Senior Inspector, Regulation of Schooling

Guiding the future of NSW education

Position details

Chief Education Officer Grade 2

• Full-time, Salary: $222,174 p.a. plus employer’s contribution to superannuation and leave loading
• Ongoing role
• Close to Wynyard station and hybrid work arrangements available
• Contact for enquiries: Chelsea Lendon via [email protected]

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 a unique opportunity to play a critical leadership role in maintaining and strengthening education standards across NSW. As Senior Inspector, Regulation of Schooling, you will provide professional and policy leadership and operational oversight of NESA's regulatory programs, helping to ensure schools and education providers meet legislative and regulatory requirements. The role offers the opportunity to influence regulatory practice, contribute to policy development, lead complex reviews and investigations, and work closely with senior stakeholders across the education sector.

Working in a diverse and dynamic regulatory environment, you will engage with a broad range of stakeholders and contribute to decisions that support quality education outcomes for students across NSW.

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

• Providing professional leadership and operational oversight of one or more regulatory programs, including non-government school registration and accreditation, recognition and CRICOS approvals and internal reviews.
• Reviewing and analysing applications, evidence and documentation against legislative, policy and regulatory requirements.
• Planning and conducting on-site inspections, reviews and investigations using a risk-based approach to assess compliance and inform regulatory decisions.
• Preparing high-quality reports, recommendations, briefings, correspondence and advice for senior decision-makers and committees.
• Monitoring compliance frameworks and regulatory systems across government and non-government schooling sectors.
• Providing expert advice to support the development and implementation of policies, procedures and data management practices associated with NESA's regulatory functions.
• Building and maintaining productive relationships with schools, sector representatives, government agencies and other stakeholders to support regulatory outcomes.

Our ideal candidate will have

• Demonstrated experience leading complex regulatory, compliance, audit, review or inspection activities within a legislative and policy framework.
• Proven ability to analyse complex information, exercise sound judgement and develop practical solutions in environments with competing priorities, emerging issues and high levels of accountability.
• Exceptional stakeholder engagement, communication and influencing skills, with the ability to work collaboratively across diverse groups and manage sensitive matters with professionalism and integrity.
• Experience leading teams, providing professional oversight and contributing to organisational improvement initiatives in a complex operating environment.
• Strong report writing and briefing skills, including the ability to communicate complex regulatory and technical matters clearly to a range of audiences.
• Extensive working knowledge and understanding of current and emerging registration, accreditation, recognition and CRICOS approval legislation, policies, trends and issues.
• Recent sound experience in monitoring the compliance of schools with regulatory requirements using a risk-based approach.
• Essential requirements
• Tertiary teaching qualifications
• A NSW Driver's licence.
• A valid and current NSW Working with Children Check (WWCC) for paid employment.
• Note: 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.
• Employment at NESAis 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).
• We invite you to download therole description for additional information on the position.

At NESA you will benefit from

An organisation where your contribution has a big impact.

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):
• Provide an example of a time when there were differing perspectives between internal and external stakeholders. Explain the key elements of your approach to resolve the situation. What was the outcome and what would you do differently?
• Provide an example of a time when you were responsible for leading change. What was the context? What strategies did you use to build the capacity and commitment of others to achieve the desired objectives? How did you hold people accountable?
• Advice on applying for NSW Public Sector roles
• If you need reasonable adjustments for the recruitment process and/or workplace, please reach out to [email protected]
• Close date: Tuesday, 17 November 2026 at 11.59pm AEST
• 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