About RAILS

The Refugee and Immigration Legal Service (RAILS) is a community legal centre based in South Brisbane. For over 40 years, RAILS has provided free legal assistance and education in immigration and refugee law to people in Queensland.

RAILS assists some of the most vulnerable people in our community, predominantly refugees, asylum seekers and people who have experienced family violence. RAILS strives to empower them and help them find and remain in safety.

RAILS is a member of Community Legal Centres Australia and is registered as a Charity with the Australian Charities and Not-for Profit Commission.

About the Position

• Hours: Full time
• Salary: SCHADS Level 5 + 11.5% superannuation
• Responsible to: Operations Director
• Direct Reports: Senior Intake Officers (level 4), Intake and Triage Officers (level 3) and intake volunteers

Summary

RAILS’ Intake Manager is responsible for the intake function at RAILS, ensuring compassionate and efficient processes for assessing clients’ vulnerabilities, legal needs and social circumstances. Drawing on established skills and experience, the Intake Manager conducts comprehensive, trauma-informed assessments to identify client strengths and needs, facilitating appropriate referrals to RAILS’ programs and external services.

This role is central to ensuring clients receive holistic, coordinated support that aligns with their unique circumstances and promotes their well-being and empowerment. The Intake Manager acts as liaison point between the Intake and Legal staff to ensure client information and referrals are managed efficiently. They also cooperate with other services and agencies to assess community needs and support the development of tailored responses from a trauma informed perspective

This role requires a dedicated, flexible and positive professional with a passion for working in the community legal sector. The ideal candidate will have a strong commitment to supporting and empowering migrants, refugees and asylum seekers, ensuring their needs are met through high-quality, trauma-informed services. You must possess excellent communication skills and the ability to engage effectively with individuals from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, particularly those who have experienced trauma.

RAILS is committed to valuing staff and treats all staff fairly and ethically, providing a supportive and inclusive working environment. The successful applicant will carry out their duties in accordance with RAILS’ policies and funding guidelines. RAILS has flexible working arrangements for all staff but will require the successful applicant to work from our new South Brisbane office for a significant proportion of the working week. This role is of fundamental importance to the delivery of excellent legal services by RAILS and contributes to positively changing client’s lives.

Remuneration and benefits

• An attractive remuneration package (SCHADS 5) with an additional 11.5% superannuation
• Flexible working arrangements including the accrual of FLEX and TOIL
• Generous leave entitlements (paid parental leave, cultural and special leave provisions; portable long service leave) including additional paid leave over end of year shut down
• Attractive no-cost salary sacrifice options.

Successful applicants may be required to complete additional clearance checks.

Role Responsibilities

Intake Function:

• Conduct comprehensive assessments of client needs, vulnerabilities and barriers to accessing services.
• Facilitate client referrals to external services and agencies that are tailored to the client’s needs and circumstances.
• Collaborate with Senior Solicitors and Legal Practice Directors to facilitate referrals to RAILS’ programs taking into consideration RAILS’ resources and areas of specialisation and ensuring a holistic and client-centred approach.
• Act as an escalation point for complex and challenging client interactions, providing guidance and support from a trauma-informed perspective.
• Facilitate the provision of timely legal assistance for RAILS’ clients, including overseeing the management of legal deadlines, working with clients so they provide RAILS with information and documentation and ensuring compliance with organisational policies.
• Drawing from their knowledge of social work principles, develop and maintain organisational systems and processes for effective client onboarding, ensuring alignment with social work principles such as strength-based and trauma-informed care.
• Drawing from their knowledge of social work principles, contribute to the development and implementation of organisational policies and procedures relevant to the intake function.
• Responsible for ensuring that requests for assistance are assessed taking into consideration the client’s needs, vulnerabilities and barriers to access services.

Client Data and Legal Services Management:

• Responsible for ensuring that records of legal service delivery are created in a timely manner by the intake team.
• Establish and maintain, in collaboration with the Operations Director and Legal Practice Director (Practice Management and Risk), effective intake data collection and capture processes that take into consideration clients’ vulnerabilities and that align with trauma informed practice principles.
• Responsible for ensuring that accurate and consistent client data is collected and recorded to assist RAILS to better meet community needs.
• Ensure compliance with legal, contractual and internal requirements in relation to the management of data and information.

Reporting

• Responsible for ensuring the accurate capture and monthly reporting of information and referral services completed by the intake team.
• Responsible for ensuring the timely closure of RAILS’ representation services.
• Responsible for ensuring timely and accurate reporting through the DEX portal as required by RAILS’ funding agreements.
• Preparing reports on client services as requested from time to time.

Supervision and Team leadership:

• Direct supervision of Senior Intake Officers (level 4), Intake and Triage Officers (level 3) and intake volunteers, including social work placement students.
• Support the development of organisational policies and strategic decision making in application of practice experience, research and analytic frameworks to assist RAILS in responding to social need and implementing social-work-principles-aligned practices through fair, equitable and effective decision making.
• Provide guidance and support the implementation of organisational initiatives and projects in application of social work practice experience, research and analytic frameworks to assist RAILS in responding to community needs, in alignment with RAILS’ goals, values and principles.
• Supporting RAILS intake team members in approaching their roles and responsibilities from a trauma-informed perspective
• Identify training and development needs of the Intake team and contribute to its delivery.
• Set team priorities, monitor workflows and capacity and hold team meetings.
• Recruit team members.
• Contribute to RAILS culture by maintaining positive working relationships across all teams and leading by way of example in delivery of a high-quality service to RAILS’ clients.

Liaison with Legal Staff:

• Regularly meet with Legal Practice Directors or Senior Solicitors, as required, to ensure close communication between admin and legal team about matters such as client issues and legal service priorities.

Stakeholders:

Contribute to building and maintaining close collaborative relationships with external referral agencies and other community services.

SELECTION CRITERIA

Essential criteria applicants must meet to apply for this role:

• Tertiary qualification in Social Work (preferred) or a related discipline such as community services or law.

Additional criteria applicants must meet:

• 2-3 years of experience in a similar role in the not-for-profit sector.
• Demonstrated supervision and people management skills including in managing and developing performance as well as in ensuring that staff are and feel valued and supported in relation to their work (which can be emotionally challenging)
• Demonstrated ability to successfully provide front line services to people experiencing disadvantage, vulnerability or complex needs, particularly culturally and linguistically diverse people, utilising and promoting trauma-informed approaches
• Proficiency in the use of IT systems such as Microsoft (Outlook, Excel, Word, SharePoint), client management tools and databases.
• High level of understanding of reporting requirements in the legal assistance sector.
• Demonstrated ability to design, monitor and review effective and efficient processes and policies that take into consideration social work principles within community legal centres.
• Demonstrated ability to apply practice experience, research and analytic social work frameworks
• Ability to successfully work in a dynamic, fast-paced environment and to manage conflicting priorities.
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively and constructively with colleagues, including through times of change and uncertainty.
• Highly developed personal resilience, adaptability and ability to meet the challenges of the legal assistance sector.
• Demonstrated knowledge and understanding of the community legal assistance sector, the wider community and the socio-political environment in which RAILS operates.
• Demonstrated commitment to the mission and values of RAILS.

A position description is attached.