Aps 5 Veteran Support Officer

Salary Range: $88,923 - $92,670 + Attractive Superannuation

Our Opportunity
The Transition Branch incorporates Transition Policy, Employment Programs, and the Veteran Support Office. The Branch focus is supporting veterans and their families with contemporary transition supports from DVA. The Veteran Support Office works to a nationally consistent service delivery mode educating and assisting veterans with access to transition supports.

The Veteran Support Office is seeking Veteran Support Officers - Operations who will work as part of a national Veteran Support Officer (VSO) team. All positions carry the responsibility for ensuring the reputation of DVA within the wider community remains of good standing, as it is likely to be the first direct contact that a member and their family have with the Department. VSOs will work with Team Leaders, often in an autonomous manner, to achieve directed tasks and ensure that DVA’s business targets are met. In this they work closely with other external support elements to assist with progressing a member’s DVA business, as well as processing areas within DVA. All VSOs must have the ability and commit to working from various outreach sites to achieve operational service delivery requirements.

VSO - Operations
The VSO - Operations role forms an integral part of a team with establishment and functioning of embedded DVA services on military bases. This presence acts as a hub for DVA VSOs to work from, delivering a high level of personalised service relating to accessing DVA supports and services, information briefings and updates to the veteran community including current and former members of the Australian Defence Force (ADF), their families and representatives of ESOs. The VSO will also work as part of a team to provide outreach services to variety of locations inclusive of Defence bases, industry employers, ESOs and regional communities of identified need.

OUR IDEAL CANDIDATE
The VSO must have a good appreciation for veterans and veteran family individual circumstances, working to provide expert advice at the right time with an ability to translate this into guidance for next steps in achieving business as usual arrangements with DVA. The role requires excellent organisational skills and an ability to communicate with a broad range of stakeholders and veterans.

The VSO requires a good appreciation of detail, proficiency in Microsoft Excel and other Microsoft programs, understanding of IT processes and data management processes and an understanding of or the demonstrated ability to learn DVA IT systems. The VSO must also be proactive in identifying and resolving issues, have sound judgement to determine when to escalate issues, and be able to work with a geographically dispersed national VSO team.

All VSOs must present well, be highly professional and understand the Defence community context in relation to supports and services available from DVA, and be well organised in managing multiple tasks.

**Duties**
- Provide high-quality, personalised service to current and former veterans of the ADF in line with the DVA Cultural Vision and national VSO Policies, Procedures and Key Performance Indicators as implemented
- Provide advice and interpretation, including in writing, on complex aspects of legislation to clients and colleagues
- Develop strong partnerships with key stakeholders including Command elements, ADF Rehabilitation Program (ADFRP), Veteran Employment Industry and ESOs to enhance service delivery to the veteran community
- Work closely with relevant areas of Defence, including the Joint Transition Authority, to support the delivery of services and activities which may be accessed/considered during the relevant stages of transition
- Perform representational and outreach activities, including presentations to ADF seminars, veteran advocate training sessions, etc., as required
- Assist with the development and maintenance of a VSO national training continuum for all new and incumbent VSO staff, ensuring that service delivery to veterans and their families remains consistent and contemporary
- Assist with the review and update of internal operating instructions and procedures used by VSOs in day-to-day business
- Design and review presentations to support ADF members, including internal content to maintain and upskill VSOs to provide a contemporary service to ADF members. It also includes designing and reviewing external content that is visible to veterans and their families
- Provide support to the continuous improvement/quality assurance process through training and feedback to staff
- Manage Defence Notifications functions provided to DVA by Defence, identifying vulnerable clients and assisting with next steps of support by way of expediting initial liability claims and/or onward referral to VSOs for face-to-face support
- Demonstrate an understanding of matters relevant to DVA services and entitlements in line with the government’s focus on transit