Who are we?

JoCare is an independent charity that began life as an outreach program of St Joseph’s Catholic Parish in Malvern to the community of Stonnington. While independent, it retains its original ethic but has expanded its geographical scope, client base, and funding sources.

JoCare is inspired by the values of compassion and neighbourliness for the many isolated people living in our communities who may experience loneliness.

JoCare offers friendship and support to people living independently or in residential aged care facilities by providing a voluntary community program that recruits and trains volunteers to visit. Importantly, our program is an inclusive one; our strength is our volunteers who represent diverse cultural, gender, and age groupings.

JoCare is an auspice of the Australian Government’s Aged Care Volunteer Visitor Scheme (ACVVS) and also receives philanthropic donations.

The Opportunity

JoCare has been operating for more than 10 years and currently manages a group of around 40 volunteers, each of whom provides regular visits to an isolated person in their home or in an aged care facility. Volunteers also offer digital support in a drop-in environment.

We are seeking an assistant to the program leader to coordinate volunteers and assist in expanding our existing volunteer program.

The Assistant position is permanent part time, approximately 12 hours per week; this may be extended in the future subject to funding. Working with the Program Leader, there is the option for some hybrid working arrangements and flexibility in hours worked each day, bearing in mind the needs of the organisation.

Who is JoCare looking for?

You will be an organised, bright and efficient person with attention to detail, who loves a chat and is inspired by the JoCare values of compassion and neighbourliness for the isolated people living in our communities.

Previous experience in supporting older people, and understanding their life context is desirable, as is an understanding of the Aged Care support systems in Victoria, notable ACVVS.

Our volunteers are our best asset: caring for them and always being aware of their concerns is of prime importance.

Ideally, you will have the following profile:

• Commitment to the service of others.
• Experience in recruiting, training, and engaging with volunteers.
• Good communication and interpersonal skills, including social media competency.
• Experience/understanding of aged care recipients, their families, and service providers.
• The ability to work unsupervised as well as within a small team.
• Confidence using Microsoft Office applications including Microsoft Word, Outlook, and Excel.
• Experience with volunteer management database programs; knowledge of the Better Impact volunteer management system is a bonus.
• Essential: You have the right to work in Australia, are willing to undergo National Police Check and Working with Children Check, and are prepared to fulfill the requirements of the State and Federal Government vaccination obligations for aged care volunteers.
• It is desirable, but not imperative, that you:
  • Have experience with the ACVVS program and reporting requirements.
  • Are experienced with Better Impact volunteer software.

Role Purpose

JoCare is partly funded through the Aged Care Volunteer Visitors Scheme (ACVVS) which is an Australian Federal Government initiative to address loneliness and isolation in the lives of older adults by providing social visits from dedicated volunteers.

This role focuses on co-ordinating our existing ACVVS program and gradually expanding the program by continuing to build relationships with the local Council, local aged care assessment teams, Aged Care Residential facilities, and other community organisations who may have the potential to provide referrals. The incumbent is expected to work with the Program Leader and the JoCare Committee of Management to maintain and grow the funding for JoCare.

Key Responsibilities and Accountabilities

• Work with the JoCare Program Leader to achieve the strategic outcomes required by our funders and the JoCare Board of Management.
• Responsible for administrative duties with database management, with focus on maintaining office operations and ensuring data entry and accuracy within volunteer management software.
• Receive and manage referrals for older people (recipients or neighbours) into the JoCare program.
• Assist in recruiting, training, and matching volunteers with recipients (neighbours) and ensure that activities are consistently recorded.
• Assist the program leader as a point of contact for volunteers, recipients, and referrers to ensure a positive program experience for all participants.
• Assist in maintaining and developing partnerships with residential aged care facilities, community organisations, and referral sources to increase awareness of JoCare and engage new participants.
• Abide by the Victorian Safeguarding Children and Young People Code of Conduct Commitment Statement and Safeguarding Policy irrespective of level of contact with children and young people.
• Abide by the Privacy requirements of the Australian Law.
• Fulfill the requirements of Government vaccination obligations for aged care volunteers.

Key Performance Indicators

These KPIs ensure high-quality, responsive services that meet our funders’, recipients' and volunteers’ needs:

• Coordinate volunteers following national best practice standards and JoCare’s volunteer management policies and processes.
• Assist in ensuring participant satisfaction with the program, maintaining highly responsive communication with recipients, their referrers, and volunteers.
• Assist in achieving targets in accordance with funding program guidelines.
• Ensure that all funding body requirements and activities are accurately recorded and reported.

Still interested?

Please contact [email protected] using the subject line: Assistant Coordinator (Paid Position) enquiry via EthicalJobs to express your interest.