Key information:

Reports to Executive Director

Direct reports 2-3

FTE The role is full-time, 38 hours per week

Salary & Conditions $110,000, plus superannuation. Fringe benefit is available

Location Sydney. Based at either our Redfern or Parramatta centre, and travelling frequently to Mt Druitt

About Story Factory

At Story Factory, we believe that stories can change lives. We focus on enriching the lives of young people in under-resourced communities through quality creative writing programs, improving their writing skills, increasing their confidence and expanding their future prospects. Reading is access but writing is agency.

Since opening in 2012, we have taken more than 55,000 student enrolments, with nearly 10,000 enrolments in 2023. 16% of our students are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and 49% are from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. We have won a number of awards for our work, including Executive Director and Co-founder Dr Cath Keenan being named Australian of the Year Local Hero in 2016.

Our values

• Young people come first.
• Writing is agency.
• Creativity unleashes potential.
• Diversity makes us better.
• We have high expectations of ourselves and the young people we work with.
• We have heart. Passion matters.

When working with our students and colleagues, we are:

• Positive. We see strengths.
• Inclusive. We build connection through shared experience.
• Helpful. We support students to reach their writing goals.
• Respectful. We value young people's ideas and experience.
• Generous. We choose the more edifying interpretation.
• Fun. Because writing should be joyful. At least some of the time.

Purpose of the role

Establishing authentic, respectful relationships in the communities in which we work is essential to us delivering on our mission of supporting young people to develop their literacy and find their voice. The Community Engagement Manager will play a vital role in creating and delivering a community engagement strategy that works across our organisation, guiding us to best engage with young people, volunteers and First Nations and CALD communities. In particular, the Community Engagement Manager will build on the relationships we have established in Mt Druitt over the past seven years and lead the establishment of a hub for our work in the area in 2025.

What we offer

• A genuinely collaborative and diverse culture;
• 4 weeks annual leave plus up to 8 days additional annual leave in December/January;
• Fringe benefit is available;
• Ceremonial and cultural leave for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff.

The position and its responsibilities

We are looking for someone to lead our engagement across the Sydney and Western Sydney communities in which we work. This entails working authentically and collaboratively with many different stakeholders, including young people, families, community leaders, Elders and Traditional Custodians, volunteers and staff at community organisations. The role is also strategic and involves providing advice across the organisation on best-practice community engagement, and empowering others to deliver engagement strategies that the Community Engagement Manager has helped to develop.

There are four key elements to this role:

1. Establishment of a community hub in Mt Druitt: A focus of this role, especially in 2024-25, will be the establishment of a pilot community hub in Mt Druitt. Story Factory has been working in schools and community organisations in the area since 2017. To deepen the impact of this work, we are looking to engage people from across the community and set up a small base from which our staff can run after-school and holiday workshops and continue to engage deeply with young people through local schools and community organisations. The Community Engagement Manager will lead the establishment of this hub and then oversee its operations, developing strong relationships within the community and ensuring we are engaging in the best possible way with young people.
2. Youth engagement: We run a range of exciting creative writing programs at our centres in Redfern and Parramatta and online. The Community Engagement Manager is charged with leading the engagement of young people in those programs, ensuring we remove barriers to entry and can effectively support as many young people as possible.
3. Strategic direction of volunteer management: Story Factory volunteers work directly with young people in workshops, under the supervision of our talented facilitators, and are vital to the delivery of Story Factory’s mission. We currently have approximately 350 volunteers with diverse backgrounds, skills and experiences. Our volunteers are managed by an experienced Volunteer Manager, and supporting the Volunteer Manager to ensure that our volunteer engagement and retention strategies are as effective as possible is a key element of this role. The Volunteer Manager reports to the Community Engagement Manager.
4. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander engagement: Supporting young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to build their literacy and find their voice is a key pillar of Story Factory’s mission. Our Story Guide (currently being recruited) leads our engagement with Indigenous young people and communities, and the Community Engagement Manager supports this role to be as effective as possible. The Story Guide reports to the Community Engagement Manager.

The successful candidate will have at least 3-5 years’ community engagement experience, ideally including youth work, and a strong understanding of communities across Western Sydney. They will be comfortable both working on the ground in communities and empowering others to deliver an engagement strategy that the Community Engagement Manager has oversight of. They will be deeply empathetic and inclusive, with a proven track record of building strong, collaborative relationships with a range of stakeholders, particularly young people. They will have excellent communication skills and a genuine belief in the power of writing to support young people to flourish. A passion for building equity for young people, and a knowledge of, and respect for, Indigenous cultures and diverse cultures is also essential.

The Community Engagement Manager will work full time, Monday to Friday, and very occasionally may be asked to work on weekends and/or evenings. When this happens, they will accrue time in lieu.

Key position priorities:

• Work with our team to create and implement a community engagement strategy with a focus on young people, including Indigenous young people and young people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, and volunteers.
• Lead the establishment of, and oversee operations at, our Community Hub in Mt Druitt, including building strong and collaborative relationships with people and organisations across the area.
• Work with the Volunteer Manager to design a volunteer recruitment and retention strategy, particularly focussed on Western Sydney, and oversee its implementation to reach our strategic targets.
• Work with members of our Storytelling team to design a strategy to engage young people directly with our Open Programs, both online and in person, and oversee its implementation.
• Work with our Story Guide (Aboriginal Engagement Manager) to design an engagement strategy that best supports young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and their communities.
• Report regularly to the Executive Director on the implementation of our community engagement strategy and the effectiveness of the operational plan to achieve this.
• To be a genuine, engaged and authentic member of the communities in which we work, including by supporting other people and organisations as needed.
• Be a good ambassador for Story Factory in various communities across Sydney.
• Do social research to inform our engagement strategies, and feed it back to key staff so they have an understanding of community needs across Sydney.

Note: The outline above should be considered indicative only and is not a comprehensive description of all aspects of the role. Story Factory is a learning organisation and aspects of the role may change as the organisation grows, and we continue to improve our processes and structures.

Selection Criteria

Essential

• At least 3-5 years’ experience in community engagement in Western Sydney, ideally including Mt Druitt;
• Proven experience in creating and implementing community engagement strategies, and managing people to effectively deliver these;
• Deep experience working with young people from diverse backgrounds;
• Understanding of, and experience working with, Indigenous communities;
• Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills and a proven ability to build and maintain relationships with people from diverse backgrounds;
• Ability to work unsupervised, take initiative and creatively solve problems as they come up.

Desirable

• Drivers licence and the ability to travel across Sydney and Western Sydney for meetings and other opportunities.

OUR COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY

At Story Factory, we embrace differences in gender, age, ethnicity, race, cultural background, disability, religion and sexual orientation. We know that diversity and inclusion helps us to attract, recruit, engage and retain a team of talented people.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, are particularly encouraged to apply.

If you require specific support to apply for this position, please advise us by contacting [email protected]. We will work with you to identify the best way to assist.

Story Factory is a Child-Safe Organisation. The successful applicant must undertake a Police Check and Working with Children Check prior to commencement. The role has a six month probation period. Start date to be negotiated.

All queries can be directed to [email protected] using the subject line: Community Engagement Manager enquiry via EthicalJobs.

For further information visit: https://www.storyfactory.org.au/

A position description is attached.

To view our current strategic plan click here.

To view our Reconciliation Action Plan click here.

To view our latest Annual Report click here.