities across many areas of Questacon’s business.

The team is responsible for three programs enabled through a partnership with the Department of Defence:

• Engineering is Elementary provides professional development workshops for primary school educators to empower them to teach engineering concepts using cross-curricular units of work in their own classrooms.
• Questacon STEM Futures is a professional development program for all educators and school leadership that enhances their skills and capacity to design and implement their own STEM programs in collaboration with local stakeholders, supporting school leaders to embed a STEM culture in their schools.
• Applied STEM will respond to educators’ requests for help to build capacity to develop and deliver their own STEM programs with a unique cross-curricular focus and apply STEM concepts to students’ everyday context.

The Educator ProgramsRegional Manager is a newly established role for an experienced, collaborative and supportive leader to build Questacon’s Applied STEM program. Supervising a dispersed team of Regional Leaders, the Regional Manager will enable this team to deliver and provide connections for Applied STEM and other Questacon education activities across Australia.

The Educator Programs Manager is a proven leader and thinker who constantly asks the question ‘how can we improve on the work we are doing?’ They are organised, highly motivated, capable of seeing the big picture and able to lead and manage a large, diverse team of staff.

The Educator Programs Manager will work collaboratively as part of the Educator Programs and Questacon leadership teams, as an excellent manager who is passionate about building the capacity of others, and uses this to build and maintain a skilled, professional and safe team culture. They will work with their team to deliver excellent national outcomes for Questacon and our department, our staff, visitors, stakeholders and supporters.

This new role will strategically shape and drive the newly established Applied STEM program and help to deliver impactful change for educators across Australia. With a focus on under-reached and under-represented audiences, this role will build a team to support educators and through these educators, help to ensure more young people have the STEM skills needed for the future and awareness of the career pathways on offer.

The Educator ProgramsRegional Manager will lead and guide the work of the team of Regional Leaders as they design and deliver bespoke content and professional development for educators across Australia.

They will connect and leverage the capability of this distributed team as a key part of Questacon’s national workforce building connections through new and existing networks and working to raise the awareness and impact of Questacon’s programs. 

This role will require regular travel in support of the team, to enabling successful delivery and providing strong workplace engagement and support to team members.

Our ideal candidate will:

• Have qualifications or demonstrated depth of knowledge and experience in STEM, education and/or science communication fields and experience in a relevant professional position
• Be a proven leader with high level capacity to inspire, motivate and manage staff and an ability to build teams that demonstrate a collaborative and supportive culture.
• Have an ability to develop and drive strategy in a practical way to deliver impactful programs.
• Have a good knowledge of the Australian STEM or education ecosystem.
• Have demonstrated experience in engagement and collaboration with key stakeholders to identify opportunities, achieve outcomes and facilitate cooperation.
• Have excellent organisation, planning and program management skills, effectively managing competing priorities and strategic directions when achieving team planning and project outcomes.
• Have outstanding written and oral communication skills.
• Be resilient, thoughtful, and respond positively to change.
• Be able to work and travel alone or in small teams in regional and/or remote locations.
• Experience managing remote teams is desirable.

The main goal of the team is to inspire educators to inclusively engage their students in learning STEM content and subsequently develop the STEM skills and characteristics needed for Australia’s future. Each member of the team plays an important role in achieving this goal. 

Working consistently within the expectations for an EL1 in the APS Work Level Standards, the Educator ProgramsRegional Manager is responsible for:

• Day to day management and delivery of the Educator Programs team initiatives. This includes the implementation of the strategic plan, deliver activities, manage budgets, recruitment, training, WHS, reporting and other compliance activities.
• Leading, inspiring, and building the capability of the team, while supporting them through remote management.
• Input into the strategic direction of the Educator Programs through the Educator Programs Management Team.
• Developing and maintaining education networks/partnerships in collaboration with the team of Regional Leaders.
• Developing and presenting reporting material to senior executive staff as well as partners or potential partners.
• Inspiring, exploring and developing new program opportunities to increase Questacon’s audience and impact.
• Working within Australian Government guidelines (e.g. Workplace Health and Safety, APS Values and Code of Conduct), and the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations.

The position holder is required to:

• Hold a full licence, or hold a P2 driver’s licence for at least 12 months
• Undergo a National Police Check
• Obtain, or hold, a current registration issued under the Working with Vulnerable People (Background Checking) Act 2011, and maintain this registration for the duration of employment, and
• have the ability to obtain registration to work with children and vulnerable people in other Australian states and territories as required by local authorities.

To be eligible for employment in the APS and the department, candidates must be Australian Citizens.

Positions require a Baseline security clearance and successful candidates will be required to obtain and maintain a clearance at this level.

This role is not specified as Canberra-based and the successful candidate will be able to utilise a combination of working from home and in-office arrangements to undertake work, with regular in-person connection expected through state offices of the Department of Industry, Science and Resources.

The Educator Programs team is largely based at Questacon’s second Canberra facility, The Ian Potter Foundation Technology Learning Centre. You may be directed to work from Canberra for short periods for training and other needs subject to operational requirements. All travel for work purposes will be fully funded.

Outside of your usual pattern of work, this role may require some after-hours or weekend work, including intrastate or interstate travel as required. 

This position is offered as non-ongoing until 31 December 2027.

A merit pool may be established and used to fill future vacancies within 18 months from the date the vacancy was first advertised in the Gazette. 

Your application must not contain any classified or sensitive information. This includes in your application responses, CV and any other documents. The selection panel may not consider applications containing classified information.

Please provide a pitch explaining how your skills, knowledge and experience will be relevant to this role and why you are the best candidate for the position. Your pitch can contain no more than 750 words and should align to the key duties listed above.

Please complete your application online and provide your current CV with your application. (CVs must be in .doc, .docx, or .pdf format).

Accessible application documentation is available in other formats on request. Please contact ***********@industry.gov.au or (02) 6276 1*** if you require assistance with your application.

Please refer to our Applying for a position information for additional information on how to apply.

For more information regarding this opportunity, please contact Broderick Matthews on 02 6112 9*** or via email on ***************@questacon.edu.au