Job Title: Executive Chair, EREA BlendED National Ltd

Location: Australia (National Scope)

Contract Tenure: Fixed-term (12 month Transitional Role)

About EREA BlendED National Ltd: BlendED National is an innovative educational initiative under Edmund Rice Education Australia (EREA), designed to provide flexible, trauma-informed education for young people who have disengaged from mainstream schooling. It is a virtual online schooling system aligned with Australian or state-based curriculum with, in person, wrap around well-being support for young people (13 – 25 years of age) who haven’t found success through mainstream schooling. Our mission is to offer life-changing education and wellbeing support for young people in an inclusive, diverse, and safe learning environment.

Role Overview: EREA is seeking a highly skilled and experienced Executive Chair to lead BlendED National during its formative phases. This role is transitional and will provide governance maturity, strategic oversight, and leadership guidance. The Executive Chair will work closely with the Member (Trustees of Edmund Rice Education Australia, TEREA), the Executive Director BlendED National and other key stakeholders to ensure the successful rollout of the BlendED model across Australia.

Key Responsibilities:

• Executive Leadership: Lead the recruitment and appointment process for the Executive Director BlendED National. Provide ongoing strategic advice on various aspects of the business, including mission, operations, strategy development, and stakeholder management.
• Board Leadership & Engagement: Ensure the effectiveness of the Board in all aspects of its role, including governance, strategy, performance, and accountability including relationship/accountability with TEREA. Develop and maintain relationships with future strategic partners.
• Other Responsibilities: Focus on Director development, ensuring induction programs for new Directors, and maintaining the highest standards of integrity and probity.

Ideal Candidate Profile: The ideal candidate will have demonstrable success as a Board Chair and COO/CEO experience in leading a start-up to high growth. They should possess the following attributes:

• Strategic System Leadership: Experience in leading or governing multi-jurisdictional education systems or high-impact social enterprise organisations
• Advocacy & Public Policy Influence: Ability to influence education policy and funding decisions at federal and state levels.
• Spiritual and Cultural Stewardship: Commitment to the Edmund Rice charism and capacity to animate Catholic identity and moral purpose in a pluralist context.
• Integrated Strategy Capability: Ability to lead strategy across integrated domains including pedagogy, wellbeing, digital infrastructure, and workforce
• Business Mentor: Experienced in working with and coaching CEO’s and executive leadership team member to develop a high performance team culture.
• Impact and Public Value: Understanding of social impact measurement and ability to lead a Board in monitoring outcomes across educational, wellbeing, and community domains,

Personal Attributes:

• High integrity and ethical standards
• Strong interpersonal, communication, and listening skills
• High emotional intelligence and ability to manage strong emotions
• Collaborative and inclusive leadership style
• Strategic thinking and adaptability in a changing environment

Application Process: For further enquiries and to apply, please email: [email protected]. Expressions of interest close on  October 3rd 2025