Team Leader - Thriving Kids

Department of Education Victoria; Melbourne; On-site; AUD 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Department of Education Victoria seeks an experienced Allied Health Team Leader to oversee a multidisciplinary team delivering Thriving Kids supports for children under eight with developmental delay or autism. The role involves leading day-to-day delivery, supervision, and ensuring family-centred practice across three location bases: Melton, Coburg or Footscray.

You will provide clinical leadership, coordinate referrals, support capacity planning and work to strengthen partnerships across

Qualifications

• Senior allied health professional with people leadership experience.
• Experience in child development, early intervention, family-centred practice.

Responsibilities

• Lead a collaborative, multidisciplinary allied health team through supervision, coaching and professional development.
• Provide clinical and professional leadership to promote evidence-informed practice.
• Coordinate day-to-day service delivery: referrals, workload, care planning and transitions.
• Support clinicians to apply the Thriving Kids model across settings.
• Build workforce capability and foster a positive, inclusive team culture.
• Monitor service quality, outcomes, risks and capacity; identify improvements.
• Build partnerships with children and families, schools, health and community services.

Skills

Team leadership

Allied health

Clinical judgment

Communication

Job description

Department of Education Victoria – Footscray VIC

Help shape a new way of supporting children and families

Thriving Kids is a new system of disability supports that is changing how children and families access support across Victoria.

We're looking for an experienced Allied Health Team Leader to join us at this exciting stage of implementation and lead a multidisciplinary team delivering the Thriving Kids model to children aged 8 and under experiencing developmental delay or autism and low to moderate support needs.

The reform will establish a coordinated and accessible model of support, with a strong focus on prevention, early intervention and responding to needs as they emerge.

Thriving Kids will bring together education, health and community services to provide families with accessible and developmentally appropriate support, including information and advice, developmental assessment, support to build parents' and carers' skills and confidence, and targeted, time-limited allied health supports.

This is an opportunity to help shape a new service model and make a meaningful difference to children, families and the professionals who support them.

About the Role

There are three fixed term positions that could be based out of three locations: Melton, Coburg or Footscray. Please indicate your preference on the application form.

As the Thriving Kids Allied Health Team Leader, you will provide clinical, professional and people leadership to a multidisciplinary allied health team and oversee the day-to-day delivery of Thriving Kids allied health supports.

You will:

• Lead a collaborative, multidisciplinary allied health team through supervision, coaching, professional development and performance support.
• Provide clinical and professional leadership that promotes high-quality, evidence-informed and family-centred practice.
• Coordinate day-to-day service delivery, including referrals, workload allocation, demand and capacity, care planning and transitions.
• Support clinicians to apply the Thriving Kids model consistently across a range of settings.
• Build workforce capability and foster a positive, inclusive and high-performing team culture.
• Monitor service quality, outcomes, risks and workforce capacity, identifying opportunities for improvement.
• Build strong partnerships with children and families, early childhood services, schools, Maternal and Child Health, health and community services.

About You

You are an experienced allied health professional and people leader who brings strong clinical judgement, a collaborative approach and the ability to lead effectively through change.

You will have:

• Strong knowledge and experience in child development, early intervention and child- and family-centred practice.
• Demonstrated experience leading allied health teams, including building workforce capability through supervision, coaching and professional development.
• The ability to provide sound clinical reasoning and authoritative professional advice in complex situations.
• Experience leading service implementation and delivery in a complex environment.
• Highly developed communication, relationship-building and influencing skills.
• A commitment to culturally safe, inclusive and strengths-based practice.

Experience working with children and families across early childhood, education, health or community settings, and experience in transdisciplinary service environments will be highly regarded.

About the Team

The Thriving Kids workforce will bring together a range of professional disciplines, including allied health, intake, community development and administration, working collaboratively across education, health and community settings.

As Team Leader, you will play a key role in building the foundations of this new workforce — creating a strong team culture, setting clear expectations, developing capability and supporting professionals to work collaboratively across disciplines.

You'll have the opportunity to shape how the team works, embed the Thriving Kids approach and create an environment where people can learn, innovate and deliver high-quality support to children and families.

Why join Thriving Kids?

This is more than a team leadership role — it's an opportunity to help build something new.

You'll be joining a reform that is changing how children and families access support, with a strong focus on early intervention, practical support and helping children participate and thrive in their everyday environments.

You'll have the opportunity to shape a new service, grow a high-performing team and influence how integrated allied health support is delivered across Victoria.

About the Department

The Department of Education provides a wide range of learning and development support and services. The department provides policy leadership, plans for the future of education in Victoria and leads key cross-sector collaboration. The department plays an important system steward role by providing support, guidance, oversight and assurance across early childhood and school education systems, as well as directly providing school education and 50 new early learning centres.

For more details about this role, please refer to the attached position description.

The Department values diversity and inclusion in all forms - gender, religion, ethnicity, LGBTIQ+, disability and neurodiversity. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander candidates are strongly encouraged to apply. For more information about our work, working for the Department, diversity and inclusion, and our employment conditions, visit our website.

Preferred applicants may be required to complete a police check and may be subject to other pre-employment checks. Information provided to the Department of Education will be treated in the strictest confidence.

If you require any adjustments to ensure your full participation in the recruitment process or if you need the advertisement or any attachments in an accessible format (e.g. large print) due to any viewing difficulties or other accessibility requirements, please get in touch with the contact person listed on this advertisement.

Applications close 11:59 pm Australian Eastern Standard/Daylight Saving Time on 4th November 2026.