Director of Executive Operations and Co Sec

Barker College is seeking an experienced and commercially astute Director of Executive Operations & Company Secretary to join our team at our Hornsby campus.

Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer, this newly created leadership role offers a unique opportunity for a strategic and highly capable executive professional to operate across both governance and operational leadership. As Company Secretary, you will support the School Council by ensuring effective governance practices and compliance obligations are met. In parallel, you will partner closely with the COO to drive executive operations, strategic priorities and key business initiatives across the school.

This is a rare opportunity to make a meaningful impact within one of Australia's leading independent schools. The successful candidate will play a pivotal role in supporting executive decision-making, strengthening governance, and enabling the effective delivery of strategic and operational priorities that benefit both the school and its wider community.

If you are a trusted adviser with strong governance expertise, exceptional organisational capability and a passion for driving outcomes in a purpose-led environment, we would love to hear from you.

Key Responsibilities including –

COO Executive Operations

Act as a trusted adviser to the COO on executive operations, organisational effectiveness and strategic execution.

Lead or support strategic initiatives, reviews and transformation projects on behalf of the COO.

Translate strategic priorities into coordinated workplans, milestones and accountability frameworks across Business Operations.

Establish disciplined processes to monitor progress, manage interdependencies, identify risks and provide executive reporting on delivery outcomes.

Prepare high-quality briefings, presentations and supporting materials for Executive, Council and stakeholder engagements.

Executive, Council and Company Secretariat

Act as Company Secretary to the School Council, ensuring compliance with all statutory, regulatory and governance obligations.

Lead the coordination and quality assurance of Council, Committee and Key Leadership Team governance processes, including agendas, papers, minutes, resolutions, action tracking and decision registers.

Maintain governance records, statutory registers, declarations and related documentation, ensuring accuracy, integrity and appropriate access controls.

Coordinate annual governance obligations, including reporting cycles, director attestations, policy reviews and compliance monitoring.

Serve as the primary governance liaison between the Council, Committees and Executive, ensuring timely information flow, alignment of expectations and effective communication.

Support the Chair, Head of Business Operations and COO through governance briefings, correspondence and strategic advice.

Promote governance best practice across documentation, reporting, recordkeeping, privacy and information governance frameworks.

ABOUT YOU

Tertiary qualifications in a relevant discipline such as Business Administration, Management, Strategy or Finance, or equivalent professional experience.





Governance qualifications through the Governance Institute of Australia highly regarded.

Demonstrated professional capability in executive operations, governance support, strategy delivery or complex organisational coordination.

High level written communication capability, including experience preparing Executive and Board level papers.

Ability to operate within a complex, multi-stakeholder governance setting, requiring discretion, sound judgement and alignment with the values of an independent school setting.

Experience acting as Company Secretary, or supporting Board/Council governance at a senior level - Desirable

Executive presence with a calm, credible and enabling style

Strong relational capability and influence.

High integrity, confidentiality and professional judgement.

Pragmatic, solution focused and delivery oriented.

Alignment with the values and Christian ethos of the School

Barker is an Anglican Day and Boarding School, originally established in 1890, and is situated in Hornsby on the Upper North Shore of Sydney.

Barker College is a fully coeducational school from Pre‑Kindergarten to Year 12. We also have four satellite campuses:

An Outdoor Education facility at The Grange, Mount Victoria, NSW.

At Barker, we value our staff and nurture a dynamic professional learning community. We encourage and support all our teaching and support staff to thrive in their roles through ongoing professional learning, research and self‑reflection. Quality teaching and learning drives the pursuit of supporting the School’s strategic vision of being a leading educational institution that inspires global hope

WHY WORK AT BARKER COLLEGE

Access to high quality professional learning and career development opportunities.

Access to the Barker Institute which exists to use the rich intellectual resources of the school to facilitate learning and growth in the School and the wider community.

We offer generous salary packages and a range of wellbeing activities including health centre, gym, pool, lunch and Employee Assistance Program for all staff.

Exceptional grounds and ongoing development across all sites.

Barker College is a Mental First Aid Australia Skilled Workplace

Barker College is a Workplace Gender Equality Employer

Hornsby Campus has an on site Health Centre and a team of Counsellors

Hornsby Campus is close to public transport on Sydney's North Shore and has onsite Car Parking available at all Campuses

CANDIDATE EXPECTATIONS & REQUIREMENTS

Successful applicants will be expected to support the Mission, Vision and Values of the School.

Barker College is an Anglican School and applicants for this position will need to demonstrate sympathy with and support for the School’s Christian values.





Barker College is a child safe organisation and all statutory checks and references are required prior to confirmation of employment. An NSW Working with Children Check (WWCC) and a National Police Check will be required.

Barker College is committed to a safe work environment, and all staff members work within our WHS Policy & Procedures and other relevant documentation.

Barker College policy requires staff to have received two (2) Covid‑19 vaccine doses.

Barker College will require all Teaching Staff to provide evidence of their Tertiary Qualifications and have an understanding of and experience in relevant NESA syllabus documents and teacher accreditation requirements.

All teaching staff participate in the school’s extensive Pastoral Care and co‑curricular programs. The ability to coach sports is highly desirable.

Referees will only be contacted after initial interviews have been carried out. Your present Principal should be listed amongst confidential referees.

Source: This is an extract from the company's own website.

At Barker we have maintained a passion for teaching and learning for 125 years. We pride ourselves on the special School Community that exists – the sense of closeness and inclusiveness that parents and students alike come to value and appreciate about the School.

Here at Barker every student is made to feel special because we value him or her for the unique individual he or she is. As Head of School, Mr Phillip Heath, highlights "it is extremely important to remember that all experiences we provide here at Barker College pre-eminently should be about education. All that we do must reflect our Values and our Mission: To inspire and to show commitment, compassion, courage, integrity and respect under God".

Our teaching staff is particularly well qualified and the School Council invests heavily in their continuing education. Many of them are lifelong learners, undertaking additional study including the Harvard Graduate School of Education’s Teaching for Understanding.

Source: This is an extract from the company's own website.

At Barker we have maintained a passion for teaching and learning for 125 years. We pride ourselves on the special School Community that exists – the sense of closeness and inclusiveness that parents and students alike come to value and appreciate about the School.

Here at Barker every student is made to feel special because we value him or her for the unique individual he or she is. As Head of School, Mr Phillip Heath, highlights "it is extremely significant to remember that all experiences we provide here at Barker College pre-eminently should be about education. All that we do must reflect our Values and our Mission: To inspire and to show commitment, compassion, courage, integrity and respect under God".

Our teaching staff is particularly well qualified and the School Council invests heavily in their continuing education. Many of them are lifelong learners, undertaking additional study including the Harvard Graduate School of Education’s Teaching for Understanding.

Source: This is an extract from the company's own website.

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📌 Director of Executive Operations and Co Sec (Sydney)
🏢 Barker College
📍 Sydney