Specialist Attendance Liaison

• Ongoing Full-Time
• Location (Multiple locations across NSW with flexible working arrangements available)
• Please note: This is a full-time role, and you will be required to work a minimum 4 days per week either in an identified education office location or delivering face to face support in schools.
• Salary range $113,574 - $125,720 p.a., plus employer's contribution to superannuation and annual leave loading (Clerk Grade 7/8).About the role

Lead complex casework that supports vulnerable children and young people to re-engage with education, often where attendance issues are persistent and engagement is challenging.

You will work directly with students, families and schools to identify barriers to attendance, build trust with disengaged students and their families, and coordinate support to improve outcomes. In addition to managing complex matters, you will provide guidance and support to Attendance Liaisons and schools, helping to strengthen practice and ensure consistent, effective approaches across cases.

This is a highly engaging, relationship-driven role where no 2 days are the same. You will work flexibly across schools and communities, travelling to meet students and families and adapting your approach to meet individual needs.

• Lead complex casework to support students with significant attendance challenges
• Engage resistant or disengaged students and their families using persistence, empathy and influence
• Influence and coordinate responses across stakeholders to drive accountability and outcomes
• Facilitate collaborative planning and shared accountability across schools and agencies
• Provide expert guidance and build capability across Attendance Liaisons and schools to improve practice and outcomes
• Analyse data and trends to inform interventions, improve practice and support system-level planning
• Support re-engagement in school or appropriate education pathways

About you

• Build trust and engage families experiencing complex challenges with empathy, respect and consistency
• Communicate with sensitivity while confidently influencing behaviour change
• Remain calm, resilient and professional in complex or emotionally challenging situations
• Show persistence when working with disengaged or resistant families
• Navigate complexity with sound judgement and an outcomes-focused mindset
• Work collaboratively while maintaining autonomy and accountability
• Knowledge of and commitment to implementing the department’s Aboriginal Education Policy and upholding the department’s Partnership Agreement with the NSW AECG and to ensure quality outcomes for Aboriginal people.

Essential requirements of the role

• A diploma, degree or higher in social work, community services, youth work, education, psychology, counselling, or a related human services field.
• Current and valid Working with Children Check (WWCC) Clearance for paid employment.
• A current and valid driver’s license and an ability and willingness to travel between work sites.
• Demonstrated understanding of and commitment to the value of public education.

Benefits

• Flexible working arrangements
• 35 hour working week
• Competitive, salary sacrificing, employer’s contribution to superannuation and annual leave loading
• Flex Leave entitlements, generous holidays and leave conditions
• Opportunities for advancement and mobility across the department to support your career growth

How to apply

Attach a resume (maximum 5 pages) and a cover letter (maximum 2 pages) outlining how you meet the requirements and capabilities of this role.

Targeted questions

As part of your application, please respond to the following targeted questions (maximum 300 words per question):

1. Describe your experience working with children or young people and their families experiencing complex or persistent disengagement, including the strategies you used to improve engagement and outcomes.
2. Describe how you have influenced or guided others (e.g. colleagues, schools or stakeholders) to improve practice or achieve better outcomes for children or young people.

Applicants are encouraged to prepare their application materials independently. The selection panel values authentic and personally written responses that reflect your own experience, insights and alignment with the department’s values and priorities.

Please refer to the Applicant’s Guide to Applying to assist you with your application.

If you are an existing Education Support Staff (corporate staff) with the NSW Department of Education, click here for instructions on how to submit your application.

All other applicants please submit your application by clicking ‘Apply Now’.

Note: the selection process will include a range of assessment techniques to assist in determining your suitability for the role. Successful candidates will be required to undertake pre-employment screening for this role which includes a National Criminal History Check.

This is a child-related role. As a condition of employment you will be required to provide a valid Working with Children Check (WWCC) Clearance number (for paid employment). Visit the website for more information.

Candidates must have Australian work rights (citizens, permanent residents, New Zealand citizens or a valid work visa). Ongoing (permanent) roles are open to Australian citizens and permanent residents and New Zealand citizens, while temporary roles welcome applicants with a visa.

Closing date Sunday, 17 May 2026 at 11:59pm.

For role enquiries, please contact swsworkforceplanning@det.nsw.edu.au and for recruitment process enquiries, please contact Natalie at projectrecruitment@det.nsw.edu.au

We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, including but not limited to Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people, people of any age or gender, people from culturally and linguistically diverse groups and/or from the LGBTQIA+ community, veterans, refugees, people with disability, people with sensory differences, and neurodiverse people. If we can make some adjustments to our recruitment/interview process to better help you shine, please reach out to the contact person for this recruitment, details listed above. For more information, visit the NSW Department of Education’s Diversity, equity and inclusion webpage.

A recruitment pool may be created through this recruitment process. A recruitment pool is a group of applicants who have been assessed and identified as suitable for this role, and who may be considered for a range of similar roles, including temporary, term or ongoing roles, over the next 18 months.