Welfare Manager

Indie Education, a leader in alternative education, is seeking a dedicated permanent full-time Welfare Manager to join our Bendigo/Ballarat team. If you're committed to ensuring student wellbeing, safety, and academic success, and are ready to lead our Welfare program to make a real impact, we want to hear from you.

Core Workplace Objectives

To lead and manage the welfare program by recruiting, training, and supporting welfare staff, ensuring compliance with relevant legislation, and implementing strategies to enhance the well‐being, safety, and success of students. This includes overseeing staff development, coordinating training, addressing welfare issues, analysing data to identify trends, and collaborating with Indie management team and external stakeholders to improve the overall effectiveness of the welfare services provided.

Key Responsibilities

• Act as primary line manager for all allocated Welfare employees, overseeing recruitment, onboarding, supervision, professional development and performance management ensuring alignment with Employer objectives, targets, responsibilities and welfare strategic plans.
• Lead and manage Welfare employeesperformance reviews, ensuring welfare‐specific KPI's and expected practice standards are applied consistently across all Indie locations.
• Ensure all welfare operations (policies and procedures) comply with Child Safe Standards, mandatory reporting obligations, and relevant legislation across Australian State jurisdictions.
• Maintain expert knowledge of child safety standards and mandatory reporting protocols specific to the respective Australian State of operation.
• Collaborate with Indie School/College Site Managers to ensure welfare delivery is informed by local student context and to facilitate coordinated planning for student wellbeing.
• Plan and conduct structured supervision sessions for all Welfare Officers and Senior Welfare Officers, including reflective practice, case review, and capacity building.
• Coordinate and manage leave approval, employee coverage, and contingency planning for critical incidents affecting welfare provision.
• Design, coordinate, and support the delivery of internal student training programs focused on key wellbeing topics (e.g. respectful relationships, emotional regulation, mental health literacy).
• Convene and lead regular team meetings with Welfare employees to address welfare‐related priorities, share organisational updates, and promote best practice collaboration.
• Collect, analyse, and report on welfare data and documentation, identifying emerging trends, service gaps, and risks. Useevidence and employee feedback to inform continuous improvement and service innovation.

For this position applicants must:

• Have proven experience in staff management.
• Have a strong understanding of the school system.
• Exhibit excellent interpersonal skills, with the ability to negotiate effectively and resolve conflicts.
• Be willing and able to travel regularly to different sites as required.

For this role, applicants must be willing and able to obtain:

• Current Driver's licence.
• National Police Check (issued within 3 months prior to appointment) and renewed annually.
• Relevant State Working with Children's Check.
• A minimum qualification of Diploma in Community Services, Counselling, Youth Work, Social Science, Social Work or related discipline.

Benefits and Perks:

• As a registered Public Benevolent Institution (PBI), we offer access to tax effective packaging via Maxxia: up to $15,900 per (FBT) year (plus up to $2,650 for meals & entertainment) to significantly boost your take-home pay!
• 15 days of paid personal leave, plus comprehensive paid parental leave provisions.
• 5 days Company Benefit Leave on top of your annual leave entitlements to be used over the 3-week Company Shut Down Period in December/January.
• Unlimited access to a complimentary wellness program via Sonder for both you and your immediate family, featuring confidential, professional counselling, diverse mental health resources, and broader wellbeing initiatives designed to support personal and family resilience.
• Travel opportunities to visit other sites across Australia.
• Full-Time permanentposition, Monday to Friday.
• Uniform, laptop and mobile phone provided.
• Large national organisation with internal mobility opportunities.

Renumeration:

• Remuneration will be offered in accordance with theIndie Education Enterprise Agreement2026 – 2029,Level 7 ($108,952).
• A company car will be provided with this position

Commitment to Safety & Inclusion

Indie Education is proud to be a child-safe organisation committed to the safety, wellbeing and inclusion of all students. Applicants should familiarise themselves with our child safety policy, code of conduct, and commitment to child safety, available on our website.

Indie embraces diversity and encourages applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, people from culturally diverse backgrounds, and people with disabilities.