BACKGROUND

The River Nile School (RNS) is a specialist, independent, inclusive, senior-secondary school, delivering Applied Learning curriculum to young refugee and asylum seeker women, who have had disrupted schooling or are struggling to cope with mainstream school. We are also a registered charitable organisation that delivers everything we do with our students for free.

RNS provides a high-challenge, high-support learning environment with a strengths-based approach. It offers small class sizes and teachers, and student support staff work collaboratively to achieve the best possible outcomes for each student with individualised learning and wellbeing programs for all students. RNS adopts a holistic model for supporting the unique educational and support needs of each student, so developing strong student-staff relationships is essential. As our students come from backgrounds where they may have experienced significant trauma and torture, we adopt a trauma-informed approach to our practice.

School website: www.rivernileschool.vic.edu.au 

POSITION DESCRIPTION

The Community Engagement Support Worker plays a key role in supporting the Engagement Coordinator with tasks such as developing the enrolment process, preparing funding applications, coordinating community events, and fostering relationships with local organisations and stakeholders.

Key Selection Criteria

• Organised and detail-oriented, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and keep engagement activities aligned, on track, and progressing smoothly.
• Communicates clearly, respectfully, and confidently across cultures, ages, and stakeholder groups.
• Experienced in coordinating events and activities, including planning logistics, managing resources, and ensuring inclusive, well-executed experiences for participants.
• Digitally confident and creative, using tools like social media, Canva, Zoom, and survey platforms to enhance communication, storytelling, and community engagement.
• A self-starter who’s open to change, thinks outside the box, and approaches challenges with optimism and a can-do attitude.
• Cares deeply about community and advocacy and is passionate about working alongside people from refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds. You believe in their strength, resilience, and potential.

Position reports to

• Engagement Coordinator

Specific Responsibilities and Duties

Support Enrolment Development:

• Support the coordination of communication between schools, families, and external agencies to ensure smooth enrolment processes.
• Assist in organising orientation and induction for new students and their families.
• Assist interested students or families by answering questions, provide information on school programs, and help with the application process.
• Help gather and track information related to additional support needs for new students.
• Assist in contacting and liaising with schools that refer students to the school.
• Help coordinate tours and visits for prospective students and their families.

Support in Grant and Funding Applications:

• Assist in writing small grant proposals or funding applications for community development projects.
• Get ideas from RNS staff and teams on their priorities for grant opportunities.
• Help track and manage grant proposals.
• Take initiative to look for small/medium grants in the community.
• Ensure that small grants are applied for in a timely manner, meeting the required criteria and deadlines.

Support Community Events and Relationship Building:

• Assist in planning, coordinating, and running school and community events or programs.
• Support with the coordination of communication between the wellbeing, teaching and learning and admin team to coordinate their ideas for events at RNS.
• Ensure that community projects are adequately supplied and supported.
• Build and maintain relationships with community members, local organisations, and stakeholders.
• Ensure that all community programs and activities are inclusive and accessible to diverse groups by considering the needs of our students ie. Music/dance events are fair.
• Support initiatives that promote social justice, equality, and participation from marginalised communities.
• Offer guidance and resources to individuals seeking support or information about local services.

Support Internal Communications:

• Assist students in applying for internships and job opportunities with partners of RNS.
• Assist in managing records and reports related to community programs.
• Help with scheduling meetings, preparing materials, and managing communication between staff, students and community members.
• Support with the coordination/collection of content for the RNS newsletter by working with the different teams at RNS.
• Support with social media posts.

Your Skills and Mindset

1. Empathetic and Inclusive: You approach every interaction with empathy and compassion, grounded in trauma-informed, person-centred principles. You create safe, welcoming spaces and tailor your support to meet people where they’re at.
2. Culturally Responsive and Adaptable: You bring a deep respect for cultural diversity and adapt your communication and engagement styles to connect meaningfully across communities, ages, and backgrounds.
3. Positive and Growth-Oriented: You bring warmth, energy, and a sense of joy to your work. You’re open to feedback, willing to step outside your comfort zone, and committed to continuous learning and improvement.
4. Collaborative and Community-Focused: You’re skilled at building strong relationships—both within teams and across community networks. You value co-design and elevate the voices, creativity, and leadership of community members.
5. Strategic and Systems-Aware: You understand how engagement fits into broader school and community systems, and you’re able to connect people, programs, and pathways in meaningful ways.
6. Youth-Centred and Empowering: You hold a strengths-based mindset that uplifts student voice and agency, and you’re passionate about supporting young people to lead and thrive.

Qualifications, Experience, Credentials and Checks

• Working with Children Check.
• Agree to undergo Police Check.
• 100-point Proof of Identity.
• Recent experience in school or community-based settings.

EMPLOYMENT CONDITIONS

Competitive salary, access to tax-effective salary packaging, training and development opportunities and an Employee Assistance Program (EAP).

Appointment of the successful candidate will be subject to:

• Reference checks
• A satisfactory Pre-Employment Disclosure Declaration; and
• evidence that the applicant has completed training in aspects of Child Safety (a DET link to on-line training for Non-Government schools will be provided)

A 6-month probationary period will apply, and induction and professional support will be provided.

Hours of Work, Annual Leave and Non-Term Weeks (or ‘School Holidays’)

Our standard working day (usual minimum staff on-site hours) is 8.30 am to 4.30 pm, however by mutual agreement, we are open to having later start and/or earlier finish. You may also be required to work on occasional weekends to attend community events and engagement opportunities (hours can be changed during the week to accommodate).

As a school there are ~40 terms weeks and 12 non-term (or ‘school holiday’) weeks each year.  Four weeks annual leave must be taken during non-term weeks and there are ~8 days paid public holidays within term breaks. We ask full time staff to be available for up to 10 days during non-term weeks across the year, with days to be mutually agreed (the 10 days is adjusted down pro rata for people on lower time fractions).  Staff are then effectively asked to take 4-weeks leave without pay during non-term weeks, which is averaged over wages across each year.  This provides staff with significant time off during non-term weeks (or ‘school holidays’) which many staff value for personal or family reasons.

Application Instructions

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