- Do you have experience working with small businesses and can solve problems in innovative ways?
- Interested in using your influencing and relationship management skills to build the confidence of businesses to hire a more diverse workforce?
The Diversity Field Officer Service, led by the Australian Federation of Disability Organisations (AFDO) works to support small and medium sized businesses (5<200 employees) to increase their ‘disability confidence’ to employ people with disability across Greater Geelong and the Bellarine. Up to 110 workplaces, with a focus on the tourism and hospitality sectors, will be supported over the next 17 months (until June 2020), with an evaluation undertaken by Deakin University.
We are seeking to recruit a Diversity Field Officer with exceptional interpersonal skills to join our existing team. Working within a small team, you will identify and canvas new businesses to join the service, work with each business to identify barriers and opportunities to increase accessibility and employment pathways and develop a customised set of recommendations with practical steps to increase the inclusion of people with disability. Your role will include supporting businesses to develop connections with a range of local, state and national organisations, including employment support providers, link businesses with information and resources, and assist with the delivery of workshops, events and information to build ‘disability confidence’.
The ideal applicant will:
- Have excellent relationship management, influencing and negotiation skills with at least five years’ commercial sector experience
- Be a creative problem solver who can ask all of the right questions and gather information to develop customised solutions for each business
- Genuinely value the inclusion of people with disability within the open workforce
- Have confidence to work autonomously, from initial conversation to assisting each business to implement customised recommendations
- Have business acumen (with knowledge of small business and the Geelong region highly regarded)
- Be able to project manage multiple tasks simultaneously, with attention to detail and commitment to timely follow-through
- Have excellent communication skills, including written communication
- Knowledge of diversity and inclusion strategies, personal experience of disability and/or experience working with people with disability would be highly regarded.
This position is full-time (up to 37.5 hours per week) with a contract to 30 June 2020. The number of hours per fortnight will be negotiated with the successful candidate. To be able to meet the time pressures of small businesses, AFDO particularly welcome applications from candidates who are interested in working flexibly between the hours of 7.00am and 7.00pm on weekdays.
Location: The position will be based in Geelong, with the opportunity to work remotely. As support will be offered onsite to small businesses, independent work-related travel in the Greater Geelong and the Bellarine will be a core feature of the position.
Should you be successful, you will be supported by a small and passionate local and national team (based in the Melbourne CBD), with an extended network of partners. You will be provided with full support and training to hit the ground running. Most importantly, you will have the opportunity to play a leadership role in Geelong and the Bellarine in advancing employment opportunities for people with disability.
The Position Description is available here: PD – Diversity Field Officer Feb 2019
AFDO is a flexible and inclusive employer and encourage suitably skilled people with disability to apply.
Apply for this position: Please submit your CV and a covering letter addressing the key selection criteria (maximum 2 pages) to ceo@afdo.org.au with the subject line: “Application – Diversity Field Officer” by midnight Thurs 21st March 2019.
