Background

The Aboriginal Community Elders Services (ACES) is an Aboriginal community controlled organisation that supports and advocates for the Aboriginal community. Our strength lies with our people. Our team is committed to the organisation’s vision and values; advocates for our Elders and other vulnerable community members; and shows respect for, observance and compliance with Aboriginal cultural protocols, practice and ceremony. Our Aboriginality is what distinguishes us from mainstream services and what enables us to deliver the positive outcomes we achieve for our people.

ACES employs over 45 staff and delivers more than 4 programs across Metropolitan Melbourne. ACES’s experience and expertise in the delivery of Aged Care and support activities and interventions are underpinned by culture, connection, and healing. ACES designs, develops and delivers programs based on our right to self determination and an understanding that the intergenerational trauma experienced by our community requires intergenerational and community healing. Through Cultural Understanding and support ACES is implementing a whole of agency approach to guide ACES’s practices of healing for Aboriginal Elders, their families, community members and carers who come into contact with our services, as well as creating a safe and supportive workplace for staff.

Central to ACES’s work is the importance of connection to family, community and culture as essential to Aboriginal Elders’s safety, stability and ensuring that they have an ongoing sense of belonging. As one of Victoria’s Aboriginal Aged Care Centres, ACES plays a key role in the process of transitioning the care and case management of Aboriginal Elders.

Our Vision:

Will be a place of choice. We will lead in service delivery whilst maintaining Aboriginal Culture and values around family and kin.

Values

Fairness: Respecting other’s views, choice, freedom, equity, and cultural requirements.

Openness: Professionalism, transparency and developing a learning culture.

Integrity: Honesty and a relationship between what we say and what we do.

Respect: Compassion and valuing diversity.

Creativity: Flexibility, adaptable to change and innovation.

Program Area

The Community Engagement worker will seek out and connect with Aboriginal Elders living in the community who have no supports to assist with but not limited to their: ADL’s, social interaction, independence, engaging with the community and mental and emotional wellbeing supports within the Greater Melbourne area and also connect them with ACES and other support services as required.

The worker will then maintain contact with the Elders on a regular basis to ensure they are supported in their homes and that they are further connected with the community and engaged in community events to reduce their isolation.

This position involves proactively delivering activities to engage and communicate with Elders, community, Aboriginal Organisations, mainstream organisations etc. to support various projects and strategic planning initiatives.

Position Accountabilities

• Pinpoint and make a connection with Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander people over the age of 50 (Elders) living in Greater Melbourne.
• Design, evaluate and implement community and Elder engagement with strategies along with activities by provide information and feedback about project outcomes to support ACES projects and initiatives.
• Liaise and work with other ACCOs and mainstream services to ensure Elders support needs are being met.
• Organise community events to engage families and communities aimed at Elders and their families
• Facilitate the assessment of the needs of Elders living at home and the preparation of plans to meet their identified needs.
• Support and actively advocate for the community Elder engagement to advance ACES community engaging effectiveness.
• Analysing data, identifying improvement opportunities and developing improvement strategies.
• Ensuring effective and efficient measurement activities are undertaken to evaluate and review all engagement practices.
• Developing effective communication practices between health care practitioners, Elders / representatives and organisation personnel including the use of formal and informal channels of communication.
• Work across several projects simultaneously, ensuring activities are well coordinated and delivered on time.
• High level of verbal, written and communication skills along with manage multiple complex demands and meet timelines.
• Support the delivery of External Elder’s engagement by using processes, methods and techniques that may include online engagement activities, surveys, workshop, briefings or community outreach activities.
• Develop a strong liaison with Internal and External stakeholder with Public sector by supporting the successful delivery of community and Elders programs.

Qualifications and Experience

• Knowledge and understanding of Aboriginal issues in Age Care Sector and communication services.
• Knowledge and experience with Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander Elder skilful with Dementia and Disability.
• A commitment to the vision and values of the Aboriginal Community Elders Services and maintaining culturally safe practices.
• Tertiary qualification in a relevant discipline (i.e. Communications, community engagement or Project management) is desirable.
• A minimum 3 years’ experience working in the above fields.
• good communication skills especially with community members
• IT skills including MS Word and Excel

Mandatory

• Certificate 3 or 4 in Aged Care or Certification in Individual Support
• Other qualifications in community service and or personal care
• A minimum 3 years’ experience working in the above fields.
• Current Police Check
• Current Victorian Driver’s License.

This position is only available to persons of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander descent (Permitted under section 12 of the Victorian Equal Opportunity Act 2010: “A person may take a special measure for the purpose of promoting or realising substantive equality for members of a group with a particular attribute”).