_{10th August, 2026}

Executive Support Officer
Catholic Early EdCare | Paddington and Brisbane CBD, QLD
Full-time | Permanent
  
The Opportunity
Catholic Early EdCare is seeking an exceptional Executive Assistant with strong project management experience to provide high-level, trusted support to our Acting Director.
This is a pivotal opportunity for an experienced Executive Assistant who understands that outstanding executive support extends far beyond diary coordination. Alongside managing the Director’s time, priorities and daily workflow, you will play an important role in coordinating and driving key projects and strategic initiatives across the organisation.

You will be part of Centacare’s Executive Support Office, working collaboratively with a team of experienced executive support professionals and reporting to the Executive Support Manager. While your primary focus will be supporting the Acting Director of Catholic Early EdCare, you will work closely with other members of the Executive Support Office to provide consistent, coordinated and high-quality support across Centacare’s executive leadership team.
This is an opportunity to combine executive support, project management and stakeholder coordination in a role that offers genuine exposure to strategic and operational priorities across a large, purpose-led organisation.
Demonstrated project management experience is essential for this position. Knowledge or experience in operations, early education, early learning or OSHC will be highly regarded, but is not essential.
  
About Us
As part of Centacare, Catholic Early EdCare is one of Queensland’s leading providers of early education, kindergarten and Outside School Hours Care services.
Our purpose is to create safe, nurturing and inclusive environments where children can thrive. We work in partnership with families, schools, parishes and communities to support children’s learning, wellbeing and development.
Our people bring diverse skills, experiences and perspectives, but we are united by a shared commitment to helping children and families flourish.
  
The Role
As part of the Centacare Executive Support Office and reporting to the Executive Support Manager, you will provide dedicated executive support to the Acting Director of Catholic Early EdCare.
You will take responsibility for the effective coordination of the Director’s office, while working closely with your Executive Support colleagues to ensure a connected and collaborative approach to supporting Centacare’s senior leaders.
At the heart of this role is the complete and proactive management of the Director’s calendar and priorities. You will understand and anticipate what requires their attention, protect their time and ensure their schedule reflects the organisation’s most important strategic and operational commitments.

Equally important will be your ability to manage projects, track deliverables, coordinate stakeholders and maintain momentum across multiple workstreams. You will bring structure and accountability to key initiatives, ensuring actions are followed through and emerging risks or issues are identified early.
You will also contribute to the broader Executive Support Office, sharing information, supporting team priorities and providing cover or assistance to colleagues where required. Success in this role will come from being both a highly capable individual contributor and a collaborative team member who understands the value of consistent, coordinated executive support.
This role offers a hybrid working arrangement, with two days based at our Paddington office, two days at Centacare’s Brisbane CBD office and one day working from home each week.

Your key responsibilities will include:

• Providing high-level, proactive executive support to the Acting Director of Catholic Early EdCare.
• Working collaboratively within the Centacare Executive Support Office to deliver consistent and coordinated support across the executive team.
• Partnering closely with the Executive Support Manager and Executive Support colleagues to manage priorities, share information and provide team coverage where required.
• Taking full ownership of the Director’s complex calendar, appointments and competing priorities.
• Proactively planning the Director’s schedule across daily, weekly and longer-term timeframes.
• Assessing meeting requests, resolving conflicts and ensuring the Director’s time is directed towards the highest-value priorities.
• Building appropriate preparation, travel, focus and follow-up time into the calendar.
• Coordinating and managing key projects and strategic initiatives on behalf of the Director.
• Developing and maintaining project plans, timelines, action registers and supporting documentation.
• Tracking milestones, deliverables, risks and dependencies across multiple projects and workstreams.
• Following up with stakeholders and ensuring agreed actions and commitments are progressed.
• Preparing project updates, status reports and briefing materials for the Director and senior stakeholders.
• Coordinating meetings with executives, Board members, senior leaders and external stakeholders.
• Preparing agendas, briefing papers, meeting packs, presentations and supporting documentation.
• Monitoring actions, decisions and commitments arising from executive meetings.
• Managing correspondence and drafting professional communications on behalf of the Director.
• Coordinating travel, accommodation, events and important organisational engagements.
• Acting as a professional and trusted point of contact for internal and external stakeholders.
• Managing sensitive and confidential information with the highest level of discretion.
• Anticipating emerging issues and ensuring the Director is appropriately briefed and prepared.
• Supporting operational initiatives and continuous improvement activities.
• Contributing to improvements in systems, processes and ways of working across the Executive Support Office.

  
About You
You are an accomplished Executive Assistant with demonstrated project management experience, strong judgement and the ability to bring structure to complex and fast-moving environments.
You are equally comfortable managing the detail of an executive’s day as you are coordinating projects, engaging stakeholders, tracking actions and ensuring important pieces of work are delivered.
You also enjoy being part of a team. While you are confident taking ownership and working independently, you value collaboration, communicate openly and are happy to support colleagues when priorities shift across the Executive Support Office.
You do not wait to be told what to do. You anticipate needs, identify potential challenges, create solutions and take action before issues arise. You are confident making informed decisions about priorities while recognising when a matter requires escalation.
You will bring:

• Demonstrated project management experience – essential.
• Significant experience supporting senior executive leadership.
• Experience coordinating multiple projects, initiatives or workstreams simultaneously.
• Strong capability in developing project plans, tracking actions, managing timelines and monitoring deliverables.
• Confidence coordinating stakeholders and holding people accountable for agreed actions.
• Exceptional calendar planning and diary management capability.
• Demonstrated ability to take complete ownership of an executive’s time and schedule.
• Strong judgement and confidence when prioritising competing requests.
• The ability to understand organisational priorities and translate them into practical actions and an effective executive calendar.
• A collaborative and team-oriented approach, with the ability to work effectively within a centralised executive support function.
• A willingness to share information, provide team coverage and contribute to consistent ways of working across the Executive Support Office.
• Outstanding attention to detail, organisation and follow-through.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• A professional, warm and confident approach to stakeholder relationships.
• Strong capability in preparing executive correspondence, presentations, agendas, project updates and meeting materials.
• Advanced skills across Microsoft Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, Teams and related office systems.
• The ability to remain composed, adaptable and solutions-focused in a fast-paced environment.
• A high level of integrity, discretion and respect for confidentiality.
• A proactive mindset and the ability to identify what needs to happen next without waiting for direction.

Experience supporting Boards, executive leadership teams or senior stakeholders within a complex, multi-site or purpose-led organisation will be highly regarded.
Knowledge or experience in operations, early education, early learning or OSHC would be advantageous, but is not essential. We welcome strong candidates from other sectors who bring excellent executive support and project management capability.
  
Why Join Catholic Early EdCare?
We are a values-driven organisation supporting more than 135 early education, kindergarten and OSHC services across South East Queensland.
Catholic Early EdCare is entering an important period of change, with a clear focus on raising standards, strengthening leadership and improving the care and experiences we provide to children.
This role offers the opportunity to work closely with the Director during an important period of organisational development while also becoming part of an established Executive Support Office within Centacare. You will benefit from the support, knowledge and collaboration of other executive support professionals while having clear ownership of your portfolio.
You will have genuine visibility across strategic and operational priorities and the opportunity to contribute your project management expertise to initiatives that make a meaningful difference.
You will join an organisation that is investing in the right support structures, including dedicated Quality, Assessment and Rating and Inclusion teams, rather than simply asking operational leaders to do more with less.
You will also receive:

• The opportunity to join a collaborative Executive Support Office, with the support of an Executive Support Manager and experienced colleagues.
• A genuinely positive, energetic and uplifting culture — this is not a traditional corporate environment. You’ll be surrounded by passionate people who bring warmth, humour, enthusiasm and a real sense of momentum to their work.
• Up to 95% discount on childcare and OSHC fees.
• Birthday leave.
• A competitive salary and excellent benefits.
• Vehicle options.
• Quarterly wellbeing days.
• Monthly Employee of the Month recognition lunches.
• Access to professional development and leadership support.
• Employee Assistance Program.
• The opportunity to influence how a large portfolio of services grows and improves.
• The support of kind, passionate and driven colleagues.

  
Interested?
If you are an experienced Executive Assistant with strong project management capability who takes pride in creating order, keeping complex priorities on track and enabling senior leaders to perform at their best, we would love to hear from you.
You’ll thrive in this opportunity if you enjoy taking ownership of your executive portfolio while also being part of a collaborative Executive Support team where colleagues work together, share knowledge and support one another.
You do not need to come from the early education sector. What matters most is your ability to provide exceptional executive support, manage projects effectively, collaborate with others and confidently coordinate multiple priorities and stakeholders.
Apply now by submitting your resume and a brief cover letter outlining your experience in executive support and project management, including examples of projects or initiatives you have successfully coordinated or delivered.

Our Commitment to Keeping our Staff and Children Safe:

Catholic Early EdCare is dedicated to ensuring the safety and wellbeing of all children in its care and maintains a zero-tolerance approach to any form of abuse. The protection of children is our highest priority. To uphold this commitment, we conduct referee checks and criminal history screenings as part of our recruitment process, and all employees working with children must hold a current Queensland Working with Children Check (Blue Card).

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