Introducing our flagship Leadership Development Program

13 February –14 August 2023

Learning areas close progressively as we accept enough candidates to meet school demand, so we encourage you to apply as early as possible!

The application process takes 6-8 weeks. but will depend on how quickly you respond at each stage.

Within 3 weeks

You’ll receive your application outcome via email – and if successful, you’ll be invited to book in your interview.

We’ll send you preparation information three days prior to your interview. You’ll receive your outcome via email within one week – and if successful, you’ll be invited to book in your Assessment Centre.

March – September

If you progress to this stage, you’ll be invited to a day of assessment activities either virtually or in-person, including a sample teaching lesson, a mock parent-teacher interview, and group activities.

Assessments happen on a rolling basis. Within one week of your assessment you’ll receive your outcome and feedback via a phone call.

March – October

If you’re successful, we’ll provide you with a conditional offer and you’ll be asked to indicate where you feel you would make the strongest impact during your two-year placement.

Allocations are made on a rolling basis – but the sooner you complete your placement preference survey, the sooner we can allocate you to a state or territory.

June/July – December

Once you have accepted your offer and completed your placement preference survey, we will start looking for suitable teaching jobs in eligible partner schools.

Specific timeframes vary across the States and Territories we work in. Learn more about where we place.

Once your placement is confirmed, we support you to undertake all of the required relocation, onboarding and registration processes to get you ready to start teaching in your new school on day 1 of Term 1.

Mid-to late October

You’ll be required to complete 26 hours of self-driven pre-work before the National Initial Intensive, including readings and self-reflections.

November – December

The program starts in November when you’ll come together with your fellow Associates for an intensive training program. You’ll complete a portion of your Master’s and school practicum, as well as building foundational skills and knowledge before you enter the classroom.

*If placed in a NSW public school, you’ll complete a six-week residential program with PEx Academy, starting 30 October 2023.

January 2024

You’ll continue your Master’s across the Summer Semester, which includes a face-to-face learning event held in your placement state or territory, known as the Regional Intensive.

Term 1, 2024

Once you begin teaching in 2024, you’ll develop your teaching and leadership skills throughout the two-year program. You’ll gain first-hand teaching experience while receiving one-on-one coaching and mentoring.

2024 – 2025

While teaching, you will complete a nationally accredited and internationally recognised Master of Teaching (Secondary) (Leading Learning), delivered in partnership with Australian Catholic University (ACU).

We are looking for applicants who have a passion for educational equity and a commitment to our work. We believe that teaching and learning go beyond the classroom and to create true change it is important to work with our communities to learn from them.

Successful candidates are able to demonstrate they believe that all children can learn and are eager to work with communities to make sustainable change.

We are looking for applicants who constantly and accurately reflect on their practice and seek feedback from others, both managers and peers. It’s from this reflection they are driven to improve.

Successful candidates are able to demonstrate their ability to take ownership of their personal development and performance. They can identify their strengths and areas for improvement and how these can influence the outcome of a situation.

Teachers need to quickly gather information about their students and be able to adapt their plans accordingly. Problem solving is a key skill for our Associates.

Successful candidates are able to both analyze problems thoughtfully and also use that information to create thoughtful solutions. We are looking for applicants who can be responsive and adaptive—especially in challenging situations.

Associates in the Leadership Development Program join diverse communities: in the classroom, in their school, and as part of their cohort. This diversity helps create an enriching learning experience during the program—and is why Associates need to be able to respectfully collaborate with a wide range of individuals.

Successful candidates appreciate other people’s perspectives and look to learn from them. We are looking for applicants who recognise their limitations and take an asset-based approach in all situations

Clear communication is essential to great teaching. Teachers clearly explain the content and can adapt their style to meet their students’ needs.

Successful candidates are able to clearly communicate their ideas to a variety of audiences across the selection process. We are looking for candidates who have the maturity and presence and can adapt their communication as a result of actively listening to their audience.

We are looking for people from a range of backgrounds with diverse leadership experience. Successful candidates can tell us about when they’ve led others or themselves towards a project goal or outcome. They also can demonstrate a range of leadership practices they have used to guide themselves, a project or a team towards a common goal.

Most importantly, good leadership is all about knowing the contribution you made to others—and we are looking for individuals who can talk about their impact in meaningful ways.

Teachers have multiple competing priorities day-to-day and, in addition, Associates complete a Masters course alongside their teaching load. It’s important that our Associates are able to effectively juggle these tasks and prioritise their well-being.

Successful candidates are able to tell us about how their systems create efficiency for them.

We are looking for applicants who can demonstrate an ability to manage multiple tasks at one time and who are always prepared for what’s to come—and who know how to change the plan when required.

The Leadership Development Program can be difficult, so we are looking for applicants who embrace challenges and constantly look to strengthen their capacity to overcome them.

Successful candidates are able to show us how they’ve been able to successfully overcome professional and personal challenges and that they know when to ask for help.

TFA Associates work at 0.8 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) with 0.2 FTE study release.

While the Master’s requires more hours of study than 0.2 FTE each week, this time is allocated to reduce the amount of study Associates need to complete outside of work hours.

Of course. You can register your interest here and we will keep in touch.

The schools we place Associates in are those serving low socioeconomic communities, in the regions and communities on the front line of educational inequity. This is where you have the opportunity to put your skills, experience and passion to work.

TFA works closely with school leaders, State/Territory Governments (and in some jurisdictions Catholic and Independent schools) to identify teaching positions suitable for a TFA Associate. All TFA Associates are placed in genuine teaching jobs, in schools with a genuine need.

We work hard to set Associates up for success in their placement, with a strong emphasis on making sure that where possible you are placed with other Associates within the same school, or in schools nearby. Bear in mind that the greatest need for our work is in regional and remote communities, so ‘nearby’ is not always ‘just down the road’ and in some cases can be a number of hours’ drive away.

While we make every effort to secure a suitable placement for you, we can’t guarantee a placement – it is dependent on the workforce needs of our partner schools and the flexibility of your location preferences.

In the unlikely event that we can’t find you a placement, we will work with you to identify the next steps – which may involve a deferral to a subsequent cohort of the LDP.

To be eligible for the Leadership Development Program, you must be qualified at a Bachelor degree level in a discipline other than teaching and able to enrol in at least two learning areas – which are the subjects you’re qualified to teach.

We are not able to take experience into account when determining learning areas.

We place Associates exclusively in schools serving low socioeconomic communities, working in the regions and communities that need the most support. We currently operate in Victoria, Western Australia, Tasmania, the Northern Territory, South Australia, and NSW. If you receive an offer to join the program, you will be invited to share your location preferences with us – but the more flexible you are, the more likely we will be able to successfully find a placement.

The situational judgment test has been designed to give you a preview of what life as a teacher in the LDP might look like. It presents you with scenarios that all teachers encounter during their careers and potential responses.

Don’t worry, no prior teaching experience is needed to complete this test. We’re only looking to understand how you would respond in each scenario.