A flagship leadership opportunity | 160-place established Centre | Strategic, educational and operational leadership

Lead with purpose. Drive excellence. Shape the future of an established Centre.

Paisley Park is seeking an exceptional early childhood professional to lead our established 160-place Randwick Centre. This is an opportunity for a highly accomplished leader to take ownership of a significant operational portfolio, influence organisational performance and lead a Centre with an established reputation, a strong community presence and considerable scope for continued success.

This is not simply a Centre management position. It is a senior leadership appointment requiring the ability to operate strategically, lead confidently at scale, navigate a complex regulatory environment and maintain a sophisticated understanding of the commercial and operational drivers that underpin a successful early learning service.

About Paisley Park Randwick

Operating for nearly 10 years, Paisley Park Randwick is a well-established, state-of-the-art, fully indoor 160-place Long Day Care Centre. Purpose-designed to support high-quality early learning, the Centre has developed strong connections with its local community, particularly its neighbouring schools and education networks.

Located just streets away from the Eastern Suburbs medical precinct, the Centre serves a highly engaged and discerning family community. Our families are actively involved in their children's education, have high expectations of the service and value strong communication, meaningful relationships and exceptional standards of care and education.

Operating across 12 hours each day, Randwick is a dynamic and complex environment. Its scale, operating hours, established workforce and community profile require a Director who can maintain a strong leadership presence while ensuring the Centre's systems, staffing arrangements, educational delivery and operational performance work cohesively.

You will be joining an organisation led by highly experienced early childhood professionals with more than 30 years of sector experience and recognised early childhood qualifications. You will have the opportunity to work alongside an experienced senior leadership team that values professional expertise, strategic thinking, accountability and continuous improvement.

The opportunity – a significant leadership portfolio

As Centre Director, you will hold responsibility for the overall strategic direction, operational performance, educational quality, regulatory compliance and workforce leadership of the Centre.

You will be expected to lead beyond the day-to-day demands of service delivery, maintaining a clear understanding of the Centre's broader performance and positioning while ensuring operational decisions translate into positive outcomes for children, families and Educators.

The successful candidate will demonstrate the ability to move confidently between strategic planning and operational execution. You will understand how workforce deployment, occupancy, enrolments, staffing expenditure, educational quality, regulatory compliance and family experience intersect to determine the success and long-term viability of a Centre.

You will be a visible, influential, and accountable leader who sets clear expectations, develops leadership capability, builds a cohesive workforce, and creates an environment where high standards are consistently understood and demonstrated.

Key leadership responsibilities

1. Strategic and commercial leadership

- Provide strategic direction and oversight of the Centre's overall performance, operational priorities and long-term sustainability.
- Maintain a sophisticated understanding of the commercial and operational drivers of early learning, including occupancy, enrolments, utilisation, staffing expenditure, wage budgets and resource allocation.
- Analyse operational and financial information to identify emerging trends, performance gaps, risks and opportunities for improvement.
- Develop and implement strategies that strengthen occupancy, workforce efficiency, resource utilisation and financial viability without compromising educational quality or children's outcomes.
- Exercise sound commercial judgement when making staffing, recruitment, programming, resource and operational decisions.
- Translate organisational objectives into measurable Centre priorities, clear accountabilities and effective operational systems.
- Proactively identify challenges and develop solutions that support the Centre's ongoing success.

2. Regulatory compliance, governance and risk management

- Demonstrate comprehensive knowledge of the National Quality Framework, National Law and Regulations and the broader regulatory environment governing early childhood education and care.
- Confidently interpret legislative requirements and translate them into practical, consistent and measurable operational practices.
- Maintain robust systems for regulatory compliance, child safety, supervision, staffing arrangements, risk management and record keeping.
- Lead continuous improvement across the Centre, ensuring policies,



procedures, risk assessments and quality improvement initiatives are embedded in everyday practice.
- Maintain a high level of regulatory readiness and confidently lead the Centre through assessment and rating, compliance monitoring and regulatory engagement.
- Identify and respond to emerging risks, ensuring appropriate preventative measures, accountability and follow-through.
- Establish a culture in which child safety, professional conduct and regulatory accountability are understood as shared responsibilities.

3. People and workforce leadership

- Provide decisive, considered and inspiring leadership to a large, established and diverse workforce.
- Lead the Centre's leadership team, establishing clear responsibilities, performance expectations and accountability.
- Build a high-performing workplace culture grounded in professional respect, collaboration, integrity and shared purpose.
- Demonstrate sophisticated workforce management capability, including recruitment, retention, succession planning, performance management and effective staffing deployment.
- Lead complex employee relations matters with confidence, sound judgement and procedural fairness.
- Identify individual and collective capability, develop emerging leaders and establish meaningful pathways for professional growth.
- Lead organisational change effectively, bringing people with you while maintaining clear expectations and qualified standards.
- Ensure workforce arrangements are responsive to the operational demands of a 12-hour service and the individual needs of children and families.

4. Educational and pedagogical leadership

- Provide strong educational leadership, maintaining a comprehensive understanding of the Early Years Learning Framework and contemporary early childhood pedagogy.
- Establish clear expectations for curriculum quality, intentional teaching, critical reflection and meaningful assessment of children's learning and development.
- Work collaboratively with the Educational Leader to strengthen pedagogical practice and ensure the educational program reflects children's identities, interests, strengths and individual learning priorities.
- Maintain oversight of educational quality and ensure the Centre's philosophy is meaningfully reflected in everyday practice.
- Demonstrate an understanding of inclusion funding arrangements and support mechanisms, including the Inclusion Support Program, and how these can be effectively accessed to strengthen children's participation and inclusion.
- Maintain sound knowledge of kindergarten funding, program requirements and relevant government initiatives.
- Champion inclusive practice, meaningful family partnerships and collaboration with allied health professionals and external support services where appropriate.

5. Family, stakeholder and community partnerships

- Lead robust, professional and collaborative relationships with a highly engaged family community.
- Confidently manage complex family expectations, sensitive conversations, feedback and complaints while maintaining trust and professional boundaries.
- Continue to strengthen the Centre's established relationships with local schools, community organisations and allied professionals.
- Provide visible leadership within the community and actively champion the Centre's community engagement program.
- Foster a culture of genuine partnership, ensuring families feel welcomed, respected, informed and connected to their child's early learning journey.
- Represent Paisley Park with professionalism, credibility and integrity across all stakeholder relationships.

About you – the experience and capability we are seeking We are looking for an accomplished early childhood leader who combines strong educational credentials with the strategic, commercial and operational capability to lead a substantial early learning service. You will bring:

Qualifications and experience

- A recognised Diploma or Bachelor qualification in Early Childhood Education and Care.
- A minimum of five years' demonstrated leadership and management experience within an early childhood education and care setting.
- Proven experience leading a substantial team and managing the operational complexity of a large Long Day Care service.
- Demonstrated success in managing regulatory compliance, workforce performance and educational quality.

Strategic and commercial capability

- A sound understanding of the financial and operational drivers of Centre viability.
- The ability to interpret performance data, identify operational inefficiencies and implement practical improvement strategies.
- Experience managing occupancy, enrolments, staffing expenditure, workforce utilisation and resource allocation.




- The confidence to make commercially responsible decisions while maintaining a clear commitment to children's rights, safety and educational outcomes.

Regulatory and educational expertise

- Comprehensive knowledge of the National Quality Framework, National Law and Regulations.
- Strong understanding of child protection, child safety, safeguarding and organisational governance.
- A clear and well-articulated educational philosophy, supported by sound knowledge of curriculum frameworks and contemporary pedagogy.
- Understanding of inclusion funding, kindergarten funding and relevant government support arrangements.

Leadership approach and personal attributes

- A systematic, highly organised and solutions-focused approach to leadership.
- Exceptional communication, negotiation, relationship management and conflict resolution skills.
- The ability to lead a large, established workforce with confidence, emotional intelligence and professional authority.
- A demonstrated capacity to manage competing priorities and make sound decisions in a complex, fast-paced environment.
- A strong values-driven philosophy that places children's safety, rights, wellbeing and best interests at the forefront of decision-making.
- A commitment to reflective leadership, professional accountability and continuous improvement.

Commercial awareness and operational judgement You understand that a high-quality Centre must also be operationally viable. You can confidently interpret occupancy, staffing and financial information, recognise when operational performance requires intervention and implement strategies that strengthen sustainability. You understand the relationship between staffing decisions, educational delivery and financial performance.

Regulatory confidence and compliance leadership

You do more than understand regulatory requirements. You know how to translate them into systems, processes and observable everyday practice. You can identify compliance risks, lead corrective action, maintain regulatory readiness and build a workforce that takes collective responsibility for child safety and quality.

The ability to lead at scale

You have the confidence and capability to lead an established, diverse and dynamic team. You can develop the people around you, establish clear leadership structures, address performance concerns and maintain a positive, accountable culture. You understand that leading a large Centre requires consistency, visibility, sound delegation and the ability to influence people at every level of the organisation.

Our selection process

Given the scope and seniority of this appointment, our recruitment process is designed to explore candidates' leadership experience, professional judgement and demonstrated capability across the key dimensions of Centre performance. We are interested not only in what you know, but how you think, how you make decisions and how you translate leadership principles into practical outcomes.

Why join Paisley Park?

Paisley Park offers the opportunity to lead within an established early learning organisation that values professional expertise, educational quality, strong relationships and operational excellence.

Our organisation is led by experienced early childhood professionals who understand the complexities of the sector and are committed to supporting Centre leaders through collaboration, professional learning and organisational support.

As Centre Director, you will benefit from:

- Experienced senior leadership support: Work alongside an established leadership team with more than 30 years of experience in the early childhood sector.
- Professional collaboration: Contribute to organisational strategy, share expertise and participate in meaningful leadership discussions across our Centres.
- Professional learning: Access our Communities of Practice Mentoring and Professional Learning Program, supporting ongoing development, reflective leadership and professional growth.
- Scope to influence: Take ownership of a significant Centre portfolio and contribute to the strategic direction, operational development and continued success of the service.
- An established foundation: Build on nearly a decade of community relationships, operational experience and Centre identity.

Take the next step in your leadership career This is an opportunity for a high-calibre early childhood professional who is ready to lead a substantial, established Centre and make a meaningful contribution to its future.

If you possess the strategic thinking, commercial acumen, regulatory knowledge and people leadership capability to deliver exceptional outcomes across all dimensions of Centre performance, we invite you to apply.

We are looking for a leader who can see the bigger picture, understand the operational detail, inspire people and deliver results – without ever losing sight of what matters most: children.

Join Paisley Park Randwick and make your mark.

Pay: $120,000.00 – $165,000.00 per year

Benefits

- Childcare assistance
- Employee discount
- Employee mentoring program
- Professional development assistance

Work Location: In person

📌 Seeking Centre Director at Paisley Park Randwick
🏢 Paisley Park
📍 Randwick