Head of Faculty
Heads of faculty lead teaching and learning across a subject area, shaping the curriculum and supporting the teachers who deliver it.
- Median salary*
- $119,600
3.6%vs last year, before tax
- People employed
- 5,200
2.0%vs last year
- Projected growth
- +19.6%
to 2035
- AI exposure*
- Low
- automation risk
- Average hours
- 45/wk
+5h vs all jobs
- Shortage status
- Not in shortage
national
The role sits inside a school, and occasionally a TAFE or university department, where a head of faculty is responsible for one subject or learning area rather than the whole campus. Day to day that means working with a team of teachers on curriculum, assessment and student progress, and reporting upwards to a principal, deputy or dean. It is a promoted teaching position, so most heads of faculty keep a reduced teaching load and still spend part of the week in front of a class.
How much do head of facultys earn?
The median full-time salary for a head of faculty is $119,600 per annum, before tax, up $25,500 since 2018.
Pay follows the enterprise agreement in your sector, so a head of faculty in a public school, a Catholic school and an independent school can be on different figures for the same title. The responsibility allowance usually grows with the size of the faculty and the school, and sits on top of whatever teaching step you have reached. Public school positions are also tied to the state or territory agreement, which means pay varies by jurisdiction.
What does a head of faculty do day to day?
The list below is what fills most weeks; the exact mix shifts with seniority and whatever stage the current work is at.
- Reviewing curriculum documents and unit plans across the faculty each planning cycle
- Observing lessons and giving teachers feedback on their practice
- Running faculty meetings and coordinating assessment schedules so reporting deadlines are met
- Analysing student results in Sentral or Compass and following up with the classes that need support
- Building the faculty timetable and managing its budget for the year
What skills do head of facultys need?
Employers look for curriculum and lesson design, teaching and instruction, student assessment and reporting, backed by Compass fluency and strong people leadership.
Specialist skills
- Curriculum and lesson design
- Teaching and instruction
- Student assessment and reporting
- Budgeting and forecasting
Software and tools
- Compass
- Sentral
- Canvas
- Microsoft Excel
- Google Workspace for Education
General skills
- People leadership
- Written communication
- Stakeholder management
Is the job growing?
About 5,200 people work as head of facultys in Australia, and employment is projected to grow 19.6% over the decade to 2035. That's healthy, above-average growth, and the role should stay in solid demand.
How do you become a head of faculty?
Here's the path most head of facultys take, step by step.
- 1Complete a teaching qualification and register
A Bachelor of Education, or a bachelor degree followed by a Master of Teaching, plus registration with the teacher authority in your state or territory. Registration is renewed annually and requires a Working with Children Check.
- 2Build classroom experience and reach proficient accreditation
Most heads of faculty teach for several years first and move through the national accreditation levels set by AITSL. This is where you learn assessment, reporting and behaviour management well enough to coach others.
- 3Take on middle leadership
Head teacher, year coordinator or curriculum leader roles are the usual stepping stones. They give you experience of leading adults, running a budget and answering for results before you take on a whole faculty.
- 4Studying educational leadership
Postgraduate study is common in this occupation: about 61% of the current workforce holds a Postgraduate qualification, usually a master's in education or educational leadership. It also helps with selection panels in larger schools.
- 5Apply for head of faculty positions
Vacancies are advertised within a school system or network, and public schools use merit selection with a panel interview. A written application against the selection criteria carries as much weight as the interview.
Ready to apply as a head of faculty?
Whether you're working toward becoming a head of faculty or already are one and want a hand with the next step (sharpening your resume for ATS screening, tightening your cover letter, or knowing what you'll actually be asked at interview), here are examples grounded in this specific role, not generic templates.
What jobs can a head of faculty move to?
Moving into Education Reviewer typically comes with the biggest pay rise, worth $11,600 a year more on average.
| Move to | Typical pay change | Overlap | Retraining |
|---|---|---|---|
| Education Reviewer Curriculum leadership and classroom expertise suit reviewing school performance, with a short course in evaluation methods. | +$11,600 | 58% | short course |
| School Principal Leading teaching and learning across a faculty carries into whole-school leadership, though principal preparation and registration are required.Known move | −$7,800 | 41% | reskill |
Moves are chosen from Jobs and Skills Australia's Data on Occupation Mobility, which follows income tax records between 2011-12 and 2020-21, together with entry requirements and skill overlap. A known move is one people were seen making in that data. Pay change compares median full-time pay for the two roles.
Who works as a head of faculty?
The typical head of faculty is 51 years old; 58% are women, 90% work full-time, and full-timers average 45 hours a week.
- 51
- Median age
- 58%
- Female share
- 90%
- Full-time
- +5h
- vs all-jobs avg
What's it like being a head of faculty?
The job runs on the school calendar, with quiet stretches and then reporting, staffing and budget cycles landing together. Much of the work is leading adults rather than students, which means negotiation, difficult conversations and defending your faculty's share of resources. Teachers who enjoy coaching colleagues and shaping how a subject is taught tend to take to it, and those who mainly want to be in a classroom often miss it.
What people like
- Shaping what a subject looks like. You decide what gets taught, in what order and how it is assessed, which is a bigger influence than any single classroom gives you.
- Coaching teachers rather than only teaching. Watching an early-career teacher improve after feedback you gave them is one of the more satisfying parts of the job.
- Staying in the classroom. A reduced load keeps you in contact with students, which makes your curriculum decisions more grounded and keeps your teaching current.
- A clear patch to be responsible for. Your faculty's results, staffing and budget are visible, and improvements can be traced back to decisions you made.
What people find hard
- Leading people you used to teach beside. Giving feedback to a former peer, or managing someone who applied for your job, is awkward and takes deliberate handling.
- Reporting and budget season stacking up. Assessment and reporting periods, staffing rounds and budget planning tend to arrive in the same term rather than spread out.
- Administration filling the week. Meetings, timetabling, emails and compliance paperwork quietly expand and push teaching and planning into your own time.
- The load does not shrink. Full-time heads of faculty average 45 hours a week, and evening events and parent meetings sit on top of that.
Based on our synthesis of professional-body surveys and public accounts of the role, not first-person verified reviews.
Which industries employ head of facultys?
Education and Training employs the largest share of head of facultys.
Top employing industries
- 1Education and Training
Ranked by employment share; the source doesn't publish an exact percentage per industry.
| Postgraduate | 61.4% | |
|---|---|---|
| Bachelor degree | 22.3% | |
| Diploma / Advanced Diploma | 9.2% | |
| Certificate III/IV | 3.1% | |
| Year 12 or below | 2.7% |
Will AI replace head of facultys?
This is a low exposure role. The measurable parts of the job, timetabling, budget tracking and student data analysis, are already handled by school systems and are likely to get more automated, but the core of the work is leading teachers, judging curriculum and handling parents and senior leadership. Student management tools such as Sentral and Compass and timetable software change how quickly information arrives, not who has to act on it.
Share of typical working time by exposure level
- Leading and developing the teaching teamClassroom observations, feedback conversations and performance discussions depend on reading a person and the room, which no tool does for you.30%low
- Curriculum design and reviewAI can draft unit outlines, rubrics and resource lists quickly, but sequencing a subject around your students and local context is still a faculty decision.25%moderate
- Assessment analysis and reportingAnalytics in the school system flag which classes and cohorts are falling behind, and the interpretation and follow-up planning remain yours.25%moderate
- Timetabling and faculty administrationTimetable and relief scheduling software plus spreadsheets already do much of the scheduling and budget tracking that once took days.20%high
Common questions about becoming a head of faculty
Straight answers to the questions people ask most.
How much does a head of faculty earn?
Heads of faculty earn a median of $119,600 per year before tax. Pay moves with the enterprise agreement in your sector, the size of the faculty and school you lead, and how far up the teaching scale you have progressed. Positions in independent schools often attract a separate allowance on top of the base scale.
How do you become a head of faculty?
You qualify and register as a teacher first, then build classroom experience and take on a middle leadership role such as head teacher or curriculum coordinator. From there, schools select heads of faculty on their leadership record, their application against the selection criteria and a panel interview. Postgraduate study in educational leadership strengthens an application but is not usually mandatory.
Are heads of faculty in demand?
Employment for heads of faculty is projected to grow 19.6% over the decade to 2035, and the occupation is currently not in shortage. Openings mostly appear when a school creates a new faculty leadership position or an existing head moves on, so they are advertised within a school system rather than nationally. Being willing to move schools or sectors widens the options considerably.
Will AI change the head of faculty role?
The role sits at low exposure overall, because most of it is leading people, making curriculum judgements and answering to parents and senior leadership. Where AI already shows up is in the administrative layer: student analytics dashboards, timetable and relief scheduling software, and tools that draft reports or teaching resources. Those speed up the paperwork but still need a person to interpret the data and decide what the faculty does about it.
What can a head of faculty move into?
Leading teaching and learning across a faculty carries into whole-school leadership as a school principal, where median pay is $7,800 less, though principal preparation and registration are required. Education reviewing is another option, where median pay is $11,600 more and curriculum expertise transfers with a short course in evaluation methods. Secondary, primary and VET teachers also move into the role, usually with a short course or postgraduate study in educational leadership.
How many hours do heads of faculty work?
Full-time heads of faculty average 45 hours a week, which is higher than a standard teaching load because leadership meetings often fall before and after class time. Term breaks ease the pressure, but staffing rounds and budget planning can run into them.
Related roles
- School Principal
- Education Reviewer
- Secondary School Teacher
- VET Trainer
- Primary School Teacher
- Teacher Librarian
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