Work Type: Fixed-term - Full-time
Salary: $113,022 - $136,747
Grade: VPS 5
Occupation: Early childhood
Location: Melbourne - Western suburbs
Reference: VG/DE/VECRA/1914453
About the Role
An exciting opportunity is available for highly motivated individuals with strong attention to detail and a passion for meaningful work to support the Western Metropolitan Area team within Victorian Early Childhood Regulatory Authority (VECRA) with the compliance and quality assessment of early childhood education and care (ECEC) services.
As a Senior Authorised Officer, you will play an active frontline role in promoting quality improvement in ECEC services by conducting assessment and rating visits across metropolitan areas and planning and leading investigations as part of the core functions of VECRA. The role will also facilitate coaching and mentoring to colleagues, including Authorised Officers, in preparing and conducting assessment and rating visits, managing enquiries, complaint and incident notifications and conducting investigations. The role will at times have responsibility for key regulatory functions as determined by the Manager. The role will also be required to engage and provide specialist advice to internal and external stakeholders and provide leadership support across the team's regulatory functions.
Key accountabilities will include:
This is a full time fixed term VPS5 position until 15 January 2027, based in the Western Metropolitan Area of the South West Victoria Region, reporting to the Regional Manager and Area Manager. The Area team office is based in the Footscray Office.
The role involves travel (usually by car) across the South West Victoria Area, and to metropolitan and/or regional/remote areas such as Geelong and Ballarat. In this active frontline role, you will be visiting multiple ECEC services in a day and across the week. Typical work arrangements involve a balance of working offsite independently while visiting ECEC services, with time in an office environment working as part of a bigger inclusive team. The role will at times include planned overnight stays. There may also be some flexible start and finish times to accommodate service visits.
Attributes
To be successful in this role, you will:
Qualifications and Experience
Desirable: Relevant qualifications in early childhood education, teaching, or other human welfare studies, behavioural studies or similar.
Essential: Successful applicants will be required to hold a valid Victorian Working with Children's Check and Victorian driver's licence.
About the Victorian Early Childhood Regulatory Authority (VECRA)
The Victorian Early Childhood Regulatory Authority (VECRA) is the statutory authority responsible for regulating early childhood education and care (ECEC) services in Victoria. VECRA works to ensure the safety, wellbeing and development of children through effective regulation, compliance, quality assessment and continuous improvement across the early childhood sector.
VECRA plays a critical system management role, providing guidance, oversight and assurance to the sector while supporting high-quality early childhood education outcomes for Victorian children and families.
Further information about VECRA is available at: www.vic.gov.au/vecra.
About the Branch
Located across the four VECRA regions and the central office, the Operations Branch manages and supports nine area-based regional teams to deliver VECRA's core frontline regulatory work. The regional teams comprise authorised officers, compliance officers and support staff who assess and rate National Quality Framework (NQF) services against the National Quality Standard (NQS), conduct inspections to monitor compliance with the National Law, Children's Services Act and Child Safe Standards, as well as investigating alleged non-compliances. Regional teams engage with the sector to support, educate and guide providers of early childhood services.
Centrally, the Branch supports the regulatory workforce through capability and capacity building activities and the provision of policy advice, resources and training to address emerging regulatory practice issues and promote consistent practice. The Branch also supports the leadership of VECRA.
Further Information
Applicants are required to submit a CV and cover letter (max 2 pages for cover letter) summarising their skills, relevant experience and suitability to the role.
For more details regarding this position please see attached position description for the capabilities to address in application.
VECRA 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 VECRA, diversity and inclusion, and our employment conditions visit the VECRA website and our Diversity and Inclusion page.
Applicants requiring adjustments can contact the nominated contact person.
Information about VECRA's operations and employment conditions can be located on the VECRA website.
For further information pertaining to the role, please contact Kirsten Mitchell – Acting Area Manager via (03) 7005 1801 or [email protected].
Preferred applicants may be required to complete a police check and may be subject to other pre-employment checks. Information provided to VECRA 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 Wednesday 1 April 2026.