What’s in it for you?

• Maximise your pay through salary packaging including entertainment and novated leases
• Enjoy flexible working options
• Work in a supportive and energetic environment with our growing team
• Make an impact and contribute to Australia's largest child health research institute
• On campus, we have a myriad of retail stores, cafes, restaurants along with a boutique hotel
• We value our employees, which is why we offer a health and wellbeing program including free access to an Employee Assistance Program

The opportunity:

Restacking the Odds (RSTO) is on a mission to revolutionise early childhood outcomes. We're committed to ensuring that all children and families can and do access a combination of high quality, evidence informed services where and when they need them. RSTO focuses on how to work differently within the existing service infrastructure to improve outcomes for children, families, and communities. It uses a framework of evidence-based lead indicators to support communities, service providers and policymakers to improve service quality, quantity, and participation. Our Phase One success, backed by the Paul Ramsay Foundation, has led to a new phase, and we're looking for a dynamic and passionate individual to lead our Partnerships and Practice stream.

We are seeking an individual who is passionate about innovation and social change. In this part- or full-time maximum term position (1 year with possibility of extension), your main responsibility will be to lead the strategy development, execution, and monitoring of the partnerships and practice stream of RSTO.

Your priority will be to establish and nurture strong relationships with both existing and new community and service provider and government partners. You will work on to understand how to best integrate RSTO into their core activities, which will include understanding their current practices related to lead indicator data collection, reporting, and usage in early years services and place-based initiatives. Collaborating with partners, you will co-design, develop, build, and test scalable prototype solutions to support the consistent collection and use of lead indicator data to improve service outcomes.

Additionally, you will support the ongoing development of programs and communication activities, including communities of practice, to raise awareness of RSTO among communities, governments and service provider partners focused on early childhood development. A key focus will be identifying how to expand the use of RSTO indicators nationally, working closely with the RSTO team, including Research and Advocacy teams,. Your role will involve leading and project managing all engagement and partnership activities, including, managing a team who will be working more closely with partners on the ground, identifying funding opportunities, managing budgets as well as identifying, documenting key learnings to share broadly with the sector.

If you're ready to make a significant impact in early childhood development, join our passionate and innovative team at RSTO. Apply now!

Your responsibilities include:

• Spearhead the continuous development, execution, and assessment of the Partnerships and Practice strategy. Collaborate closely with communities, service providers, relevant industry partners, and policy stakeholders to facilitate the sustainable expansion of RSTO (Relevant Systematic Tracking and Observation)
• Champion and facilitate the collaborative development and utilisation of RSTO within community-driven early childhood initiatives, aiming to accumulate evidence for the integration of RSTO into substantial and multi-location Early Childhood Development (ECD) programs supported by both national and state governments
• Advocate for and support the cooperative development and adoption of RSTO by service providers and government agencies that provide funding or oversight. The objective is to integrate RSTO indicators into standard data collection practices and service enhancement policies and procedures
• Establish and lead the Partnership and Practice team, comprising up to five members with expertise in the respective field. These members should have a deep understanding of the existing early years' service system and service providers to effectively implement RSTO on the ground

About you:

• Possession of an advanced degree at the honours level or higher in a pertinent field such as public health, psychology, social sciences, or education, or an equivalent blend of relevant experience and community engagement expertise.
• Demonstrated and pertinent experience in conceiving, executing, and appraising community engagement strategies and initiatives on a state-wide or national scale.
• Exceptional interpersonal, communication, and stakeholder management capabilities, including the ability to establish rapport with service providers, community stakeholders, and policymakers, while effectively collaborating across diverse socio-economic and cultural demographics.
• Leadership proficiency and a track record of managing personnel across various locations.
• Proven experience analysing and reporting data and helping others understand data.

Who we are

At Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, we share a powerful vision; to re-imagine the future of child health. We are the home to many life-changing scientific discoveries. We are renowned for our cutting-edge focus on early interventions, improved diagnosis, prevention, and development of potential cures. Our success is founded on a philosophy of collaboration through a multi-disciplinary approach to solving the toughest questions in child health. Murdoch Children’s is committed to creating a culture of inclusivity, equity and respect that celebrates and values the diverse backgrounds and experiences of our people. We strive to foster a positive working environment that is underpinned by equal opportunity for all and consideration for the diverse voices of our people and the communities we serve. Murdoch Children’s is a proud member of the Australian Network on Disability and is a committed subscriber to Science Australia Gender Equity (SAGE) and its principles.

For more information, please refer to the position description. Any specific questions related to this position should be directed to Olivia Hilton at [email protected] using the subject line: Practice and Partnership Lead enquiry via EthicalJobs.

To be considered, applicants should submit:

• Cover letter
• Resume
• Responses to selection criteria via the position description

Please submit your application in one combined pdf document.

We welcome all genders, ages, ethnicities, cultural backgrounds, abilities, religions and sexual orientations in our workplace and encourage talented people of any identity to apply to our vacancies. We will provide reasonable adjustments in our recruitment process and in the workplace, please contact the People Leader listed above if this is needed.

All applicants, please be aware that in line with the Murdoch Children’s and VCGS COVID-19 Vaccination Policy, all Murdoch Children’s and VCGS workers must be fully vaccinated (boosted), unless a valid medical exception applies.

Please note, we reserve the right to close the vacancy prior to the closing date once a sufficient number of applications have been received.

A copy of the position description is attached.