Job Description

We are looking for an experienced Diploma-qualified educator whose time in the sector has developed into sound judgement, confident family communication and dependable room leadership. This permanent full-time Lead Educator opportunity is based in a preschool room, with the staffing support and space to establish yourself and lead well.

Set across five semi-rural acres and supported by above-ratio staffing, this is a genuinely supported next step where your experience will be recognised and valued.

Application eligibility

This is a Diploma-qualified educator position rather than an Early Childhood Teacher pathway role. Employer sponsorship is not available, and the position is not suitable for applicants studying or holding a Graduate Diploma in Early Childhood Education.

Benefits include

• From $38.25 p/hour with scope to negotiate above award based on experience.
• A beautiful five-acre semi-rural setting, with four large indoor environments and three age-appropriate separate outdoor areas.
• Above-ratio staffing and dedicated float support for programming, breaks, planned leave and unexpected absences.
• Occasional workplace flexibility where individual needs and the roster can reasonably be accommodated.
• Longer-term leadership progression, with genuine potential to move into Educational Leadership and more.
• A genuinely family-owned service where decisions are made locally, relationships matter, and educators are known and valued.
• Access to professional development, including e-learning courses, supports ongoing professional learning.

About the opportunity

The service is a long-established, family-owned early learning centre in Vineyard, in Sydney's north-west. Purpose-built across five semi-rural acres, it offers four large indoor environments and three separate outdoor areas, giving educators considerably more space to work with than the average suburban centre.

The physical setting is matched by a practical staffing model. Rooms routinely operate above minimum ratios, with additional float capacity used to support programming, breaks and absences. The service is independently owned, decisions are made locally and the team is led by an experienced, long-standing Centre Director.

The successful educator will begin in one of the preschool rooms. This provides time to understand the children, families, team and expectations while making a meaningful contribution from the outset.

We are not recruiting somebody to arrive and inherit every leadership problem on day one. We are looking for an experienced educator who can contribute immediately, establish trust and grow into broader responsibility, potentially including the Educational Leader role over time.

What we're looking for

• An approved Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care. Early Childhood Teachers are welcome to apply, but a teaching qualification is not required.
• Substantial early childhood experience, with evidence that your experience has included genuine room responsibility.
• Demonstrated success in a similarly minded service where educators are expected to exercise judgement, communicate with families and contribute to room leadership.
• A current New South Wales Working with Children Check.
• Current approved first aid, CPR, asthma and anaphylaxis qualifications.
• Completed child protection and child safety training
• Sound knowledge of the Early Years Learning Framework, National Quality Standard and child-safety obligations.
• Calm operational judgement, including the ability to manage incidents, competing priorities and professional family conversations without constant escalation.
• The confidence to guide and support other educators while remaining collaborative, accountable and open to learning the service's way of working.

What next?

If you are ready for a senior educator role where support is built into the staffing model, apply through SEEK. Early Years Talent is conducting this search on behalf of the service and will contact suitable applicants for an initial confidential discussion before making any introduction.