Australia Engagement Manager, Community Networks – Pacific Labour Facility

Project Overview:
The Pacific Labour Facility (PLF) facilitates seasonal and longer-term work opportunities for Pacific workers in Australia. It connects Australian employers with Pacific workers under the newly introduced Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme which combines the existing Pacific Labour Scheme (PLS) and Seasonal Worker Programme (SWP).

Role Overview:
The Australia Engagement Manager – Community Networks will be responsible for the PLF’s key community focused initiatives, including direct engagement with community organisations to support workers, management of regional accelerator forums (RAFs), support to Pacific Country Liaison Officers and coordination with the Community Connections Program.

The role will seek to drive improved welfare outcomes for Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme workers through the ongoing development and operationalisation of the community of care model. The community of care model operates through engaging, facilitating connection between key scheme stakeholders and helping to formalise their roles in the support of positive worker welfare outcomes, including through the hosting of community engagement events and provision of funding to key partners. Key stakeholders include approved employers, in-Australia (e.g. Pacific Country Liaison Officers, Diplomatic Mission staff) and in-Country representatives’ (e.g. Labour Sending Units), churches, sporting groups, local council, resources and activities, and diaspora organisations.

The Australia Engagement Manager – Community Network will oversee the PLFs support to improving PALM scheme stakeholders cultural competencies. This includes the development of effective cross-cultural tools and training for approved employers, workers and communities to improve understanding deliver improved PALM scheme outcomes.

Responsibilities:

Leadership and Management:

• Oversee the development of standard operating procedures for PLFs community engagement operations and contribute to those for regional operations.
• Oversee delivery of PLFs community engagement operations across Australia.
• Supervise and provide support to community engagement staff, including through:
  • Facilitation of team/ individual meetings
  • Human resource management including assessing activities, workloads and performance management
  • Facilitate induction of new staff (as required)
  • Monitoring work plans
  • Ensuring staff compliance with PLF systems and polices
  • Acting as an escalation point on state manager and stakeholder issues.
• Provide timely and accurate reporting through PLF systems, including health and safety incident, fraud and child protection reporting as well as project activity reporting to PLF and DFAT.
• Support appropriate data management (and use) practices across relevant functions and team members.
• Review of relevant communication and media content relating to community engagement.
• Support for PLF and PALM scheme commitments such as promotion of gender equality, disability and social inclusion, as well as continuous improvements in team cultural competence, including Indigenous Australian engagement and the Pacific Islands/Timor Leste.

Building connections between AEs and community organisations:

• Cultivate high priority community organisation relationships at a national, state and regional level, with a vision for stakeholder buy in and long-term system change to support the PALM scheme.
• Identify capacity needs and provide capacity building and information sharing to AEs and community organisations to better support workers.
• Oversee Regional Accelerator Forums (RAFs) to understand community issues and clarify stakeholder responsibilities and needs to better support PALM scheme workers.
• Work with PLF Relationship Managers and state managers to develop regional action plans following RAFs, inclusive of any fee for service or partnership arrangements with local community organisations.
• Work with PLF Relationship Managers and the Worker & Employer Support ServicesTeam to appropriately engage with key community stakeholders in the management and appropriate referral of welfare issues and critical incidents.

Engagement with Pacific and Timor Leste government representatives:

• Provide oversight of PLF engagement with Country Liaison Officers (CLOs) and labour sending units (LSUs), to ensure constructive engagement on key issues impacting workers.
• Ensure that effective systems, referral pathways are in place between liaison officers, PLF and other stakeholders to manage issues and critical incidents.
• Oversee capacity building and operational support to CLOs as needed.

Cultural competencies:

• Oversee the continued development and operationalisation of the PALM scheme cultural competencies framework and associated tools.
• Work with the Worker & Employer Support Services Team to support the integration of cultural competency training in the onboarding of new AEs.
• Provide oversight of training design and delivery, both in-person and online.

Qualifications and Experience:

The Australia Engagement Manager – Community Networks will possess the following qualifications and experience:

• Qualifications in a relevant discipline.
• Demonstrated cross cultural competencies in relation to working with people from the Pacificand Timor Leste.
• Strong relationships and networks within Pacific diaspora and community organisations in Australia.
• Demonstrated knowledge of labour mobility in Australia, including the challenges and issues pertaining to worker welfare
• Demonstrated high relationship management skills, including the ability to negotiate for outcomes that are beneficial to clients and communities
• Excellent management skills, with the ability to lead a team distributed in various locations round Australia
• Excellent written and oral communications skills with demonstrated experience in using communications strategically for advocacy purposes
• Competency in the use of MS Word, MS Excel, and Office 365.

This position is classified at B3 under the DFAT Aid Adviser Remuneration Framework (ARF). The successful candidate will be offered an initial contract to 30 June 2023. This is a Brisbane based role with options for flexible working. Candidates who are willing to relocate for the position must do so at their own expense.