• Position: Part-time temporary position (18 hours across 3 days/week)
• Period: Anticipated engagement from 26/04/2022 to 01/07/2022 with the possibility of extension

Why work with us?

Wollongong West Public School is a welcoming and inclusive primary school which has an enrolment of 191 students with 40% of students from a background other than English and 5% Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. Our school has 9 mainstream classes and a support unit comprising two classes for children with autism and one class for children with emotional disturbance. The school community is diverse, with people from a range of social and cultural backgrounds. The school promotes equity and excellence through quality, evidence informed teaching and learning experiences. The Annual Report and School Plan can be found on our website.

In partnership with Community Hubs Australia, our school operates as part of the National Community Hubs program that welcomes families from a refugee or migrant background, particularly mothers with young children, to connect, share and learn. The hub bridges the gap between new arrivals and the wider community. The community hub connects women with schools, with each other, and with organisations that can provide health, education and settlement support. More information about the Community Hubs program can be found here. 

About the role

The Community Hub Leader will have the following role and key responsibilities:

• Create a welcoming environment which encourages parents and their children to engage and become active in the hub.
• Build relationships with parents and the local community and discover their strengths, aspirations and needs.
• Informed by consultations, plan activities in partnership with local service providers in the early years and settlement context which align with the program outcomes framework. For example, setting up English language programs and playgroups.
• Support families increase their knowledge of child development, parenting, and settlement support by providing information sessions/programs at the hub. These should include skill development and capacity building activities.
• Build strong relationships within the school and support the school to be able to develop families’ participation in early years and school readiness programs as well as the school’s ability to support and respond to family needs.
• Advocate to local services on family needs and work in partnership with these organisations to make referrals or tailor programs that are delivered out of the school.
• Participate in hub leader meetings and professional development opportunities in your local government area as well as the Community of Practice- a national space to learn from other hub leaders across all the states.
• Complete regular reports and share lessons and case studies with the support agency/Community Hubs Australia.
• Participate and support evaluations of the program.

Role criteria

• Tertiary qualification in either community development, education, early years or settlement field.
• Highly developed interpersonal skills to be an active and empathetic listener and effective communicator to build trust and rapport with individuals and families.
• Capacity to lead culturally aware, people-centred community development projects to meet the needs of local families.
• Demonstrated capacity to engage with stakeholders to build strong relationships to meet outcomes and the ability to work as part of a team within the school, local and national hub leader network.
• Well-developed organisational skills in project and time management, recording and reporting data and use of technology, including Microsoft Office programs and video conferencing platforms.

Who can apply

Expressions of interest are invited from suitably qualified people interested in a career opportunity of community liaison officer (community hub leader).

Applicants should have a current WWCC and be fully COVID 19 vaccinated.

It is highly desirable that applicants be from an additional language/dialect and/or a refugee or migrant background

To submit your application, click Apply Now.