• 9 month backfill leave cover, June 2024

The Details

• Direct Reports: N/A
• Reports To: Director of First Nations (Meriki Onus)
• FTE: Full time (1.0) fixed term contract (part-time considered), 9 months, backfill
• Location: Melbourne - other locations and virtual/hybrid work arrangements will be considered
• Salary: $99,110 excluding super
• Award: Manager, Level 1 (FYA Salary Framework) SCHAEDs Award Equivalent Level 5 Pay Point 2

Special Condition of the role: The Foundation for Young Australians considers that being an Aboriginal or a Torres Strait Islander person is a genuine occupational requirement for this position under sub-s26(3) or s28 of the Equal Opportunity Act 2010 (VIC). This employment opportunity is only available to Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people.

Role summary

You will work closely with the First Nations Director to coordinate and manage programs under FYA’s strategy to build the power of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people to heal injustice and transform the future. With coaching and guidance, you will work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people and communities on coordinating projects, building movements, and running training and/or supporting campaigns.

About FYA

Young people are facing a series of overwhelming, complex crises. They have the vision and energy to drive historic social change but are excluded from decision-making. FYA exists to back young people. We back them with the training, resources, and connections they need, so they have the power to create lasting change in the face of injustice.

We are the largest independent nonprofit dedicated to building the capacity, voice, and power of young changemakers. With a team full of more than 50 strategists, advocates, facilitators and researchers (to name a few) our headquarters are in Melbourne (Naarm) but our teams work remotely around the country.

Our values

• We respect and back First Nations young people and their communities
• We back young people
• We shift power to young people with lived experience
• We dream big
• We care about each other
• We are always learning
• We celebrate impact

Our work is guided by a commitment to beating injustice. We strongly encourage applications from First Nations people, young people, people of colour, women, people with disability, people from LGBTIQA+ communities, and people with lived experience of economic injustice and housing insecurity. We recognise that our sector (philanthropy and nonprofits) has systematically excluded these communities. The problems we face are complex and the more diversity of experiences we can bring to the table, the better our solutions are. Even if you only meet only some of what we’re looking for, we’d love to hear from you.

What we offer

• A dynamic workplace. We are a flexible, values-led and impact-driven workplace that combines the best of in-person connection and virtual efficiency.
• Generous leave conditions and flexible work. FYA is committed to a flexible workplace, and offers opportunities for part-time work, 18 weeks paid parental leave, paid cultural and ceremonial leave, gender affirmation leave, and paid leave for your birthday.
• Attractive remuneration. Our key asset is our team, and we are committed to recruiting and retaining experts in youth engagement and social change. We pay competitively and offer salary packaging.
• Extensive commitment to professional development.

About the First Nations Manager

• This role centres your work around helping to manage various projects of the First Nations team, as well as provide support to the wider organisation. You will help to design and deliver self-determined, place-based and national projects, trainings and campaigns with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people and their communities.

What you’ll do

• Manage projects, with limited supervision, including planning, coordinating and implementing programs and working closely with First Nations young people and their communities in line with their cultural protocols. This includes:
  • Ensuring projects are running to schedule and responding accordingly
  • Ensures projects align with First Nations Team strategy
  • With support, ensure that programs align with the organisational strategy
  • Supporting young mob with their projects, movements and campaigns.
  • Support the review of completed projects and provide insight into areas for improvement
  • Create strategies to ensure that communications are reaching relevant communities
  • Managing program budgets
• Build and manage relationships - Through your knowledge and expertise, you will build and develop relationships with young First Nations young people, Aboriginal controlled organisations, Elders and other community members, to co-design projects for their communities.
• Run training and workshops - You will be helping First Nations young people to build their skills including campaigning, organising, strategy, government relations and media. You will also facilitate co-design sessions with communities.
• Support development of work practices within the First Nations team
• Provide expertise of First Nations principles and values to the wider organisation, including organisational strategy, including:helping to ensure that FYA and the First Nations team are held accountable to Community.

Who we’re looking for

Ideally you have some if not all of the following:

• You’re confident in your ability to centre First Nations knowledge systems and ways of working to your programs
• Experience centring the voices of young mob with lived experience of injustices into programs. You have the ability to adapt your communication style to bring together young people in a creative and outcome-focused manner.
• Strong Written and communication skills, You have experience tailoring messaging to different audiences in different ways.
• Ability to contribute to team reflections in regards to program development
• Strong experience in facilitating meetings or training, particularly with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities
• You have experience managing events and facilitating training and activities. You’re confident in front of a crowd, and can manage priorities, budgets, and risks and know how to anticipate roadblocks and problem solve
• You have sophisticated analytical, problem-solving solving and decision-making abilities, with solid listening, conflict resolution and negotiation skills and strong capacity to pivot when priorities and plans shift.
• Experience in working with community on projects, movements or campaigns you have the ability to build trusting relationships and create a collaborative environment. With this comes the willingness to seek and provide feedback.
• You have strong proficiency with key workplace tools such as GSuite, Slack
• Strong relationship skills, both 1:1 and with community-based organisations.

Other important things

• Working with Children Check is a mandatory requirement of this position; we’ll help you with this if you are successful.
• Applicants for this role must have a valid, legal right to work in Australia.

Click "apply now" and follow the application process

• You will be asked two questions in your application in which you’re required to provide brief answers (no more than 500 words each).
  • Please give a description of yourself and what excites you about this role and working for FYA
  • How does your experience fit with who we're looking for?
  • We are open to receiving this as a video, audio or written piece e.g. poetry or essay (no more than 500 words each), a video or audio (no more than five mins).
• Successful candidates will be called for an interview in the week of August 12th 2024

For more information or a confidential discussion about the role contact:

Meriki Onus

First Nations Director

[email protected] 

For more information about the recruitment process:

Shulah Orloff

People + Culture Coordinator (FYA)

[email protected] using the subject line: First Nations Program Manager - Flexible Location enquiry via EthicalJobs