Senior Manager, People and Culture

Guiding the future of NSW education

Position details

• Chief Education Officer Grade 1 (CEO1)
• Full-time, Salary: $195,114 to $218,910 p.a. plus employer’s contribution to superannuation and leave loading
• Ongoing role
• Close to Wynyard station & hybrid work arrangements available
• Contact for enquiries: Emma Cuell via emma.cuell@nesa.nsw.edu.au

About us

At the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA), we are dedicated to carrying out meaningful work that drives improvements and elevates student achievement across NSW, now and into the future.

We accomplish this by supporting all school sectors with high-quality syllabuses, assessment (including managing the HSC and NAPLAN), teaching standards (e.g., accrediting teachers) and school environments (including setting and monitoring school standards).

NESA is a unique organisation in NSW (of around 740FTE staff) with significant state-wide impact, visit our website to learn more about the important work we do.

About the role

This is an exciting opportunity to lead NESA's People & Culture function and play a key role in supporting our people, leaders and workforce priorities.

Reporting to the Executive Director, Corporate Services, you will lead the People & Culture team to provide expert advice, strategies and services across people partnering, employee and industrial relations, workforce planning, recruitment, work health and safety, wellbeing, performance, learning and capability development.

As a trusted advisor to senior leaders, you will help shape practical workforce solutions and drive continuous improvement that supports NESA's objectives while ensuring compliance with legislative, industrial and policy requirements.

On a day-to-day basis you will be responsible for:

• Leading the delivery of end-to-end People & Culture services.
• Developing a high-performing People & Culture team, fostering a culture of collaboration, accountability, service excellence and continuous improvement.
• Building trusted relationships with leaders across the organisation and supporting them to effectively lead, develop and manage their teams.
• Providing high-quality strategic and operational advice to executives and people leaders on complex workforce matters, organisational risk and people management practices.
• Identifying opportunities to improve people processes, systems and services while maintaining compliance with legislative and policy requirements.
• Monitoring emerging workforce trends, risks and sector developments and translating insights into practical people solutions.
• Working closely with internal stakeholders, NSW government central agencies and external partners to deliver positive workforce outcomes for NESA.

Our ideal candidate has:

• Extensive experience leading multidisciplinary People & Culture functions within a complex public sector or heavily regulated environment.
• Demonstrated success building trusted relationships at all organisational levels providing influential advice on complex and sensitive workforce matters that balances pragmatic business outcomes and innovative solutions.
• Strong knowledge of contemporary people management, employment and industrial relations, workforce governance and best-practice People & Culture service delivery.
• Experience coaching, supporting and developing leaders to build capability, strengthen people management practices and achieve positive workforce outcomes.
• Demonstrated knowledge and understanding of the NSW education sector, including the operating environment, workforce context and stakeholder landscape across government and nongovernment school sectors.
• A strong values-based leadership approach, with a focus on building capable teams, fostering collaboration and delivering high-quality customer-focused services.

Essential Requirements:

• Tertiary qualifications in human resources, employment relations, organisational psychology, business or a related discipline, and/or equivalent substantial professional experience.
• A current NSW Working with Children Check (WWCC) clearance for paid employment is required before commencing in this role. It is not required at the application stage. The cost of the WWCC clearance is the responsibility of the successful applicant. 

We invite you to download the role description for additional information on the position.

Probity Requirements:

Employment at NESA is subject to the satisfactory completion of probity checking which includes a criminal history and identity check (for new hires) and a qualification check (if required for the role). 

At NESA you will benefit from:

• An organisation where your contribution has a big impact.
• An enviable CBD location (all modes of transport nearby, and excellent coffee and eateries) with refurbished offices.
• Flexible working arrangements and generous leave entitlements.
• Access to discounted health and fitness memberships via Fitness Passport, an employee assistance program and annual flu vaccinations.
• Salary packaging options.
• Working in a purpose driven and ethical organisation with committed colleagues.

Ready to join us?

Key information: If you are a current NESA employee or from another NSW government agency who use SuccessFactors for Recruitment and myWorkZone for Payroll, it’s important to apply through SuccessFactors to ensure your application reaches our system in the right place. If you need advice on that process, follow this guide.

For all other candidates:

Select “Apply now” and attach an up-to-date résumé (maximum 5 pages) and a cover letter (maximum 2 pages). Also address the 2 targeted questions below in your online application (maximum of 500 words per response - approximately):

1. Describe a People & Culture function or team that you have led in a complex public sector or regulated environment. How did you set direction, build team capability, and establish credibility and trusted relationships with executives, senior leaders and employees?
2. Outline two (2) organisation-wide People & Culture outcomes that you have led and delivered. For each outcome describe the priority, issue or opportunity, your approach and the impact for the organisation.
   
   

Advice on applying for NSW Public Sector roles

If you need reasonable adjustments for the recruitment process and/or workplace, please reach out to recruitment@nesa.nsw.edu.au

Close date: 11 November 2026 at 11.59pm (Sydney time)

Thank you for your interest, we look forward to receiving your application.

#S/DNI

Important information

NESA’s Statement of Commitment to Child Safety

All children and young people have the right to be respected, feel safe, be safe, and protected from harm. NESA is committed to child safety and child safe practices underpinning our purpose of helping children and young people leave school, ready to take advantage of life’s opportunities and rise to its inevitable challenges.

We particularly welcome applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people with disability, people of all ages, genders, cultural and linguistic backgrounds and the LGBTQIA+ community.

Visa sponsorship is not available for this position. For ongoing roles, you must be an Australian or New Zealand citizen or an Australian Permanent Resident. Australian Temporary Residents may be considered for a fixed term contract for the length of their visa, depending on the requirements of the hiring area and the position.

A Talent Pool (valid for 18 months) may be created for future ongoing and temporary roles