Community engagement lead - national immigration support services. permanent full-time - melbourne

Community Engagement Lead - National Immigration Support Services. Permanent Full-time - Melbourne

• Flexible working arrangements (Office/Home)
• Monthly Rostered Day Off
• Access great employee benefits including fitness passport, discounted health insurance, travel club members + more.
• Generous salary packaging benefits - up to $18,550 per year, tax free!

As an asylum seeker or refugee in Australia, the path to stability can be rocky, and we acknowledge the relentless fight for freedoms that some of us take for granted. At Life Without Barriers, we see the strength, resilience, and courage it takes to rebuild a life in a new country.

Through our National Immigration Support Service (NISS), we provide compassionate, culturally safe, and trauma-informed support to asylum seekers and refugees living in the Australian community. We walk alongside individuals and families on their journey, helping them navigate what can be complex and challenging systems and empowering them to reach their goals, one step at a time.

Employment Type: Permanent Full-Time

Attendance: Full Time, 38 hours per week.

Office Location: Victoria, Sunshine and Dandegong offices

About the Service

Our National Immigration Support Service (NISS) offers comprehensive assistance to individuals seeking asylum and refugees residing within the Australian community.

Navigating the journey toward stability in Australia, as an asylum seeker or refugee, is fraught with challenges. At Life Without Barriers, we understand the arduous quest for freedoms often overlooked by others. Our mission is to support individuals in achieving their aspirations, guiding them through the complexities of a daunting system, one step at a time.

At Life Without Barriers, our dedicated and flexible team plays a crucial role in improving the lives of refugees and asylum seekers throughout Australia. If you are driven by values of inclusivity and respect, joining our team represents a profound opportunity to make a significant difference. We approach our work with empathy and respect, addressing the unique needs of our clients and acknowledging the difficult paths they have traversed in search of safety from conflict and adversity.

Becoming part of our team could be the most meaningful step in your career, enabling you to contribute positively to the lives of those in need of support and understanding.

About the Role

The purpose of the Community Engagement Lead NISS is to drive strategic engagement and provide responsive and specialised support to dedicated teams.

The incumbent will work collaboratively with internal and external stakeholders to understand current business and strategic interests, issues and concerns. The incumbent will respond to emerging trends and identified areas of interest by partnering with organisations and internal stakeholders to deliver tailored, multi-platform solutions to promote understanding and the NISS program.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership and analysis in response to emerging trends, external drivers, sector responses, legislative change and contemporary research.
• Work with the NISS leadership team to shape the strategic direction of NISS to achieve its purpose and contribute to the development of NISS strategy and business plans.
• Provide expert leadership in developing and implementing a culture of service excellence, working to embed the standards, behaviours and strategies needed to bring about lasting improvements and efficiencies.
• Liaise with the Media team to ensure approval for communications (as required) and ensure all are coordinated, accurate and align with Life Without Barriers business objectives.
• Monitor, coach, support, motivate and develop team members to enable them to deliver strategic initiatives to the best of their ability including supporting staff to access systems, create records and access data
• Identify opportunities for innovation and continuous improvement seeking feedback from staff and stakeholders to enhance service delivery and client outcomes.
• Ensure compliance with all internal policy and procedures, statutory and contractual requirements in relation to service delivery.
• Maintain and develop a NISS Community Engagement Strategic Plan and associated community engagement operational and administrative systems to align with the community engagement plan.
• Provide regular reports and other analysis on key metrics as required including performance, outcomes, needs, risks, trends and areas of achievement / good news stories within agreed timeframes.

Skills & Experience

• Tertiary qualifications in Communications / Media or related field, and / or relevant experience.
• Demonstrated experience in building and managing relationships with a broad and complex group of key stakeholders from government agencies, accrediting bodies.
• NGO Experience working in a culturally sensitive manner with people from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse backgrounds.
• Experience in program coordination and development of administrative systems.
• Demonstrated experience in managing competing priorities and to deliver outcomes within agreed timeframes and quality standards.
• Demonstrated experience working autonomously and collaboratively within multi-disciplinary teams to achieve optimal client outcomes.
• Knowledge of community services policy and practice within Australia.
• Demonstrated written communication skills including the ability to complete presentations, performance and information reporting and annual reviews.
• Outstanding interpersonal and verbal communication skills with the ability to liaise effectively with internal stakeholders and external partners as well as funding bodies to promote understanding of key issues and business objectives.
• Current Drivers License.

Successful candidates will be required to clear probity checks including National Criminal History Record Check and Working with Children Check (where relevant to the role).

• An attractive remuneration package will be offered to the successful applicant, including a mobile phone and laptop.
• Salary packaging tax benefits, meal entertainment benefit, novated leasing and more.
• Growing organisation with great career opportunities.

We want to employ people who reflect the diversity of our clients to ensure we can support each client's individual needs and wants. We encourage people of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander background and people with disability to apply.