We are partnering with Democracy in Colour to offer an opportunity for a person of colour to join the Working Women’s Centre team in this Junior Advocacy Officer position and develop their advocacy skills. This is a participant role in Democracy in Colour’s POC Placement Program – an on-the-job training program for campaigners of colour.

This program is about finding emerging campaigners of colour, supporting their talent, and pushing organisations to centre their voices for real, lasting change. It places emerging leaders in paid campaigning roles in advocacy NGOs alongside a training and mentoring program run by Democracy in Colour. As part of the program, the successful applicant will work within WWCSA, and spend on average a half day per week participating in training and professional development as part of the placement program.

WHO ARE WE?

The Working Women’s Centre SA Inc is a not-for-profit organisation that provides an industrial service to vulnerable working women and others. The Centre was established in 1979 and has been advising, supporting and advocating for vulnerable women and migrant workers for 40 years. The Centre provides support, advice, information and representation to women who face issues in their employment in both federal and state jurisdictions.

The Centre is also concerned with the structural inequalities for women in the workplace, and conducts outreach, community education and advocacy for the equal participation of women in the workforce and community. Current key focuses of the Working Women’s Centre include precarious work, sexual harassment, wage theft, women in male-dominated industries and the impact of COVID-19 on young women.

CONTEXT OF THE POSITION

Young people, especially young women, have been disproportionately impacted by the enduring effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The South Australian Government has provided a one-off grant allocation to the Working Women’s Centre SA Inc to inform the development of effective policy and practice responses to the unique employment-related needs of young women (12 – 30 years old) in the wake of COVID-19. We have already begun working on a project enhancing and creating secure employment opportunities for young women (12 – 30 years old) in response to COVID-19. The successful applicant for this role will take responsibility for rolling out the rest of the project.

The Junior Advocacy Officer will work primarily on issues facing women under 30, with a focus on temporary visa holders, First Nations women and women from low socioeconomic groups.

EMPLOYMENT CONDITIONS

This is a full-time (35 hours per week) 12-month term contract position.

Employment conditions are specified in the Working Women’s Centre Inc Enterprise Agreement 2018. Presently, the Junior Advocacy Officer role is not set out in the Enterprise Agreement. The Enterprise Agreement is due for renewal and the classification will be added.

The position is based at the Working Women’s Centre in Adelaide SA but requires the capacity to undertake regional and remote travel occasionally. Some out of hours work is required.

Benefits include the following:

• Competitive salary $60,000
• Generous salary sacrifice options
• 12.0% superannuation
• Flexible workplace
• 35-hour week (plus reasonable overtime stipulated in the EBA)
• TOIL entitlements
• Weekly training and professional development through the Democracy in Colour POC Placement Program

We encourage applications from all cis and trans women, as well as non-binary people who are comfortable working on advocacy that focuses on the experiences of young women.

The successful applicant will be required to get a working with vulnerable people check if successful.

KEY DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

The Junior Advocacy Officer is responsible to the Senior Advocacy Officer and Director.

Working closely with the Senior Advocacy Officer, the Junior Advocacy Officer undertakes the following key duties and responsibilities:

• Taking over the planning and execution of our Young Women & COVID-19 project.
• Increasing the youth advocacy capacity of the WWC to better inform COVID-19 response and recovery efforts.
• Building relationships with other organisations and forming a taskforce to address the disproportionate impact of COVID19 on young women.
• Engaging in research and engagement activities that inform and respond to COVID-19 related impacts immediately and into the recovery phase/s.
• Providing pro-active education to target groups about rights at work and support avenues.
• Working with and supporting volunteers in their advocacy work.
• Identifying opportunities in local, state, and federal policy to include young women in COVID-19 response and recovery efforts.
• Consulting with young women and elevating the voices of young women in the state and national discussion around COVID-19 economic rebuild/recovery.
• Representing Working Women’s Centre SA Inc in the community and media.
• Creating communications materials and web-based resources to assist young women in maintaining and creating pathways to education and work.
• Organising and running events both online and in-person.
• Meeting and communicating with stakeholders and decision-makers.
• Occasionally assisting with other Working Women’s Centre campaigns which impact young women, such as sexual harassment.
• Determining appropriate actions in light of the latest news and developments.

The duties and responsibilities will be executed to ensure high impact delivery for women from low socioeconomic groups, First Nations women and international students.

THE SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATE WILL HAVE

Required

• Experience working with affected and diverse communities.
• Lived experience of being a part of and working with communities of colour or Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
• A track record of building effective relationships and networks with others in social movements, such as industrial, racial justice or feminist spaces.
• A strong understanding of gender politics and its intersection with workers’ rights.
• The skills to be a capable facilitator of meetings and group work, with the ability to engage and encourage participation.
• A high degree of independence and a track record of managing self-driven projects to successful outcomes.
• An ability and confidence to inspire, engage, develop and lead young people to take action through positive conversations.
• Demonstrated high level written and oral communication skills.
• Exceptional time management skills and demonstrated ability to prioritise tasks.
• A commitment to the principles of feminism, justice and workers’ rights

Desirables

• Experience as a volunteer community organiser, advocate or leader.
• Experience conducting research and policy analysis, including the ability to identify gaps in government policy and research.
• A strong understanding of power and funding on a local, state and federal level.
• Experience interacting with government decision-makers.

To apply, please click on Apply Now to fill out the application form, attaching a cover letter and CV.