Policy and Research Officer

About the role

ACON is seeking a dedicated Research and Policy Officer to join our Policy, Strategy, and Research Division. This critical role involves producing high quality, timely policy papers and submissions on HIV, the health of people living with or at risk of acquiring HIV, and LGBTQ+ health equity. The role also involves coordinating ACON’s involvement in research, which is critical to ensuring our policy positions and programs remain evidence-based.

As the Policy and Research Officer, you’ll collaborate with internal and external stakeholders to efficiently produce high quality written papers, contribute to advocacy initiatives, and work to grow the evidence base about our communities’ health and wellbeing. Your work will have a significant impact in working toward our purpose of creating opportunities for people in our communities to live their healthiest lives, and toward ending HIV transmissions and HIV-related stigma.

Why Join Us?
- Impact: Help shape the policy agenda around HIV and LGBTQ+ health in NSW.
- Equity: Contribute to advocacy initiatives that will positively impact the lives of those in our communities, especially those who experience intersecting forms of marginalisation.
- Collaboration: Work alongside a passionate team committed to equity, evidence, and community-led advocacy.
- Flexibility: ACON has flexible working arrangements, generous salary-packaging, and opportunities for tailored learning and development.

What’s the Policy, Strategy and Research Division?

ACON’s PSR Division advocates for policy changes with the goal of ending HIV transmissions and HIV-related stigma, and improving health outcomes within our communities. Our approach is informed by research, client data, and the lived experiences of our communities. We focus on several key areas:

- Research: We work in partnership with community and researchers to enhance the evidence base for effective community-informed responses to HIV and LGBTQ+ health issues.
- Advocacy: We engage with community partners, governments, and other groups, to advocate for policy reforms and increased investments in programs aimed at ending HIV transmission, improving the quality of life for people living with HIV (PLHIV), and promoting health equity within LGBTQ+ communities.
- Strategic Initiatives and Services: We lead the development of strategic initiatives and innovative services, while also strengthening staff’s ability to adapt to evolving community needs through internal capacity building events.
- Funding and New Grants: We collaborate with teams across ACON to diversify funding sources and expand health promotion programs.

The PSR Division is dedicated to ending HIV and enhancing health outcomes through evidence-based approaches, advocacy, strategic initiatives, and funding diversification.

As part of our Division, you will work in collaboration with a number of internal and external stakeholders to improve health outcomes in our communities by advocating for policy change across all levels of Government, and expanding the evidence base from which we can build effective policy platforms.

Ok, so what’s the role?

The Policy and Research Officer forms an integral part of the Policy, Strategy and Research Division by producing efficient, high quality written policy papers, submissions to Inquiries, and letters to decision-makers on a range of topics across HIV and the spectrum of LGBTQ+ health, across multiple levels and departments of Government, including parliamentary inquiries, letters to MPs, feedback to Government Strategies, and participation in community-led advocacy initiatives.

The Policy and Research Officer also coordinates ACON’s participation in research initiatives. As secretariat of ACON’s Research Ethics Review Committee, you will be responsible for facilitating meetings with the Committee, taking minutes, and communicating outcomes to researchers. You will also be involved in coordinating research initiatives that ACON supports, including the GBQ+ Community Periodic Survey. You will also be responsible for organising forums to communicate the latest research to ACON staff, and where appropriate, our communities.

You will leverage your expertise in public health policy and community-led research to collaborate across the organisation and with external stakeholders to build the evidence base and influence decision-makers towards inclusive and affirming policy and practice.

Who are we looking for?:
Someone with:

- Demonstrated experience in undertaking high quality policy research and analysis.
- Understanding of the workings of government: Commonwealth, State and Local, and of the health sector.
- Ability to engage in advocacy planning and implementation to effect change.
- Demonstrated knowledge of research processes, including data collection, research and evaluation methodologies, ethics processes, writing reports and other papers.
- Demonstrated capacity to coordinate ACON resear