Stephen Soutar
Palmerston North,New Zealand
Summary
- Models integrity and ethics as an education professional. 25 years’ experience as a principal, leadership of peers, leadership support for non-Māori and Māori leaders. Established reputation with whānau, hapū and iwi, confidence to build relationships, effective communicator. Effective practical implementation of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. An authentic leader, focused on improving outcomes for Māori and non-Māori in Aotearoa, New Zealand.
- A confident influencer for a bicultural, bilingual Aotearoa. Passionately motivated to support, inspire, innovate, model and lead in matters of being successful in the world without having to sacrifice your unique language, culture and identity.
- Systematic approach to change to influence positive, shared outcomes for all. Empowering teams, individuals, and future leaders. Able to build teams, deliver results, develop talent, and promote bicultural professional relationships. Able to lead, model and support through and across a changing environment. Supporting staff, building confidence and capability.
Overview
1
1
year of professional experience
Work History
Principal
Awapuni School Board of Trustees
Awapuni, Palmerston North
07.2024 - Current
- Resumed position at Awapuni School following 2 and a half years on LWOP in July.
- In 2021, I taught for three terms while the teacher from the bilingual class was on maternity leave. This was level 2 immersion.
- Currently working on new appointments for 2025, which maths programme to take on, how to implement Te Mātaiaho, as well as building or reestablishing relationships with the community.
- Provided behavior management support for teachers.
Director - Te Hurihanganui
Ministry of education
CBD, Wellington
09.2023 - 07.2024
- Coordinating a team to finalize reporting for internal use.
- Identified opportunities for improvement in operational performance.
- Conducted regular meetings with the leadership team to review progress on strategic initiatives.
- Reviewed internal reports and identified areas of risk
- Created detailed plans outlining timelines, goals, budgets, staffing needs and other requirements for projects.
- Established, managed, and sustained relationships with communities and other stakeholders to ensure all parties adhered to their responsibilities.
- Prepared presentations for leadership meetings, summarizing key developments within the project.
Secondment Director
Te Pou Reo - Education Review Office
- Creating connections across the education sector to guide and prepare schools regarding the expectations of the profession for te reo Māori, tikanga, and mātauranga Māori.
- Create connections across te ao Māori.
- Liaise strategically with influencers of te reo Māori in schools – NZPF, NZSTA, Taura Whiri, national principals groups, Māori Achievement Collaborative
- Support the establishment of the working team and build professional expectations.
- Focus on the revitalisation and normalisation of te reo Māori.
- Collaborated with senior leadership to set long-term objectives for the company
- Recruited, trained, supervised, and mentored staff members.
Māori Achievement Collaboration facilitator
Akatea
- Transformational change, building a strong professional culture, building understanding of te Tiriti Waitangi, fostering relationships with iwi, leadership confidence for Māori and non-Māori.
- Working alongside professionals to create collaborative decision-making opportunities, using long standing professional leadership experiences as a testing board
- Build a collaborative network, where professionals trust and are trusted, building professional knowledge and allowing colleagues to experience success
- Helping principals to navigate te ao Māori, taking the fear away from tikanga, and encouraging and supporting them to engage in a respectful way with tangata whenua and the whānau in their schools.
- Supporting principals to lead their schools in a culturally responsive way to ultimately increase academic success for Māori students and fostering cultural pride.
Principal
- Mostly worked in the primary sector in high population Māori communities
- Cultivated strong relationships with parents, students and members of the community to ensure a safe learning environment.
- Monitored student academic performance data in order to identify trends or areas of need that require additional resources or support.
- Assessed current teaching methods and techniques used by staff members in order to provide feedback on their effectiveness.
- Provided coaching sessions for teachers on best practices for classroom organization and management as well as effective instructional strategies.
- Designed comprehensive plans for professional development activities that focused on improving teacher performance levels across all subject areas.
- Strategic and operational management, working with local communities, building connections with hapū and iwi
Education
Diploma of Te Reo Māori -
Te Wananga oRaukawa
12.2019
Bachelor of Education -
Massey University
12.2007
Diploma of Teaching -
Massey University
12.1994
Skills
- Te reo Māori
- Te ao Māori
- Mātauranga Māori
- Iwi, hapū, whānau connections
- Te Tiriti o Waitangi knowledge and application
- Strategic leadership
- Management
- Creative approach
- Innovative approach
- Integrator of views
- Ability to find common ground
- Ability to build cohesiveness
- People leadership
- Development of others
- Political nous
- Political neutrality
- Effective listener, communicator, presenter
- Respected, credible, trustworthy
- Maintaining personal values and beliefs
Professional Development
- 06/23, Kaupapa Māori Evaluation – 5 day workshop Te Amokura
- 01/21 - 12/23, Te Reo Māori / Matauranga Māori wananga
- 06/22, Te Tiriti o Waitangi training – Veronica Tawhai
- 12/19, Diploma of Te Reo Māori – Te Wananga
- Raukawa
- 12/07, Bachelor of Education – Massey University
- 12/94, Diploma of Teaching – Massey University
Ethnicity
- Ngāti Porou
- Ngāti Awa
Accomplishments
- Te Reo Māori ongoing personal and professional development and success.
- Created professional programs to build capability amongst diverse group of leaders. Ranging from te reo Māori, to Te Tiriti o Waitangi
- Extensive and trusted stakeholder relationships with education agencies, sector, and union representatives able to work on and through key portfolios.
- Practical application and leadership of Tau Mai te Reo and Ka Hikitia cross schooling. Strengthening understanding of Māori success as Māori.
- Successful approach to the establishment of Te Reo Māori in education.
- Building and maintaining ongoing and authentic relationships with Māori and Non- Māori.
- Lived research experience supporting the collation of insights for the Māori Battalion history.
Leadership Overview
- An authentic leader, focused on improving outcomes for Māori, in Aotearoa, New Zealand. Model integrity and ethics as an education professional.
- 25 years’ experience as a principal, leadership of peers, leadership support for non-Māori and Māori leaders.
- Respected, professional, trusted to support and respond to the needs of the profession, whānau, hapū, iwi, Māori, parents, communities, tamariki and rangatahi.
- Demonstrated success to uphold political neutrality.
- Established reputation with whānau, hapū and iwi, confidence to build relationships, effective communicator.
- Effective practical implementation of Te Tiriti o Waitangi articles, supporting the profession to make sense and be practical and realistic. Comprehensive network of effective, long-standing relationships with Māori and non-Māori leaders. Able to analyse needs and work to support growth and understanding of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. A confident influencer for a bicultural, bilingual Aotearoa. Passionately motivated to support, inspire, innovate, model and lead in matters about race, while supporting others to progress and celebrate success through their individual achievements.
- Strategic leadership, value for others and their contribution, all while building and maintaining a successful organisational culture. Systematic approach to change to influence positive, shared outcomes for all. Empowering teams, individuals, and future leaders. Able to build teams, deliver results, develop talent, and promote bicultural professional relationships. Able to lead, model and support through and across a changing environment. Supporting staff, building confidence and capability.
Career Experience
- Secondment Director, Te Pou Reo - Education Review Office, Strategic influence and interim leadership. Creating connections across Education Act and expectations of the profession for te reo Māori, tikanga Māori and mātauranga Māori. Support establishment of working team. Create team and build professional expectations. Create connections across te ao Māori. Liaise strategically with influencers of te reo Māori in schools – NZPF, NZSTA, Taura Whiri, National principal groups, MAC. Focus on revitalisation and normalisation of te reo Māori.
- Māori Achievement Collaboration facilitator, Akatea, 18 months, Transformational change building a strong professional culture, building understanding of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, fostering relationships with iwi, leadership confidence for Māori and non-Māori. Working alongside professionals to create collaborative decision-making opportunities, using long standing professional leadership experiences as a testing board. Build a collaborative network, where professionals trust and are trusted, building professional knowledge and expertise about working with Māori, and allowing colleagues to experience success.
- Principal, primary school education in high population Māori communities. Strategic and operational management, working with local communities, building connections with hapū and iwi. Strong professional external relationships with core immersion stakeholders. Maintaining professional working ethos with and amongst Māori.
Timeline
Principal
Awapuni School Board of Trustees
07.2024 - Current
Director - Te Hurihanganui
Ministry of education
09.2023 - 07.2024
Secondment Director
Te Pou Reo - Education Review Office
Māori Achievement Collaboration facilitator
Akatea
Principal
Diploma of Te Reo Māori -
Te Wananga oRaukawa
Bachelor of Education -
Massey University
Diploma of Teaching -
Massey University
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