Position: Legal Support and Education Officer

Position: Legal Support and Education Officer

Program: Domestic and Family Violence Service

Classification: Full time, 38 hours per week

Location: Alice Springs with some travel to the NPY region

Salary: $61,001 - $66,657 (dependent on experience). Total earning potential: $78,181 - $84,578*

About Us

‘Atunypa Wiru Minyma Uwankaraku’ Service is a domestic and family violence support and advocacy service for Aboriginal women and children living in the NPY region. The service is informed by a holistic relational understanding of violence which acknowledges the key role of family and community relationships in working effectively with indigenous clients. The Service provides crisis response support and case management for women and children experiencing domestic and/or family violence with an emphasis on facilitating access to the justice system. The Service:

·  Provides practical assistance and case management support for individual victims/survivors of domestic and family violence;

·  Conducts primary prevention and community engagement activities with NPY member communities and internal and external stakeholders;

·  Closely liaises with and advocates to relevant agencies to improve responses to domestic and family violence.

About the role:

The role of the Legal Support and Education Officer is to increase the legal knowledge capacity of the DFVS team to navigate the justice system and; produce and deliver culturally appropriate educational materials relating to DFV and the legal rights of women and children living in the NPY region.

It is not a requirement of this role that the Officer be a practising solicitor. They are not required to provide formal legal advice. The purpose of the role is to:

·  Maintain professional knowledge of relevant law to provide informal information, referral and guidance and advocacy to clients and DFVS staff relating to: domestic and family violence, child welfare and protection, cross- border justice, bail conditions, sentencing and parole, criminal injuries compensation, evidence and Family Law issues that result from domestic violence.

·  In collaboration with Caseworkers, design and deliver a Community Legal Education program for the NPY communities aimed at raising awareness and challenging community tolerance of violence against women in the NPY region. This may be delivered in partnership with other key community stakeholders.

·  Assist the D&FVS Manager to work with relevant services to implement operational guidelines for responding to domestic and family violence or to update guidelines as required to best meet the safety needs of NPY women and children.

·  Assist in the development and/or updating of relevant domestic violence and organisational policies.

What we are looking for:

We are seeking passionate and motivated individuals with Demonstrated experience and skills in Law/Legal Studies/Education, Community Development/ Social Welfare Field or Community Education relevant to implementing collaborative and effective community legal education services and programs.

Additionally, the successful candidate will have:

·  Knowledge and understanding of the issues affecting Aboriginal women and children who experience domestic violence in remote communities.

·  Relevant law in the NT, SA and WA jurisdictions.

·  Demonstrated experience designing and delivering a legal community education program.

·  Demonstrated ability to communicate legal information and concepts to a non-legal audience in both oral and written form. Cross-cultural communication skills are an advantage.

·  Ability to work well under pressure, balance competing demands and manage a large workload.

·  Ability to be flexible and work co-operatively in a team, with a non-judgemental approach.

·  A high level of computer literacy.

·  Experience in working with the criminal justice system and the relevant domestic violence legislations (NT, SA & WA).

·  Western Desert language skills or willingness to learn.

What’s on offer:

We can offer you the opportunity to develop capabilities in the area of service delivery and advocacy to remote Aboriginal communities alongside leaders who excel in their respective disciplines. The work can be challenging but the rewards are significant.

*The remuneration package on offer is equivalent of $78,181 - $84,578 which includes base salary, 9.5% superannuation, 17.5% leave loading on 5 weeks annual leave, one week’s extra annual leave, salary sacrifice tax benefits to increase your weekly take home pay, and retention bonus.

We are committed to building a respectful and inclusive workplace, appointing the best person for the role, supporting diversity. All information will be held in the strictest of confidence.

To find out more about this position, please contact the People and Workplace Service team on or visit http://www.npywc.org.au/recruitment/ for more information about our recruitment process and what it’s like to work for us.