• St Kilda Rd, Melbourne VIC 3004
  
• Not-for-Profit, Community Services
  
• Attractive salary+ super+ salary packaging, Part-Time 0.6EFT, Reporting to the Managing and Principal Lawyer
  
• As per SCHADS Level 5

POSITION SUMMARY

Seniors Rights Victoria (SRV) provides leadership across Victoria by using its expertise gained over 10 years to help prevent and respond to older people experiencing abuse. As a Project Coordinator you will be part of a small team assisting people to protect their rights and reduce the risk of elder abuse. You will also educate professionals and community members about how to identify and respond to elder abuse.

Seniors Rights Victoria (SRV) has been running a project as part of the Victorian Government's Integrated Services Fund (ISF), since 2018. Administered by the Federation of Community Legal Centres (FCLC), the ISF is special funding for projects that have an early intervention focus, as well as involving integrated services.

SRV's Planning Ahead Project helps people understand the need to plan ahead, in order to protect their rights and wishes as they get older, to reduce the risk of elder abuse. The project also supports carers and loved ones of people as they age, to ensure they understand how best to support them.

Depending upon your experience and the demand on the service, there may also be a role in contributing to responses to policy initiatives in the sector. SRV is a program of COTA Victoria.

ORGANISATIONAL OVERVIEW:

Council on the Ageing (COTA Victoria) is the leading not-for-profit organisation representing the interests and rights of people aged over 50 in Victoria. For nearly 70 years in Victoria, we have led government, corporate and community thinking about the positive aspects of ageing.

COTA Victoria's strategic and operational focus is on promoting older age as a time of opportunities for personal growth, contribution and self-expression. We believe there are obvious National, State, community, family and individual benefits from this approach.

Vision: Ageing in Australia is a time of possibility, opportunity and influence

Purpose: COTA advances the rights, interests and futures of Australians as we age

Values: Respect, Diversity, Collaboration and Integrity

Strategic Priorities: For older Victorians, COTA promote opportunities and protect rights. Our Strategic focus is on Policy, Health, Rights and Organisation activities.

PROGRAM OUTLINE

Seniors Rights Victoria (SRV) provides leadership across Victoria by preventing and responding to older people experiencing elder abuse. Elder abuse is any act which causes harm to an older person, carried out by someone they trust such as family or friends. Elder abuse may be physical, sexual, financial, psychological or social abuse, or neglect. SRV’s services to older people experiencing abuse include a Helpline, specialist legal services, short term support and advocacy, and community education. In addition, SRV has broader policy, systemic advocacy, law reform and capacity building roles both in Victoria and nationally in order to raise awareness of elder abuse and promote prevention.

POSITION OBJECTIVE:

Seniors Rights Victoria (SRV) has been running a project as part of the Victorian Government's Integrated Services Fund (ISF), since 2018. Administered by the Federation of Community Legal Centres (FCLC), the ISF is special funding for projects that have an early intervention focus, as well as involving integrated services.

SRV's Planning Ahead Project helps people understand the need to plan ahead, in order to protect their rights and wishes as they get older, to reduce the risk of elder abuse. The project also supports carers and loved ones of people as they age, to ensure they understand how best to support them.

From 2018-2021 the project worked in partnership with Dementia Australia, to support people who had been recently diagnosed with dementia. Since 2021 the project has changed focus to connect with harder to reach communities, who may experience barriers to accessing information and/or legal advice.

For the past year activity has been focussed in the Ballarat region. In 2023 the project is launching partnerships in Shepparton, as well as sharing resources state wide.

This position will take the project to the next stage. The role will take overall responsibility for the project including coordination and reporting, will work with service providers in Shepparton, to ensure resources are appropriate for people living in the region, in conjunction with SRV’s casework team, will deliver community education sessions, and will be responsible for developing appropriate additional resources to provide the project with longevity.

The project coordinator will also coordinate the facilitation of existing resources into twenty community languages, identify key agencies and organisations across Victoria to disseminate materials to culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities, coordinate the sharing of materials, and report to the Federation and the federal government on the reach and impact. All work will occur within the context of SRV’s strategic and operational plans and using a community development approach.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Service Delivery and Development

• Stakeholder engagement in Shepparton and other regional centres
• Coordinate the translation of existing resources that have been developed as part of the project (printed material and videos)
• Disseminate education resources state-wide throughout Victoria

• Work with SRV’s legal team to deliver training for lawyers to help spot the warning signs and reduce the risks of elder abuse. Deliver community education sessions about how to plan ahead to reduce the risks of elder abuse
• Deliver community education session to increase community capacity to identify and respond to elder abuse
• Work in partnership with service providers to further develop community education sessions and resources, especially with and for CALD communities, Aboriginal communities and those experiencing barriers to accessing legal information about elder abuse.
• Take responsibility for all aspects of the project including reporting to funders, collecting data in accordance with the monitoring and evaluation framework, coordinating stakeholders etc.

Communications

• Contribute to developing a sense of teamwork and positive connectedness among SRV and COTA Victoria staff
• Work with SRV team to identify avenues to share resources translated into 20 community languages, to the communities the materials have been developed to support

KEY SELECTION CRITERIA:

Essential

• Demonstrated ability to deliver community education
• Community sector experience, including extensive stakeholder and community engagement
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, including public speaking skills
• High level of computer literacy in the Microsoft Office Suite of applications
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate and work in, and support, a cohesive multi-disciplinary team
• Demonstrated ability to work under pressure, manage timelines and work with conflicting deadlines and priorities
• Understanding of monitoring and evaluation frameworks and how to record and report on data

Desirable

• Experience in project management
• Experience working with older people and/or people living with disabilities
• Demonstrated experience delivering community legal education
• Experience using the Adobe Suite of design software e.g. InDesign

SPECIFIC RESTRICTIONS/CONDITIONS

• Must be physically capable to carry out administrative duties, involving extended periods of VDU use;
• This role may occasionally require out-of-hours work and travel intra and interstate;
• Preferred to have current Victorian driver’s license and be accepted for insurance cover;
• Employment is subject to an ongoing satisfactory police check
• COVID Vaccination
• Hybrid work arrangement with a combination of work from home and in office.

Applicants must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident.

A Position Description is attached below.