About the Treaty Authority

The Treaty Authority is an independent entity with a mandate to facilitate the formation of treaties between the State of Victoria and First Peoples in Victoria.

The Treaty Authority’s work is grounded in Aboriginal culture, lore and law and led collectively by a panel of five Members committed to Aboriginal self-determination and empowerment. It engages with a broad cross-section of stakeholders including the State of Victoria, the First Peoples’ Assembly and Traditional Owners in Victoria.

The objects of the Treaty Authority’s work are to:

• Facilitate the journey towards reconciliation, mutual respect and tolerance between First Peoples and other people of the State and to
• Maintain, promote and advance the self-determination and empowerment, culture and human rights of First Peoples.

About the Role

The Treaty Authority is looking to appoint a Senior Technical Specialist to lead the Finding Common Ground (Dispute Resolution) Team, providing strategic and expert advice to Members and the executive team on decisions and actions under the Treaty Negotiation Framework dispute resolution process.

The role will be responsible for building the Treaty Authority’s dispute resolution function and will be accountable for the development, effective management and continuous improvement of dispute resolution systems. This position will lead the case management of disputes, including preparation of parties and co-design of culturally appropriate and potentially bespoke dispute resolution processes. Under the guidance of the Members, the role will conduct community facilitation and other dispute resolution practices along with the development of education programs for all parties on preparation for and participation in dispute resolution.

The ideal candidate will have lived experience or experience working with Aboriginal communities preferably in Victoria, with sound working knowledge of Aboriginal community-controlled organisations, Traditional Owner groups, Aboriginal histories and leaders. This coupled with exceptional negotiation, dispute resolution and influencing skills, including extensive experience with First Peoples communities along with a proven ability to provide innovative, sound and culturally strong advice and to assist others to develop such advice is essential.

This is a full-time permanent role, based at our offices in Collingwood.

Key Duties

• Leads the team that conducts intake, case management and preparation of parties in dispute including co-design of the dispute resolution process.
• Under the guidance of Members, conducts dispute resolution in accordance with Treaty Authority processes.
• Provides strategic and expert advice on approaches to resolving complex dispute resolution, including delivery of briefs on highly complex dispute resolution decisions to the Director Agreement-Making, CEO and Treaty Authority Members.
• Delivers complex technical and strategic advice to Members and other senior stakeholders on policy issues that relate to the dispute resolution function.
• Ensures the team identifies any supports needed by First Peoples involved in the dispute resolution process and develops systematic solutions to address them.
• Designs and implements an effective, culturally strong and legally compliant dispute resolution service, ensuring it is delivered effectively, in accordance with service standards and within budget.
• Leads reflective practice, evaluation and continuous improvement of the dispute resolution function, providing regular reports to Members.
• Leads the development and delivery of effective capacity-building measures, to support parties to participate effectively in dispute resolution.
• Oversees and manages the Finding Common Ground (Dispute Resolution) team’s relationships with Traditional Owner groups and other external stakeholders.
• Manages and supervises the Finding Common Ground team and oversees professional development opportunities to ensure the team has the skills to deliver the function in a culturally strong manner and resolve as many disputes as possible.

Selection Criteria

• Exceptional negotiation, dispute resolution and influencing skills, including extensive experience with First Peoples communities (minimum five years).
• Lived experience or experience working with Aboriginal communities preferably in Victoria, with sound working knowledge of Aboriginal community-controlled organisations, Traditional Owner groups, Aboriginal histories and leaders.
• Proven ability to provide innovative, sound and culturally strong advice and to assist others to develop such advice.
• Proven experience in developing, managing and continuously improving systems within an administrative or legal framework.
• Advanced written and verbal communication skills including the ability to simplify and synthesise complex issues for diverse audiences.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate sensitively, foster strong relationships and work effectively with members of the Victorian Aboriginal community and other stakeholders.
• Extensive experience in designing, implementing, reporting, evaluating and continuously improving service delivery, ideally in a community and/or government setting.
• Proven experience in leading and managing teams with a dispute resolution focus, with a demonstrated commitment to supporting career development of First Peoples.
• Dedicated and passionate about using skills and experience to deliver agreements between Traditional Owner groups and between First Peoples’ and the State in Treaty processes.
• Demonstrated interest in and an appreciation of a range of different cultures and seeks actively to understand and effectively address the issues and views of others.
• Highly developed interpersonal and relationship management skills.
• Advanced computer software skills including Microsoft 365, Teams and Outlook.

This position is commensurate with a VPS7 range of $177,400 - $198,700 plus super, depending on the successful applicant’s experience.

This position is open to everyone, however the nature of the Treaty Authority’s work means we strongly encourage First Peoples to apply.

If you feel you could contribute well in this role, click the Apply Now button to submit your application with a copy of your resume along with a brief cover letter explaining why you are interested in this opportunity.