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Adviser to Ellen Sandell MP

Ellen Sandell MP

Who we are:

  • Ellen was elected in 2014 as the first lower house Greens MP in the Victorian Parliament. In November 2018 she was re-elected for a further four years. Ellen is the Deputy Leader of the Victorian Greens and her portfolios include climate change, environment, arts and treasury.
  • Our office is small, collaborative, nimble and strategic. Our staff are innovative, enthusiastic and driven to achieve outcomes for our residents and on the big issues we care about, like climate change, environmental protection, and social justice. We pride ourselves on bringing a positive attitude, organisation and great attention to detail to our work.

The role is responsible for:

  • Meeting with individual constituents of the electorate of Melbourne and helping them with their issues: from helping people with problems in their public housing, to helping people understand the education and health system, to sitting down and hearing their ideas for local projects.
  • Managing Ellen’s email inbox: triaging a large volume of emails each day and undertaking any follow up required including providing information, writing to Ministers and government agencies, and contacting services or organisations.
  • Managing Ellen’s diary: putting items accurately in Ellen’s diary, liaising with organisations and people to gather the information you need to tell Ellen ahead of events and meetings, preparing her for meetings and events and supporting her to use her time efficiently.
  • Working on local campaigns: such as advocating for more funding for local schools, campaigning to upgrade train stations or for money for multicultural employment programs. This includes identifying opportunities, working with groups of local residents, helping organise events, writing and designing leaflets, petitions, media releases, websites, writing to Ministers, writing questions for Ellen to ask in Parliament, and more.
  • Coordinating proactive constituent contact, including sending mail for birthdays and anniversaries, maintaining records from people who have contacted us and keeping constituents informed on issues that are important to them via our email lists.
  • Attending events and meeting with local residents on behalf of Ellen and building strong relationships with local contacts.
  • Greeting people who come into the office, answering the phone and being helpful, friendly and approachable to all who come to us for help.
  • Working with other Greens MPs’ offices to ensure our actions are coordinated and effective.
  • From time to time: supporting the policy, parliamentary and campaign work of Ellen and the team. Ellen’s portfolios include environment, climate change, arts and treasury and you may be called on to assist with research, campaigns, writing parliamentary speeches and communications on these topics.
  • From time to time: helping Ellen with her social media and other communications such as media preparation, media releases, etc.

This role requires:

  • Values that align with the Greens’ values of social justice, environmental sustainability, peace and non-violence, and grassroots democracy. We’re working for a fair society and sustainable economy and expect you to align with this mission.
  • Passion for working one-on-one with members of the community across a range of complex issues, including public housing, accessing local services and helping them navigate government departments and agencies. A high degree of empathy and good listening skills are required.
  • Excellent admin skills, record keeping and attention to detail. You’ll need to ensure Ellen’s diary is up-to-date, that Ellen’s inbox is always monitored and that records of constituent cases are up to date. We need someone who is very organised with good attention to detail!
  • An interest in working in a political/Parliamentary environment and enjoys campaigning to get outcomes on various issues: from global issues like climate change right through to local issues like getting upgrades to a local school.
  • Excellent written communicator comfortable writing for many different audiences. You’ll be asked to write everything from letters to Ministers and speeches for Parliament, to content for Ellen’s website and flyers for local community groups.
  • Reliable and organised, self directed, able to track and manage competing priorities, and meet tight deadlines. We’re a fast-paced office with lots of competing priorities and it’s important that you’re able to work in this environment.
  • Self motivation. Our team is small, so you’ll often have to work by yourself, especially when Ellen is out in Parliament or at events in the community, while still being motivated.
  • The ability to maintain a friendly and approachable manner with people of all backgrounds and personalities and develop and maintain strong relationships particularly under pressure.
  • The ability to stay positive even under pressure. Sometimes residents have complex needs and we can’t always resolve them, but we need someone who tries to help as much as possible and stays positive even when circumstances are frustrating.
  • The capacity to comprehend complex issues and quickly adapt to changing circumstances at short-notice.
  • The ability to maintain strict confidentiality on all issues associated with the office and their duties.
  • The ability to digest a large amount of information and identify what is important.

Further information:

Direct experience in campaign, policy or parliamentary work is not necessary, but you’ll need a willingness and ability to learn quickly -- as you’ll need to support the team and Ellen in these areas.

Although the primary responsibility will be helping local constituents and on local campaigns, our office is small, collaborative and strategic, and you could be called on to help with other work as needed.

We want someone who cares about people with a high degree of empathy and who loves to help. We also want someone who is highly organised, with good admin skills, and someone who knows how to manage their time and energy effectively.

Note: Electorate Officers are employees of the Victorian Parliament, directly accountable to the Member of Parliament whose electorate they are employed. Electorate Officers are required to support the MP, a position that requires a high degree of loyalty, versatility and the ability to maintain confidentiality on behalf of the MP and those who contact the office.

Days & Hours | We are looking for someone to work full time hours. A standard day is 7.6 hours, to be worked between 8am and 6pm. Some limited overtime and weekend work may be required, such as attending community events on behalf of the MP, and is compensated with time off in lieu.

Salary | This role is a Grade 2 under the Parliament of Victoria enterprise agreement. The salary is between $77,000 - $88,000 per annum plus superannuation. Salary within this range will depend on prior experience. A new EBA is currently being negotiated and will commence from 1 July 2021.

Key Dates | Applications are open now. We encourage you to get your application in as early as possible.

As part of the application process you will also be required to undertake a short written exercise.

We anticipate interviews will be conducted during the week beginning 21 March and we are looking for someone to start in late April or early May.

For more information, please email the office at [email protected], using the subject line: Adviser to Ellen Sandell MP enquiry via EthicalJobs, or phone (03) 9328 4637.

how to apply

Please email a cover letter of no more than 2 pages outlining why you’re interested in the role and why your experience makes you a good fit, plus a CV of no more than 3 pages. Please email these documents as one PDF document to [email protected], using the subject line "Adviser: constituent and local issues application via EthicalJobs".

Only email applications will be accepted.

Please do NOT click apply now.

How to apply

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