The Opportunity:
The NIAA operates in a complex, dynamic environment, contributing to outcomes aligned with the aspirations of the Australian Government and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. To support the Australian Government the NIAA regional presence is focused on Place-based practice and working in partnership to develop and implement tailored local solutions.
The Engagement Senior Officer engages across a defined area within the Arnhem Land and Groote Eylandt region. The region encompasses a spectacular landscape, has beautiful scenery and is home to vibrant Aboriginal culture. At a regional and sector level, the role is responsible for leveraging resources, supplemented by targeted funding, to work with Aboriginal leadership and service providers to deliver outcomes.
The Engagement Senior Officer is often called upon to undertake representation and negotiation work. This could range from sharing updates on projects with your team or participating with jurisdictional counterparts. The role works with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to develop policy and program responses that address local needs and priorities. The role requires cultural and technical skills to be effective in community engagement in a way that ensures the community voice is accurately heard.
The key responsibilities for the role of the Engagement Senior Officer will include:
• identify emerging opportunities or issues and respond quickly to competing priorities
• maintain a firm understanding of local community needs and the services being provided within the community by government and non-government organisations
• develop and maintain complex internal and external relationships with key NIAA stakeholders, providing appropriate advice and managing the resolution of issues or complaints
• conduct research and analysis on complex matters within area of expertise
• monitor the performance of service providers and discuss and resolve local, on-ground issues associated with the delivery of quality service
• promotes a healthy and safe workplace environment, and models ethical behaviour in accordance with the APS Code of Conduct and APS Values
• creates a culturally safe workplace by fostering an environment where the concept of culture and how it influences the workplace and interactions, is understood.
In addition, some regional and remote based positions may be eligible for:
• reasonable relocation support which can be negotiated on a case-by-case basis
• remote locality allowance.
Our Ideal Candidate:
The Arnhem Land and Groote Eylandt region is seeking results-oriented individuals who possess strong engagement, communication skills with project management experience. Our ideal candidates will know how to build on collaboration opportunities and champion a more integrated approach to service delivery within a local region. We are looking for our next subject matter experts with a strategic focus to support an inclusive, supportive, high-performing team culture. The candidates will be consistently relied upon by supervisors, including the Regional Manager, and will need to be confident to take charge of issues and deliver high-quality outputs. The ideal candidates will have a safety-first approach when travelling and working in remote and or isolated settings.
To fill the roles we are looking for employees who can demonstrate the following competencies:
• a high level of cultural acumen and understanding of issues affecting Indigenous peoples
• strong stakeholder engagement skills and a demonstrated ability to develop positive and productive relationships across NIAA as well as with external stakeholders
• a high level of written and verbal communication skills including the ability to tailor communication to different and diverse audiences
• strong problem solving and critical thinking skills
• well-developed organisational skills, including adapting to change, working with limited direction and managing competing priorities
- provide leadership and supervision to achieve branch outcomes and the NIAA's broader strategic directions for its stakeholders, providers and partners.
