School VET Cluster Coordinator – Inner East Melbourne

Opportunity in North Eastern Victoria Region. Join a passionate team dedicated to creating better education, training and employment opportunities for young Victorians. 2 School VET Cluster Coordinator roles are available in the Inner East Melbourne Area. Based within the Jobs, Skills and Pathways Team, this role is located in Inner East Melbourne and will involve travel throughout the area. The role may be based in any office across the Area; this will be determined as part of the recruitment process.

As a member of Schools and Regional Services (SRS), you will be part of a division that offers central, regional, and local expertise to enhance learning and development outcomes, supported by a diverse and geographically dispersed workforce. It comprises 17 areas within 4 regions, backed by 5 central office divisions, all collaborating to deliver improved outcomes for early childhood services, schools, communities, and learners, in line with Education State commitments.

SRS regions include divisions specialising in school performance, student wellbeing and early childhood support, working with area-based teams to tailor local interventions and practices. The 17 areas provide crucial insights into local trends and issues, facilitating effective policy and program development and driving child and learner outcomes across all services and programs.

Selection Criteria

• DE Values: Demonstrated ability to model behaviours and attitudes consistent with Department values and support colleagues to adopt these behaviours and attitudes.
• Knowledge and proficiency: Demonstrated expertise in secondary school VET, including a strong understanding of DE, VCAA, VRQA, and ASQA policies and requirements. Demonstrated experience in coordinating the delivery of VET across schools and training providers.
• Relationships and stakeholder engagement: Demonstrated ability to develop and maintain strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders, using expertise in vocational education and training to manage a range of complex and often competing needs.
• Communication: Demonstrated effective communication skills including oral and written skills when engaging with various stakeholders, including the ability to convey specialist concepts and policies to these stakeholders. Prepares reports and correspondence on issues that impact at a program level.
• Project Delivery: Demonstrated ability to translate policies and locally defined strategies into programs or projects that actively enable the achievement of cluster outcomes. Identifies and develops objectives linking strategies to actions to achieve these.
• Flexibility and Adaptability: Demonstrated ability to respond quickly to change and is comfortable working collaboratively with internal and external stakeholders.

Role

Join the Jobs, Skills and Pathways team as a Vocational Education and Training Cluster Coordinator and help shape the future of VET Clusters. In this role you will work collaboratively with schools, training providers, and other education stakeholders to embed VET Clusters as the department's key framework for localised planning, delivery, and improved access to VET delivered to secondary school students.

About Vocational Education and Training Clusters: All government schools belong to a VET Cluster, localised cross-sector groups of schools that collaborate to plan, deliver, and access VET. There are 36 VET clusters across the state, each working within the VET Cluster Framework, focused on enhancing student access to high-quality VET that meets both educational and employment needs.

New VET Cluster model commencing in 2027: The 2026-27 State Budget provided funding to embed VET Clusters as the primary program for place-based collaboration between schools, training providers, and other education stakeholders. From 2027 administration of VET Clusters will sit within the Department of Education's 17 area teams.

About the VET Cluster Coordinator role: VET Cluster Coordinators are responsible for providing management functions to support the implementation of the department's VET Cluster Framework. Operating within multi-disciplinary area teams under the leadership of Jobs, Skills, and Pathways Managers, Cluster Coordinators work with government and non-government schools; training providers; local industries and employers; and a range of other stakeholders to facilitate place-based planning for access to and delivery of VET.

VET Cluster Coordinators are a critical resource for schools to support the reduction of administrative burden, providing specialised support to navigate local VET markets. They facilitate collaboration amongst stakeholders to expand VDSS provision, and their expert knowledge of the complex VET landscape ensures that schools have access to accurate and timely information to support students throughout their VET journey. The VET Cluster Coordinator works with a broad range of stakeholders to effectively utilise local infrastructure, transport, and workforce capacity to meet current and future demand.

The successful applicant for the role must demonstrate a strong understanding of Vocational Education and Training delivered to school students. With an understanding of any of the following being highly desirable: VDSS application and enrolment processes, and reporting and attendance requirements; the different modes of VET delivery, including auspicing.

And will be required to demonstrate skills and experience in:

• Highly developed interpersonal capability
• Professional judgement and maturity
• Problem solving and initiative
• Team orientation
• Personal accountability and reliability
• Professional representation
• Contribution to workplace culture

Role conditions

Role location is area-based but specific work location(s) will be determined as part of the recruitment process. This role reports to the area Jobs, Skills and Pathways Manager (JSPM). Work-related travel will be covered in accordance with Victorian government and Department of Education policies.

Responsibilities

The VET Cluster Coordinator is responsible for delivering critical management functions to support the implementation of the department's VET cluster policy and guidance, which includes strategic planning and the VET Lifecycle. The Cluster Coordinator will manage the day-to-day activities.