The ideal candidate has strong experience in community engagement within an agency or consultancy environment, including leading engagement programs for government and not-for-profit clients.
Why Join Us
* Hybrid work: 3 days in our Richmond HQ, 2 days from home
* Modern office in Richmond (near East Richmond Station)
* Purpose-driven work that shapes how Australia connects with every culture
About Ethnolink
Ethnolink is Australia's largest multicultural communications agency. We work with government and not-for-profit clients to design inclusive, culturally relevant campaigns and projects that reach and resonate with diverse communities across Australia. Our services span research and insights, communications strategy, creative development, community engagement, media, and translation—delivering end-to-end solutions that build trust and drive action. As our organisation continues to grow, we're looking for a communications and engagement leader to join our team and help drive the next phase of our impact.
Position Overview
The Senior Engagement Consultant leads Ethnolink's Community Engagement practice and sets the strategic direction for how Ethnolink engages with communities and external stakeholders across Australia.
This role is responsible for Ethnolink's relationships with community and sector stakeholders and partners nationally. It ensures all engagement is conducted in a culturally safe, ethical, and respectful manner, and strengthens Ethnolink's long‐term relationships with communities and stakeholders.
The Senior Engagement Consultant designs engagement and co‐design methodologies, leads the delivery of engagement and research programs, facilitates consultations and engagement activities, and provides senior strategic advice to government and not-for-profit clients. The role oversees the synthesis of community insights into clear strategic recommendations and client‐ready deliverables, and ensures engagement delivers meaningful outcomes.
The role leads the Community Engagement team and manages Ethnolink's network of freelance researchers and facilitators. It works closely with the Head of Multicultural Communications and Engagement to ensure engagement is integrated into Ethnolink's broader communications, research, and language services work.
This role suits someone with strong experience in community engagement within an agency or consultancy environment, including leading engagement programs for government and not-for-profit clients. It requires significant experience engaging multicultural communities, strong expertise in IAP2 engagement practice, and a proven track record delivering engagement, consultation, co‐design, and research programs. The role also requires experience leading and mentoring teams and managing relationships with community stakeholders.
Responsibilities Lead the Community Engagement Practice
* Lead Ethnolink's Community Engagement practice and set the strategic direction for engagement across the organisation.
* Develop and maintain engagement frameworks, methodologies, tools, and standards.
* Ensure all engagement aligns with IAP2 principles, ISO 20252 standards, and industry best practice.
* Establish and maintain engagement governance, ethics, and risk management frameworks, including culturally safe practice and data sovereignty principles.
Design and Deliver Engagement and Research Programs
* Design and deliver engagement, co-design, and research programs for government and not-for-profit clients.
* Lead the design and delivery of engagement across a diverse range of policy areas, including disaster preparedness, disability, education, health, housing, infrastructure, transport, urban planning, and youth engagement.
* Plan, coordinate, and facilitate consultations and engagement activities with community members, stakeholders, and clients, including interviews, focus groups, workshops, roundtables, and community consultations.
* Design and deliver campaign‐related engagement activities as part of broader communications and engagement campaigns, working closely with Ethnolink's Communications team, including coordination of multicultural and community events, stakeholder and community engagement activities (via phone and email), multicultural media relations activities, and community ambassador programs.
* Ensure engagement activities are delivered on schedule, to a high standard, and in a culturally safe and respectful manner.
Lead Research, Insight and Evaluation
* Conduct and oversee demographic, policy, and community research, including literature reviews, to inform engagement strategies.
* Develop community profiles to inform engagement planning and delivery.
* Oversee the synthesis of engagement and research insights into clear strategic recommendations and client‐ready deliverables, including reports and presentations.
* Design evaluation and impact measurement frameworks to assess engagement effectiveness and outcomes.
Lead Strategy and Client Advisory
* Develop engagement and co‐design strategies informed by research, lived experience, and consultation findings.
* Advise clients on consultation design, stakeholder engagement, and co‐design approaches.
* Ensure engagement deliverables meet Ethnolink's quality standards and client objectives.
* Review client engagement capability and provide recommendations to strengthen culturally appropriate and inclusive engagement practice.
* Contribute to tenders, RFQs, and proposals by defining the engagement approach, methodology, scope, and delivery model.
Build Community and Stakeholder Relationships
* Lead and manage Ethnolink's relationships with community organisations, leaders, and sector stakeholders across Australia, maintaining strong, trusted long‐term relationships with communities and external stakeholders.
* Identify and develop new community partnership opportunities aligned with client and practice needs.
* Represent Ethnolink at community forums, advisory groups, and industry events, maintaining active face‐to‐face engagement with community stakeholders on average at least once per week.
Lead Team Capability and Cross‐Functional Delivery
* Lead, manage and mentor the Community Engagement team, including engagement professionals, as well as freelance researchers and facilitators.
* Set clear expectations and provide direction, coaching, and feedback to ensure high‐quality work.
* Maintain and grow Ethnolink's network of freelance researchers and facilitators, including in‐language facilitators, to support engagement and research delivery.
* Develop engagement capability through mentoring, training, and knowledge sharing.
* Lead regular project check‐ins with clients and internal teams, provide progress updates, and guide
* Work closely with Ethnolink's Communications, Language Services, and Account Management teams to ensure engagement is integrated into broader service delivery and planned and delivered as part of a single, coordinated program for clients.
Support Practice Growth
* Identify and pursue opportunities to grow Ethnolink's engagement, co‐design, and research services.
* Contribute to the development of new service offerings and engagement capability.
* Support Ethnolink's positioning as a leader in multicultural engagement.
* Undertake any reasonable task as requested by your Manager or the business.
Desired Skills & Qualifications
* Minimum 7 years' experience in community engagement within an agency or consultancy environment, including leading engagement programs for government and not-for-profit clients.
* Tertiary qualification in a relevant discipline (e.g. Community Development, Social Policy, Public Policy, Communications, or Urban Planning), or equivalent professional experience.
* Experience working with multicultural and multilingual communities and/or First Nations communities.
* Strong expertise in IAP2 engagement principles and methodologies with IAP2 certification highly regarded.
* Willingness and availability to travel weekly across Melbourne, and occasionally across Victoria and Australia, as required.
* A valid Working with Children Check and National Police Check, or willingness to obtain these checks.
* Demonstrated experience designing and delivering community engagement and co‐design programs.
* Experience designing engagement and/or research methodologies aligned with client objectives.
* Experience analysing consultation findings and translating community insights into clear strategic recommendations, reports, and presentations.
* Experience providing strategic advice to clients on consultation design, stakeholder engagement, and co‐design approaches.
* Experience leading and mentoring staff or teams.
* Strong stakeholder and community relationship management experience.
* Strong verbal communication and facilitation skills.
* Strong organisational and project management skills.
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