About Community Refugee Sponsorship Australia (CRSA)

CRSA is a new Australian charity working at the forefront of civil society efforts to establish a community refugee sponsorship program that would expand and improve Australia’s humanitarian migration program.

CRSA is a partner to the Department of Home Affairs’ new Community Refugee Integration and Settlement Pilot (CRISP), which will provide settlement support to 1500 refugees over 4 years through community sponsorship.

In delivering the CRISP, CRSA leads the mobilisation, screening, training and support of local community groups around Australia to provide practical support to newly arrived refugee households, from their date of arrival in Australia.

CRSA also delivers the Group Mentorship Program (GMP), which connects community groups around Australia with refugee households who are already in Australia.

About the Role

The Community Liaison Role will play a pivotal role in the implementation of the CRISP by working with both the community supporter groups and the refugee participants of the program.

Reporting to the CRISP Program Manager and working closely with all other members of the CRSA team, the Community Liaison Officer will be principally engaged in:

• Establishing contact with refugees offshore to explain the CRISP program and conduct an initial assessment of needs.
• Re-establishing contact with refugee participants on their arrival in Australia to provide a warm welcome and to answer their questions.
• Maintaining regular contact with refugee participants throughout their 12 months in the program to provide support and answer questions.
• Maintaining regular contact with community supporter groups to monitor their performance, provide support and answer questions.
• Providing settlement advice, coaching and support to community supporter groups around Australia.
• Developing information sheets and other tools to assist community supporter groups to provide practical settlement support to refugees eg. fact sheets, FAQs, checklists, etc.
• Supporting the evaluation of the CRISP by administering surveys and conducting interviews with community supporter groups and refugee households.
• Maintaining high quality, timely and accurate documentation of all work undertaken.
• Providing monthly reports on program data and trends, challenges and highlights.
• Providing general support to the development, implementation and continuous improvement of the CRISP.

Selection Criteria

Essential characteristics for our ideal candidate:

• Experience in community liaison, community development or similar roles.
• Experience in delivering settlement services to migrants or refugees
• Understanding of common challenges faced by people with refugee backgrounds who are newly arrived in Australia.
• Understanding of the key settlement outcomes for refugees throughout their first 12 months in Australia and beyond.
• Understanding of the Australian service sector, including how to access essential government services (Services Australia, Medicare, etc) and support services (family violence, mental health, etc).
• Strong digital literacy with experience working with databases, digital surveys, CRMs.
• Excellent communication skills, including with people with culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
• Experience in delivery of social programs.
• A confident lateral thinker with strong interpersonal and problem solving skills.

Other Details about the Role

• Position may be based in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide or Brisbane.
• Work from home and from one of CRSA’s office.
• Part-time or full-time, depending on the availability of the successful candidate.
• Contract position for 2 years, with potential for extension in the future.
• Remuneration will be governed by the Social,Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry (SCHADS) Award; classified at SCHADS Level 4, though this may be negotiable depending on the successful candidate’s level of expertise.
• Travel interstate and to regional areas may be required.