An opportunity has arisen for an outstanding candidate to join the Australian Press Council as Complaints Officer.

The Australian Press Council promotes freedom of speech and responsible journalism. It sets standards and responds to complaints about material in Australian newspapers and magazines, as well as a growing number of on-line publications.

More information about the Press Council is available on its website: www.presscouncil.org.au

Key responsibilities

The Complaints Officer will mainly be responsible for assisting the Director of Complaints with the conduct of the complaints-handling work of the Press Council, including:

• responding to readers’ complaints about published material;
• communicating with complainants and publications and facilitating resolution of complaints in accordance with the Press Council’s procedures;
• preparing material for use by Adjudication Panels and assisting with the conduct and finalisation of Adjudications;
• assembling complaints-related information for Press Council communications and publications as required; and
• contributing to the drafting of standards, reports and issues papers, advisory guidelines and other documents as specified by the Executive Director.

Qualifications

Tertiary qualifications preferred.

It will also be an advantage to be familiar with the principles of administrative law and procedural fairness, the principles of Alternative Dispute Resolution and an understanding of the print and digital media industry.

Skills, knowledge and experience

The successful candidate must demonstrate competence or potential at a high level in the following areas:

• communication of information in an accurate, clear and succinct manner, both orally and in writing;
• complaints-handling and Alternative Dispute Resolution processes;
• use of digital resources, such as a complaint management system and other databases; and
• preparation and presentation of reports and statistics.

Personal qualities

The successful candidate will need to be:

• capable of paying close attention to accuracy and detail, and bring emotional intelligence to the work of dealing with complainants and publications;
• well-organised and constructively responsive to supervision, while also being able to take initiative and work independently when appropriate;
• flexible and cooperative while working in a small secretariat;
• able to manage competing priorities, often working to tight deadlines; and
• comfortable and adept at working in a team environment.

Reporting and supervision

The successful candidate will report to the Director of Complaints on complaint matters, and will work under the supervision of other senior staff when focusing on other areas of work, as determined by the Executive Director.

For all enquiries regarding this position, please contact the Director of Complaints, Paul Nangle, or the Executive Director, Yvette Lamont, on (02) 9261 1930.

Please ensure you provide a CV and cover letter addressing the criteria for the role.

Applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are especially welcome.