Whittlesea Community Connections (WCC) is a place based community agency that strives for the empowerment of individuals and groups in the local community who face disadvantage, isolation and obstacles to effective social and economic participation. WCC is committed to developing responsive approaches to meet the challenges posed by Whittlesea's changing and emerging communities. We have a clear role in advocating to services and government through direct services and policy input. Our services and programs are designed to respect and empower and are free, confidential and impartial. WCC is governed by a community based independent Board of Management.

The Youth Volunteer Project Worker is a new position that has been created to build a more inclusive volunteering environment for young people with diverse backgrounds in Whittlesea. New and innovative ways of encouraging young people to volunteer will be explored and partnerships developed with schools, youth and volunteer involving organisations. This project aims to increase the understanding, confidence and capacity of young people and volunteer involving organisations to be involved in their community.

Some of the key responsibilities of this role include:

• Increasing access to information about volunteering to young people through communication and engagement strategies based on lived experiences and youth voices, social media and the use of online tools and platforms.
• Facilitating and supporting activities that enable young people to participate in local community. This will include working with schools to provide information about volunteering, matching students to community activities (eg conservation, community garden/ kitchens, events) and providing follow up support with volunteering.
• Exploring the use of technology (eg Apps) that support young people’s choice in independently seeking out volunteering opportunities, both formal and informal.
• Working in collaboration with local schools and volunteer involving organisations to increase youth specific volunteer opportunities by addressing barriers and supporting inclusion strategies.

A position description is attached.