• Seeking a Child and Family Engagement Officer
• 12 months Maternity Position

WANT TO GENUINELY HAVE IMPACT?

The Hive, Mt Druitt leads collective work to ensure all children in Mt Druitt start school well. We have 6000 children under 5 years old and 33% of those are considered ‘developmentally vulnerable’ when they start school. With a focus on early childhood development and learning, The Hive operates at suburb, post-code and system level to enable community capability and school readiness.

The Hive’s small and passionate team works closely with and brings together the community, services, government and businesses to address locally identified priorities.

If this is something that resonates with you, come and consider joining us.

ABOUT THE ROLE:

We are seeking someone experienced in working with children and their families to lead collaborative engagement across key suburbs in Mt Druitt. This role is a 12-month maternity leave cover.

They will be responsible for understanding the needs of local families with children aged 0-12, with a focus on 0–5-year-olds. They will engage extensively to identify needs and gaps and develop solutions in the work across the Collective to support children and their families.

This role requires high levels of initiative, strong community engagement skills and the ability to build trusted relationships with the community. Intentional listening to community and partners is crucial to develop innovative responses and solutions to locally identified needs of children and families.

The Child and Family Engagement Officer informs and facilitates programs and initiatives for children and their families, with a focus on children aged 0-5. These programs promote social connection and act as a soft entry into formal Early Education and Care and can link families with other forms of support should they identify a need.

This role will sit at a range of SCHADS Level 4 - 5, depending on the experience and qualifications of the successful applicant.

In this role, you will:

• Provide expertise and deliver local programs and initiatives for children and their families to support children’s education and development
• Lead innovative thinking on strategies to engage children and parents/carers through collaborative community engagement events and programs
• Apply a culturally inclusive approach to working with First Nations people
• Draw on strong interpersonal skills in building authentic relationships with children and families to understand and respond to the barriers families are facing in accessing support for their children
• Use a trauma-informed lens in both working with and understanding the needs of the families with who you work
• Provide warm referrals and connect families to local services and supports
• Mobilise and build capacity of local community to lead community initiatives including advocacy work
• Build the capacity of local services to deliver high quality and effective initiatives for children and their families
• Work within a small team that promotes a dynamic, flexible and innovative working environment

ABOUT YOU:

We are looking for someone who will fit in well with our culture and aligns with our collective work principles:

• We are Place-Based
• We are Collaborative
• We are Holistic
• We are Relationship-Based
• We are Community-led
• We are Strengths-based
• We use an Ecological Framework

These principles outline how we work with community, colleagues, partners and government. We are present with community where they live and are building relationships and trust with community and partners. We focus on working alongside the “whole person” including their strengths and aspirations. Our work is based on community voice and aims to build community capacity and community leadership. We seek and take opportunities to work together at suburb, postcode and systems level to create change.

Our Collective Principles form the basis of our work and are embedded in all our work by our collective team every day.

As the Child and Family Engagement Officer you will have a relevant qualification or experience working with children and their families in either a 1:1 or community engagement and community development setting. You will have knowledge and skills to work flexibly with families and community, including First Nations people, using a trauma-informed approach and utilise skills in innovative, strengths-based approaches to support families and build the capacity of families and local services. You will have training in child protection, or a willingness to obtain it.

You are creative, collaborative, can work independently, take initiative and are a strong communicator with children, parents, carers and local service providers.

We are a child safe organisation and ensure our new hires are appropriately checked, including a Working with Children Check.

United Way Australia

ABOUT US:

We have been helping Australians in communities of disadvantage to reach their full potential for more than 60 years. Our model of change is to empower children and young people through flagship early childhood literacy development and youth employment initiatives. We also work to develop new approaches which challenge the status quo in tackling complex social issues, including our innovative business park model and collective impact work.

United Way Australia has a supportive and friendly work culture that wants to see each of us succeed. It offers salary sacrificing benefits associated with working with a Public Benevolent Institution (PBI).

Next steps

Click Apply Now to submit your application. 

Please contact Brigid Burke on 0406 195 689 or at [email protected] using the subject line: Child and Family Engagement Officer enquiry via EthicalJobs for further information.

United Way Australia is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer and is committed to engaging a diverse workforce. We encourage applications from people from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander background, people with disability, people from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds and mature aged applicants to apply.\

A position description is attached.