Rural Linkages Officer

Transcription

1 POSITION DESCRIPTION Rural Linkages Officer Part-time (0.9 FTE)/ (12 Month Contract) ADVERTISING DATE: 10 August 2017 POSITION CONTEXT Women with Disabilities Victoria (WDV) is the peak organisation for women with Disabilities in Victoria. Our mission is to advance real social and economic inclusion for women with disabilities in Victoria by: being a voice for women with disabilities creating opportunities to be visible and to be heard in their communities building partnerships to deliver the best results, and engaging the community to challenge attitudes and myths about women with disabilities. Under the WDV Strategic Plan there are three organisational goals: Engage and empower women with disabilities to lead and influence their communities. Influence government and the community to recognise and remove barriers to the full participation of women with disabilities. Educate and build the capacity of service systems and organisations to be accessible to women with disabilities. WDV s Rural Linkages Project recognises that some women with disabilities do not have access to traditional advocacy services. The Rural Linkages Officer will engage diverse and isolated women with disabilities to create stronger linkages with WDV as a systemic advocacy organisation. The Rural Linkages Officer will use face to face and virtual forums to distribute resources to inform and empower women with disabilities across four Victorian regions Gippsland, North East, Central Highlands and South West. The project will connect women with disabilities to their peers to discuss issues that concern them, share ideas and inform their self-advocacy. Working in partnership with WDV s established networks and rural Victorian disability advocacy organisations, the Rural Linkages Officer will link women to local advocacy services and will resource those services regarding the health, safety and well-being of women with disabilities. WDV s systemic advocacy work will also be informed by contact with rural and regional women, informing our efforts to improve the social and economic participation of women with disabilities. This role will suit a woman with strong communication skills, lived experience of disability and an ability to engage and empower women in face to face or virtual settings. The successful applicant will have additional skills in engaging and consulting with partner agencies and presenting information that meets their requirements. 1

2 EMPLOYMENT CONDITIONS Classification: Women s Health Victoria Enterprise Agreement 2007 Level 3, Year 4 (pro-rata of $65,315) Hours Of Work: 0.9 FTE (68.4 hours per fortnight) Tenure: This position is for 12 months and may be extended subject to funding Position Location: Level 9, 255 Bourke St, Melbourne. Probity & Compliance Requirements: Current consent to check and release National Police Record with a satisfactory outcome. Must possess Australian Citizenship or permanent resident status with applicable work visa. WDV is a smoke free workplace WDV meets the special measures requirements of the Equal Opportunity Act (2010) for the remedial purpose of promoting or realizing substantive equality for women and women with disabilities. POSITION OBJECTIVES This position will: Engage WDV Members in face to face and virtual forums, with a focus on diverse and isolated women in four Victorian regions. Prove opportunities for WDV members in four Victorian regions to connect with one another to discuss issues that concern them, share ideas and inform self advocacy. Support the distribution of resources to inform and empower women with disabilities in four Victorian regions. Assist a Consultant with the exploration, testing and use of accessible information communication technology (ICT) to support engagement and information sharing. Work in partnership with Victorian advocacy organisations in four rural areas. Resource partners (advocacy organisations) in face to face and virtual forums to respond to issues relating to the health, safety and well-being of women with disabilities. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES 1. Member Engagement a. Initiate contact with WDV Members in four Victorian regions (Gippsland, North East, Central Highlands and Barwon South West). b. Use local networks to contact and engage women who are not Members and invite participation in peer advocacy, through forums. c. Plan and deliver two face to face forums for women with disabilities in rural/regional areas, determining content in consultation with those attending. d. Plan and deliver six virtual forums for women with disabilities in rural/regional areas, determining content in consultation with those attending. e. Introduce all participants to an online platform for communication and information sharing (in development). 2. Partner engagement a. Build strong relationship with partner agencies in four rural areas, guided by partnership agreements. b. Consult with each on their interest in resources to support their advocacy work with women. c. Inform each agency of learnings generated from face to face and virtual forums with women with disabilities. 2

3 d. Plan and deliver one face to face and one virtual forum with partner agencies. e. Establish and administer an appropriate project governance structure with the Strategy Policy and Research Manager, including development of agendas, minutes and presentations. 3. Support consultants a. Assist ICT Consultant to scope, explore and test accessible ICT. b. Assist ICT Consultant to provide accessible information, training and support to women using ICT to participate in virtual forums. c. Assist the Evaluation Consultant to capture the impact of the project by seeking and collecting feedback from individual participants and partner agencies. 4. Resource Dissemination a. Support dissemination of WDV information resources (Safeguards, NDIS resources and WDV Fact Sheets) through forums to participants and advocacy partners. 5. Advocacy a. With consent of participants, capture and communicate their experiences to strengthen WDV s systemic advocacy work. GENERAL RESPONSIBILITIES The following responsibilities are required to be carried out and apply to all staff at WDV: a. Contribute to WDV s capacity as a feminist organisation to deliver its goals, enable and support high performing teams and foster productive internal and external relationships b. Provide verbal and written reports and activities data as appropriate c. Active involvement in a reflective learning organisation committed to strategic and operational planning, setting performance objectives, policy development and review, evaluation, risk identification and risk management d. Work within organisational policies, procedures and Enterprise Agreement e. Undertake other duties as directed within each person s scope and abilities f. Health safety & wellbeing requirements: i. Participate in and contribute to Occupational Health Safety and Wellbeing activities to ensure a safe work environment for staff, clients, contractors and visitors ii. Comply with WDV OHS policies and procedures to participate in the achievement of a safe working culture iii. Where appropriate, participate in workplace inspections, accident reporting and investigations; provide information, instruction and coaching. ORGANISATIONAL RELATIONSHIPS Internal Relationships & Extent of Authority a. Contribute to the culture of the decision making processes incorporating co-operation, collaboration and shared accountability with other staff, and the Board. b. The position reports to the Strategy Policy and Research Manager and will work closely with other members of the WDV team, notably the Senior Policy Officer and Communications and Membership Officer. c. The position will liaise with consultants (ICT and Evaluation) and support as required. 3

4 External The Rural Linkages Officer: a. Builds relationships with Members and other women with disabilities b. Encourages involvement of WDV Members, women with disabilities and other key stakeholders in WDV activities. c. Builds relationships with partner organisations (advocacy organisations) Accountability a. The position will report on delivery of agreed performance measures to the Strategy Policy and Research Manager. KEY SELECTION CRITERIA a. A demonstrated commitment to the values and feminist principles underpinning WDV s approach b. Highly developed written and oral communication skills, including demonstrated experience engaging women with disabilities c. A high level of ICT literacy and competency in the use of ICT systems and social media platforms d. Experience in planning and delivery of events (face to face and virtual) focused on providing a supportive environment for two way information sharing (delivering information and capturing information). e. Experience in engaging partners and developing strong and collaborative relationships with partner agencies f. Strong organisation and time management skills, including the ability to: Plan and schedule workload to respond to multiple demands Prioritise and meet deadlines for events, with attention to detail Multi-task and work effectively under pressure g. Lived experience as a woman with a disability is highly desirable. POSITION CLASSIFICATION: Level 3 (WHV EBA 2007 descriptors) Definitions: Work is likely to be under limited guidance in line with a broad plan, budget or strategy. Responsibility and defined accountability for the management and output of the individual and for a defined function may be involved. The work of others may be supervised or teams guided or facilitated. Work involves the exercise of a degree of autonomy and may involve the control of projects or programmes. Solutions to problems can generally be found in documented techniques, precedents and guidelines or instructions. Assistance is available when required. Competency at this level involves the self-directed development of knowledge with broad knowledge across a number of areas and/or mastery of a specialised area with a range of skills. Competencies are normally used independently and may be non-routine. Judgement and discretion is required in dealing with clients, services, operations and processes. Competencies: Knowledge of relevant legislation, policies and procedures of the service to assist decision making and guide problem solving. Ability to set individual work area objectives and clarify client needs and expected results. The people, funds, materials and equipment needed to carry out this work are identified and set down in an action plan 4

5 Ability to practice principles of equity and non-discrimination in all aspects of work. Ability to develop and maintain a cooperative work group. Ability to convey information, develop networks and promote the organisation to obtain work as well as seek feedback on client satisfaction. Ability to identify, gather, analyse and apply information to achieve goals of the work area. Ability to present information in a way which is understandable to an audience and identifies options and recommends appropriate action. Ability to identify and assess workplace change and explain it to others. Ability to support people in adjusting to any workplace change. Ability to achieve personal goals in the workplace and career progression. Feedback is sought on work performance and strategies for improvement are implemented. Honest and ethical behaviour is applied with clients and colleagues. PD Date of approval: 7 August