The Working Women’s Centre SA Inc is a not-for-profit organisation and a community legal centre that provides an industrial service to vulnerable working women and people. The Centre has 3 arms of work:

• Legal Service – we provide legal advice and representation to vulnerable workers who contact the WWCSA with work issues through one-to-one clinic appointments. Clients may require ongoing advice and if so we also provide advice outside of these clinic appointments. We provide a representation service and have the capacity to represent a client through to the conclusion of a hearing.
• Advocacy – we conduct advocacy to resolve systemic issues that affect women and other vulnerable workers, such as sexual harassment and precarious work. Our advocacy program is informed by our legal and education service.
• Education – we provide fee-for-service and free training for workers and employers about workplace rights, sexual harassment, responding to disclosures of domestic violence and other topics.

The Centre was established in 1979 and has been advising, supporting and advocating for vulnerable women for 42 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 campaigning for the equal participation of women in the workforce and community.

The position is subject to ongoing funding but the Centre is committed to providing secure employment and this position is permanent.

Employment conditions are specified in the Working Women’s Centre SA Inc Enterprise Agreement 2018 however a new enterprise agreement will be approved prior to the successful candidate commencing. The Senior Advocacy Officer role is set out in the new Enterprise Agreement and a copy of this agreement can be provided upon request.

CONDITIONS:

• Competitive salary $89,571
• Salary Sacrifice available
• 12.0% superannuation
• Flexible workplace
• 35-hour week (plus reasonable overtime stipulated in the EBA)
• Flexi-time entitlements

WORKING WOMEN’S CENTRE OBJECTIVES

• Enhance women and vulnerable people’s participation in and contribution to workplace arrangements that improve their economic prosperity and welfare.
• Increase women and vulnerable people’s knowledge of the legal, policy, and institutional frameworks that promote workplace reform, including employment conditions, and fair and efficient arrangements for remuneration and safe work.
• Provide a safety net of industrial relations related services to women and vulnerable people who are otherwise unable to access them to enable them to participate effectively in the labour force.
• Enhance work-related services provided by other organisations to women and vulnerable people.

The Senior Advocacy Officer is responsible to the Director. The role will require supervision of junior advocacy officers and volunteers to the Centre. The role will require the Senior Advocacy Officer to lead, in conjunction with the Director, campaigns, advocacy and fundraising projects that relate to the Centre’s objectives. Presently the Centre is engaged in advocacy and campaigning projects on the following issues:

• The connection between precarious work and sexual violence https://wwcsa.org.au/campaigns/insecure-work-gendered-violence/- ;
• Wage theft;
• Sexual harassment in the workplace;
• The implementation of recommendation 49 of the Respect@Work report;
• Increasing the participation of women in male-dominated and non-traditional roles including science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

The Senior Advocacy officer will be responsible (under the supervision of the Director) for the precarious work and sexual violence project and share collective responsibility for the other campaigns and advocacy projects. The Senior Advocacy Officer will also be expected to work with the Director to attract funding for the Centre and supervise fundraising activities.

In this role, every week will look different as you take on a diverse range of tasks as part of a small organisation. You will lead a team of energetic volunteers and drive advocacy projects to improve working conditions for women and vulnerable workers. You will work as part of a supportive and collaborative staff team to make a difference.

A SENIOR ADVOCACY OFFICERS DUTIES ARE AS FOLLOWS:

• Working closely with the Director, the successful candidate will have responsibility for the following:
• Supervising advocacy and fundraising volunteer programs;
• Supporting volunteers to assist with objective aligned campaigns;
• Creating campaign, advocacy and outreach strategies that aim to improve workplace conditions, safety and economic security of women in society;
• Increase the advocacy capacity of the Centre
• Engaging in research and engagement activities that inform and respond to improve workplace conditions, safety and economic security of women in society;
• Organising events which assist women and vulnerable workers, engage with supporters and contribute to the advocacy objectives of the Centre
• Designing and delivering pro-active education workshops to target groups about rights at work, and available support services;
• Identifying opportunities in local, state, and federal policy to improve the economic security and workplace conditions of women and vulnerable workers;
• Elevating working women in state and national discussions about economic and social policy;
• Creating, building upon or joining campaigns that elevate the voices of women and vulnerable workers;
• Representing the Centre in the community and media;
• Assisting with the development of communications materials (such as social media posts and web pages) related to the advocacy work of the Centre
• Determining appropriate actions in light of the latest news, contemporary contexts and policy development.

THE SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATE WILL HAVE:

• A track record of building effective relationships and networks with stakeholders in industrial, economic, and/or feminist spaces;
• Experience in advocacy and lobbying government, and an understanding of politics and systems of government
• A strong understanding of gender politics and the intersection with labour/employment policy, racial justice and economic inequality
• The ability to facilitate meetings and group work in an engaging way which encourages participation;
• A record of managing projects to successful outcomes with multiple stakeholders in complex and uncertain environments.
• An ability and confidence to inspire, engage, develop and lead people to take action through positive conversations.
• Experience in managing research and analysis in policy, including identifying gaps in government policy and research;
• Demonstrated high-level written and oral communication skills;
• Exceptional self-driven time management skills and demonstrated ability to prioritise tasks;
• Experience in managing and supporting staff members and volunteers to succeed in their work;
• Demonstrated experience working with First Nations people and/or culturally and linguistically diverse workers
• A demonstrated commitment to the principles of feminism, justice and workers’ rights.

Any experience you have in event management, communications, campaigning, organising, fundraising, strategy or education would be useful for this role. Basic digital skills in programs such as Wordpress, Canva and Zoom would be of use.

• We encourage applications from First Nations people and people of colour. We want racial and cultural diversity within our centre, and are building and maintaining an anti-racist workplace culture.
• 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 women.
• We encourage applications from disabled applicants, please contact us about the accessibility of the workplace.
• We encourage LGBTIQ+ applicants.
• We encourage applications from survivors of gendered violence.

We know that sometimes the best people for the role may not fit the exact selection criteria.

To discuss this role, please contact Abbey Kendall, Director of the Working Women's Centre SA on (08) 8410 6499.