Head of Health

About Children’s Ground

Children’s Ground is a First Nations organisation. The Children’s Ground Approach is designed and delivered through the leadership of First Nations people. We are committed to systems change to ensure dignity, justice and equity for all children and families. Our work focuses on national reform as well as evidencing a new way of working.

The Children’s Ground Approach is a whole of community, whole of life approach. We privilege First Nations knowledge systems and practice. Over the course of a generation, led by local expertise, we create and deliver an integrated system that is centred on learning, development and wellbeing that responds to the child and their family through the key transition points from pre-birth to young adulthood.

Our approach recognises the cultural, social, and economic strength of our communities. We build on this over a generation to ensure a future for our children and grandchildren that gives them freedom, opportunity and rights to their culture and identity.

Children’s Ground operates in Central Australia and across the Top End, with support provided by a Melbourne-based Shared Services team.

About you

We are seeking an experienced Health Professional with experience in program management or a senior organisational position. The person will require significant experience in health promotion and have a strong understanding and/or experience working with First Nations communities. Someone who is comfortable managing people and working collaboratively with our Learning & Wellbeing team to deliver and respond to the population health needs of each local community we work with.

About the role

The Head of Health and Wellbeing – Central Australia will lead the Family Health and Wellbeing Team, a small multi-disciplinary team that delivers the Children’s Ground Family Health and Wellbeing Framework, Utnenge, Tyerrtye, Mwerre Atnyenetyeke Iltye Tyerrtye Urrperle–kenhenge (Health in the Hands of the People) to improve the health and wellbeing outcomes for individuals and families in the communities we work in.

The Health in the Hands of the People includes the recognition and support of local traditional cultural knowledge systems and practices and the agency of consumers. It also includes Western approaches to improved health outcomes through health promotion, social and emotional wellbeing, maternal and child health and environmental health programs. The Health team will develop and implement family health plans with individuals and families and create and deliver responses to population health needs with each local community we work in.

The Health team will be proactive, working collaboratively with both internal and external partners. The Head of Health is expected to regularly participate in health promotion program delivery on country and in community as part of our integrated early years learning program.

Key Responsibilities

- Under the direction of the Regional Director, deliver the Children’s Ground Family Health & Wellbeing Framework, “Health in the Hands of the People”, to improve the health and wellbeing outcomes for individuals and families who we work with
- Deliver the Children’s Ground Family Health Model
- With community, develop, assess and monitor population health/health promotion priorities and manage and implement responses to create improved health and wellbeing outcomes
- People manage the Health team in a way that is culturally appropriate
- Support the integration of health and wellbeing into Children’s Ground Early Childhood Curriculum, daily learning and development initiatives for children aged 0-12 years, including social and emotional wellbeing, physical health and wellbeing, nutrition, oral health, environmental health and disease prevention
- Develop, coordinate and implement family health and wellbeing plans
- Provide support to local First Nations people to navigate the public, not for profit and private health system
- Oversee and coordinate ongoing infectious disease prevention and response work
- Program design, standards and implementation: Develop, support and maintain an outreach program to service the region
- Seek out and establish relationships with NTG and interstate external clinical health providers and educators
- Participate in on country and in community early learning program delivery sessions by designing and leading health promotion activities targeted at children and adults
- Operational systems and standards: ensure documentation, policies, procedures and systems are in place and compliant
- Information and data systems, monitoring and reporting, to ensure user data and information is being recorded to meet the monitoring and evaluation needs of the Family Health & Wellbeing team
- Staff supervision: Recruitment of staff in the health team
- Staff induction
- Performance reviews
- Provide mentoring, management and guidance to the health team to develop professional, trusting and respectful relationships
- Quality & risk management: ensure all activities are delivered with quality and integrity
- Relationship building with key partners, local organisations, government health organisations
- Relevant Degree/qualification or substantial equivalent work experience
- Significant experience and expertise and demonstrated success in health promotion; Experience as a Program Manager, Senior Organisational Position or in a role where you have held accountability for a breadth of functions across an organisation
- Understanding and/or experience working with First Nations communities and the strengths and key issues facing First Nation people
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, both verbally and written
- Strong relationship, networking and communication skills - both verbal and written
- Strong people management skills and a collaborative worker – teamwork, facilitation, supervision, liaison
- Current Drivers Licence
- OCHRE Card and National Police Clearance

Application instructions

Apply with a resume and a cover letter with a pitch. Your pitch should tell us why you would be a good match for the role, why you want to work with Children’s Ground and should be 1-2 pages length.

The Gap, Australia

Remote (Alice Springs, Northern Territory, AU)

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