• Full time maximum term position up to June 2024
• Salary based on experience, range: $75,669 – $97,921 plus super
• Attractive employee benefits including salary packaging

About the role:
The Independent Family Advocacy & Support program provides non-legal advocacy services to families in the child protection system, with a focus on assisting families prior to the commencement of legal proceedings. In this role you will provide high quality non-legal advocacy services to families, including the provision of information about people’s rights and the child protection system, supporting people to access their rights using self-advocacy strategies, making referrals to legal and non-legal services, and providing advocacy.

This role is based at the Ballarat Victoria Legal Aid office and will work with a team of Advocates including a Senior Advocate and the IFAS Manager based in Melbourne, Dandenong, Bendigo and Ballarat.

About you:
As our ideal candidate, you will possess:

• Extensive knowledge and experience in the child protection jurisdiction with an understanding of the challenges impacting Victorians when the child protection system is involved with their families and support services.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills and employ these alongside your understanding of the child protection sector to advocate on behalf of your clients and ensure that they are equipped with the knowledge and tools required to navigate the system.
• Demonstrated experience and/or understanding of working with people who experience disadvantage and providing advocacy and coaching for self-advocacy to families, in particular Aboriginal and Torres Islander families, parents with an intellectual disability and families from culturally and linguistically diverse communities.
• A team player, who can also work both independently with an ability to influence and negotiate with people from all levels of the organisation and external stakeholders.
• Post-secondary qualification (certificate, diploma or degree) in a relevant field such as social work, health, community development (mandatory).

Don’t meet every requirement? At VLA, we understand that your work and life experiences can be just as valuable. If you’re excited about this role but your CV doesn’t align perfectly with our job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or one of our many other opportunities.

About Victoria Legal Aid:
We provide legal representation to those who need it most. With over 1000 staff employed in 15 offices across Victoria, we help people with their legal problems by providing information, advice and education with a focus on the prevention and early resolution of legal problems.

Our clients come from all walks of life and so do we. We hire great people from a wide variety of backgrounds and foster a work culture that’s inclusive as well as diverse. Your unique ideas and perspectives are valued so that we best represent the people we serve.

Employee benefits:

• Family friendly, flexible hybrid work from home & office model
• Training and professional development opportunities
• Supportive team environment in modern offices
• Salary packaging which allows up to $15,900 of your salary each year to be tax free

How to apply:
To be considered for this role, please submit a current resume and completed candidate application form (listed within the file attachments).

If you require adjustment to the recruitment and selection process or need an alternative format to any of the application material, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our team

For further information review the attached position description or contact Sharon Fecteau, Senior Advocate, IFAS on (03) 9093 3756.

No agency applications will be accepted.

Applications close by 11.59pm on Monday 13 November 2023.

Other relevant information:
It is a requirement that staff attend for office-based days at their primary work location. In line with this requirement, interstate applications will be considered only where the candidate is able and willing to relocate to Victoria, unless part of a border community.

VLA is committed to putting the safety and wellbeing of children first.