Team Leader - Speech Pathologist

Eligibility requirements

Applicants must hold a tertiary qualification in Speech Pathology and be eligible for membership with Speech Pathology Australia.

The Speech Pathologists in Schools (SPiS) Program plays a key role in strengthening speech, language and literacy practices across Western Australian public schools through a Response to Intervention (RtI) approach.

We are seeking to establish a pool of Team Leaders for the SPiS Program for permanent and fixed term, full-time and part-time vacancies that may arise during 2026 and 2027 school years. Appointments may be offered at any time for vacancies that commence during this period.

This pool provides opportunities for experienced Speech Pathologists with expertise working in school settings and supporting tiered approaches to speech, language and literacy instruction and intervention. SPiS Team Leaders support Speech Pathologists and participating public schools across the Perth metropolitan area and regional Western Australia. Schools supported by the SPiS Program are primarily mainstream primary schools, with some positions also supporting education support centres (primary and secondary) and mainstream secondary schools.

Find out more about the Speech Pathologists in Schools Program here.

Role responsibilities

This role requires highly experienced Speech Pathologists who are confident providing mentoring, consultation and professional guidance to colleagues working in schools, and advising school principals. The SPiS Team Leader plays a key role in building capability across the SPiS team and strengthening speech, language and literacy practices in schools.

Key responsibilities include:

• providing line management, mentoring and clinical support to SPiS team members
• supporting team members to deliver services within a tiered service delivery model
• planning and delivering professional learning for SPiS team members and school staff
• developing resources and support materials to strengthen speech, language and literacy practices in schools
• providing consultation and strategic support to participating schools and school leaders
• liaising with participating schools and building strong relationships with external stakeholders
• supporting the Program Manager with recruitment and operational management of the SPiS team

Who this role may suit

This role may suit Speech Pathologists with substantial experience working in school settings within a Response to Intervention framework who enjoy mentoring colleagues, providing professional learning and working collaboratively with school leaders. It would be particularly suited to practitioners who have experience supporting the implementation of change across cohorts or whole-school approaches, and who are confident working consultatively with speech pathologists and school principals to strengthen tiered approaches to speech, language and literacy and improve outcomes for students.

Workload expectations

• SPiS Team Leaders support an average of at least 14 schools and six team members per 0.2 FTE (0.2 FTE equates to approximately 7.5 hours per week, or around one full workday). Workload arrangements are planned in consultation with the Program Manager to support team needs, effective service delivery, and the professional needs of the Team Leader. Typically, team members receive support approximately every 2–3 weeks, while school consultation generally occurs once per term.
• Start and finish times are flexible to accommodate the needs of team members and schools. To ensure accessibility for Speech Pathologists working in schools, Team Leaders are expected to provide after-school support on average twice per week per 0.2 FTE. This support typically occurs within the 2.30pm – 4.30pm period, for approximately 1.5 hours per session.In practice, this usually involves online meetings or consultation sessions with team members after the school day.
• Depending on school and team member availability, Team Leaders also provide support during the school day (between 8.30am and 3.30pm). Specific hours will be negotiated with the Program Manager.
• Team Leaders can nominate preferred days of availability, however some flexibility to vary days and times across the year is required to meet service needs.
• SPiS operates on the principle that required professional duties are completed within allocated work hours through effective workload planning. While flexibility in working arrangements is required, Team Leaders are not expected to undertake unpaid work.

Location

Most team member and school support occurs remotely (online), with some support provided in person, requiring travel as part of the role.  During the school term, Team Leaders are based at Brabham Primary School, unless otherwise negotiated with the Program Manager.  During school holidays, Team Leaders work alongside the broader SPiS team from a SPiS host school in the North Metropolitan region.

Remote work is available during both periods by agreement with the Program Manager.

Professional support

Team Leaders are line managed by the SPiS Program Manager and have access to ongoing professional learning and development.

Placement

Where permanency is offered, Team Leaders are appointed permanently to Brabham Primary School, which currently acts as the SPiS Management Partner (host school for the SPiS Program and SPiS Team Leaders). Permanent team members are based at the SPiS Management Partner wherever possible. If the SPiS Management Partner changes in the future, permanent positions may transfer with the program to the new host school. If this occurs, Team Leaders will be consulted wherever possible. While the SPiS Management Partner (employing school) may change, working arrangements will be agreed to ensure that the Team Leader’s primary working location remains within the North Metropolitan region and within a maximum travel time of 45 minutes from their home.

Want to know more?

Full details of the role, selection criteria and training requirements are listed in the attached Job Description Form (JDF).