Company Description

Foci Education is a English tutoring agency in Burwood, Sydney, specialising in literacy, literature, and analytical thinking for students from Kindergarten to Year 12. Since 2019, we've built a reputation for something the tutoring industry rarely prioritises: genuine intellectual development over shortcuts and templates.

Classes are capped at six students. Every enrolment goes through a personal interview — not as a formality, but because thoughtful fit and serious commitment to learning are what make the model work. Students who stay with us long-term engage with advanced texts and ideas, develop a distinct writing voice, and leave knowing how to think, not just how to answer.

If you're looking for a place where the teaching actually matters, this is it.

The Role

We're looking for a casual English Educator to cover an existing class load while our current tutor completes an overseas placement, from mid-to-late January 2027 through to early June 2027. This is a casual, on-site role based at our Burwood centre. You'll initially cover Mondays and Saturdays, with the potential for additional days depending on business needs.

While there's no guarantee of ongoing work beyond each shift offered, we aim to provide approximately eight hours per week — and for the right person, there's genuine scope for the arrangement to continue beyond June 2027.

You'll be stepping into an established class load spanning Years 4, 5, 9, and 10 — students who are already mid-journey and accustomed to a high standard of teaching. Day-to-day, that means delivering lessons aligned with Foci's proprietary curriculum, providing detailed written feedback on student work, and keeping families informed about how their children are progressing. You'll also contribute to occasional curriculum meetings and internal teaching resources.

These students have been taught to expect rigour and precision. We need someone who can meet them where they are and carry that standard forward.

What We're Looking For

- A strong foundation in English literature, literacy education, and analytical writing, with experience teaching across a range of year levels — ideally spanning both primary and secondary
- Demonstrated ability to plan and deliver structured, text-based lessons in small-group settings,



with confident differentiation across varied skill levels
- The ability to give clear, substantive feedback on student writing — covering argumentation, style, evidence-based analysis, and the development of an independent voice
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build genuine trust with students and families in a high-expectation workplace
- A bachelor's degree or higher in English, Education, or a related humanities field; formal teaching qualifications and experience with the NSW curriculum are a strong advantage
- Comfort working with advanced literary and theoretical material — Shakespeare, critical theory, post-colonial texts — and the ability to make that material genuinely accessible without losing its complexity
- A commitment to academic integrity, independent thinking, and long-term skill development rather than shortcut-focused tuition
- A current Working With Children Check (WWCC), or a willingness to obtain one prior to commencement at your own cost
- Reliable availability for on-site sessions in Burwood, NSW — initially Mondays and Saturdays, with flexibility to take on additional days if needed

Remuneration

$45–$55 per hour, commensurate with experience

Interview Process

Shortlisted candidates will be invited to an in-person interview at our Burwood office with one or both of Foci's principals. The interview will include a discussion of the writing sample you submitted with your application — we will have read it, formed questions around it, and we'll talk through it with you directly.

This is a viva voce format: the same style of assessment we use with our own students. Come prepared to speak to your ideas, defend your position, and think on your feet. We're not looking for a polished performance — we're looking for genuine intellectual engagement.

Who We'd Love to Hear From





Foci Education is committed to building a team that reflects the diversity of the communities we serve. We warmly welcome applications from individuals who identify as LGBTQIA+, as well as those from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds. We believe that a range of lived experiences makes us better educators and a stronger team — and we want every applicant to feel genuinely welcome here.

How to Apply

Please apply via the form on our website at focieducation.com/enquire/careers-form. Your application must include:

1. Your resume A current CV outlining your education, work experience, and any relevant qualifications.

2. Two targeted responses (150 words each)

Question 1:

A student tells you they used an artificial intelligence tool to help them draft their essay because it "said the same thing I was thinking, just better." How do you respond — and what does your response reveal about what you believe writing is actually for?

Question 2:

If literacy is the ability to read and write with understanding and precision, what is the most important thing young people are failing to understand or say — and why does it matter?

3. A personal reference

We don't ask for references from former employers. We ask for one from a friend — someone who has seen you at your best and your worst, and who owes you nothing professionally. Provide their name, contact details, and how long you've known them. We may reach out to them as part of the shortlisting process. Please let them know you've listed them.

4. A body of personal writing (optional)

If you have a piece of writing you're proud of — personal, creative, discursive, or academic — we'd love to read it. It doesn't need to be polished or published. We're simply interested in what you choose to write about when no one is asking you to, and what that reveals about how you think and what you care about.

5. A cover letter (optional)

If you'd like to tell us why you want to work at Foci Education specifically, you're welcome to include one. If you do, make it specific — generic expressions of enthusiasm are not useful to us.

For an informal conversation about the role before applying, you're welcome to reach out to Emma Tang directly at [email protected]

📌 English Educator – Casual Cover (Jan–Jun 2027) (Sydney)
🏢 Foci Education
📍 Sydney