Senior Education Advisor Early Learning

Taranaki | Whanganui | Manawatū

• Two full time permanent positions
• Delivering frontline services to early learning services

Help shape the future of Education

He mea tārai e mātou te mātauranga kia rangatira ai, kia mana taurite ai ōna huanga

We work to shape an education system that delivers equitable and excellent outcomes

At Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga | Ministry of Education, we work to provide services and support nationally, regionally and locally to the education sector, and in some cases, directly to ākonga and whānau.

We help shape the policies, settings and performance of the education system for early learning, schooling and tertiary. We do this by building relationships and understanding the needs of those who receive our services.

We are making significant changes to how we deliver our mahi by

• Taking practical action to give effect to te Tiriti o Waitangi. 
• Giving priority to regional and local voice. 
• Delivering greater responsiveness, accessibility and integrated services and support.
• Permeant full time position.
• Improving feedback loops and information flows. 

Our organisation is made up of talented and committed people from across Aotearoa with a wide range of backgrounds and cultures. While we work in different groups and on different things, we all strive every day to make the biggest difference we can for every child, young person and adult student in our education system. 

About our group and team

Te Mahau | Te Tai Whenua (Central) is a frontline group. Our frontline groups will collectively provide leadership and integrated services to the sector and others. This includes services such as learning support and education advice, and regulation functions for kōhanga, schools, kura and early learning services.

As a frontline group we develop and harness existing relationships with communities at the regional and local level, including deep relationships with iwi and hapū.

We also collectively strengthen relationships with our diverse communities who support Māori, Pacific peoples, disabled ākonga and/or ākonga with learning support needs, and ākonga from disadvantaged backgrounds. Ideally, you will be able to support both English and Māori medium services.

The early learning team works with and supports early learning services, Kōhanga Reo, Playcentres and Playgroups. Team members are based in offices across the Taranaki, Whanganui and Manawatū region.

We have two vacancies available, please state your location preference in your cover letter.

Mō tēnei tūranga | About this role

By giving effect to government and Ministry Policy and supporting education and community leadership, Senior Advisors enable the positive changes required to lift aspiration and raise educational achievement for every New Zealanders.

The Education Advisor works within the early learning sector and engage with the learning community to broker and support the implementation of services, projects and initiatives.

The Education Advisor develops and implements projects to increase early childhood education participation by children from target populations (eg. Māori, Pasifika and low socio-economic communities), particularly in areas where participation is low. The Education Advisor works with early childhood services to ensure quality provision and to ensure that licensing criteria are met and maintained.

The role is responsible for:

• Maintaining relationships with early learning services and stakeholders
• Supporting licenced early learning services to maintain the regulatory framework and implement guiding documents
• Supporting the licensing of early learning services and Kohanga Reo
• Complete contract procurement and monitoring for early learning services 
• Supporting Playgroups and Puna Reo to implement Te Whāriki and other relevant MoE guiding documents
• Completing the certification of Playgroups and Puna Reo
• Completing tasks associated with Playgroup and Puna Reo funding

Mōhou ake | About you

To be successful in this role you will have knowledge of early learning services, and the early childhood curriculum, regulations and pedagogies.

 You will also offer:

• The confidence to work across a diverse range of early learning services and contexts, including Māori medium and Pacific services
• Experience in assessing information to make objective judgments against criteria and recommending courses of action
• Strong written and oral communication skills
• The ability to work with others to support and implement change initiatives
• Demonstrate an understanding of education systems in New Zealand, and relevant education legislation
• Accountability for achieving required outcomes and meeting deadlines
• A current NZ driver's licence, travel is required with this position

You will also offer the ability to;

• Maintain open, responsive and inquiry-focused relationships with colleagues
• Take a collaborative approach in idea development and foster a high trust challenge relationship within the ECE team
• Support the ECE team to provide high-quality service to the sector, the Ministry and Government

Kua rite koe mō tēnei mahi? | Are you ready to make a difference?

We need to reflect the diverse communities we serve, so we welcome applications from individuals of all backgrounds, orientations, and identities. As an organisation, we are committed to building racial equity and excellence in the education sector. We want to provide flexible working environments where everyone feels relevant, valued and supported.

If this opportunity interests you, please submit your cover letter and resume by using the ‘apply' button. In your cover letter we'd like to know:

• about you, your values, your whakapapa
• your interest and motivations for this role
• the abilities, strengths, personal attributes and diverse perspectives you will bring to the role and this organisation.

Please note that this role is affected by the COVID-19 Public Health (Vaccinations) Order 2021.  â€‹

To be offered this role, successful applicant/s will need to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or have a medical exemption and provide evidence of their vaccination status. 

For further information, please contact Dianne Wilson at 06 350 9899 or Dianne.wilson@education.govt.nz

Applications close midnight, Sunday 6 March 2022