About ARDS

ARDS Aboriginal Corporation has been working with Yolŋu communities in north-east Arnhem Land for 50 years. We are led by Senior Yolŋu. Our vision is for Yolŋu to engage with the Balanda world as equals. We try to help Yolŋu to be strong in Yolŋu culture, and strong in understanding Balanda culture. We learn from each other and try to work in Yolŋu ways.

About the Role

We are looking for a person suited to leading our Dispute Resolution Service for the Miwatj region (this includes the Nhulunbuy, Yirrkala, Gunyaŋara, Birritjimi and the Laynhapuy homelands). Our Dispute Resolution Service aims to work within Yolŋu structures of gurruṯu (kinship) and rom (law) to maximise the ability of Yolŋu families and communities to take leadership in designing and reaching resolution to conflict. This is a role for someone enthusiastic about working in the challenging but exciting cross-cultural law and justice field.

Key Duties

In this role, contributing to the overall successful delivery of the ARDS Dispute Resolution ('DR') Service you will be responsible for:

• Supporting the DR Service on the Gove Peninsula
• Supporting the recruitment, training and mentoring of Yolŋu staff to assist in the DR Service
• Alongside Yolŋu staff, identifying and assessing cases for dispute resolution
• Alongside Yolŋu staff, identifying appropriate Yolŋu to assist in DR Service matters
• Facilitating discussions, family conferences and pre-mediation meetings with relevant parties
• Co-facilitating mediation and restorative youth justice conferences
• Organising the logistics necessary for matters that are accepted by the DR Service
• Liaising with project stakeholders and funders, including being the primary contact for the DR Service in Nhulunbuy;
• Documenting activities as per funding requirements
• Assisting project leads with management of project budgets, and
• Contributing to an understanding of Yolŋu dispute resolution practices and advocate for greater Yolŋu control over peace-making processes

About You

To be successful in this role you will have:

• Demonstrated experience in law, mediation, criminal justice, domestic violence services, community legal education and/or restorative justice conferencing.
• Communication skills and experience speaking in a nuanced way about complex and difficult topics in multilingual environments with diverse clients, stakeholders and staff.
• Experience using Plain English for spoken and written communications.
• Demonstrated project experience, including: fieldwork; project co-design; data collection and recording; monitoring & evaluation; preparing oral and written reports; achieving outcomes within agreed timeframes; and providing appropriate advice to key stakeholders.
• Experience interacting with government and non-government agencies and institutions in a community development, legal, policy or related context.
• Proficiency with MS Office.

Ideally, you will also have experience:

• Working closely and collaboratively with Yolŋu people or other First Nations peoples, especially with a fieldwork focus in remote communities.
• Professionally working in fields related to dispute resolution, family violence, criminal justice, mediation, or social work.
• Supporting and working with a small team of staff.
• Explaining the workings of dominant culture systems.

What ARDS offers

• Competitive Salary with option to salary package
• 6 Weeks of Annual Leave per year
• Full Time role with flexible options available
• Flexible on location, but option for accommodation to be provided on Gove Peninsula
• Purpose driven organisation with deep commitment to learning and listening

If you are have any queries about this role, please contact Cathryn Moore at [email protected] using the subject line: Dispute Resolution Service Lead enquiry via EthicalJobs.

A position description is attached.