Policy Officer

Fixed-term up to 2 years, Full Time opportunity within the Legal Assistance team
- Be a part of key projects, programs and policy outcomes
- Support the delivery of justice and legal assistance services to the Victorian community
- VPS Grade 4: $91,418 - $103,725 plus superannuation.

About the Business Unit
System Governance Unit (SG) is a unit within Governance and Integrity Policy (GIP), Integrity, Legal and Law Reform (ILLR) of the Department of Justice and Community Safety (DJCS). GIP collaborates with partners across the justice system, including with key entities and the courts, and other parts of the department to ensure policy reform is strategic, relevant, holistic and people-centred.
Within this, the SG unit recognises the importance of creating strong governance expertise to guide ILLR's collaboration and oversight of justice system partners. The unit is responsible for providing high quality and authoritative advice to support our legal governance and administrative responsibilities.

**Within GIP, the SG branch has three teams, namely**:

- Appointments -manages the department's high priority appointments of judicial officers and key board appointments.
- Governance Strategy and Review -responsible for governance policy and support, strategic reviews, strategic and operational relationship management and funding of the Victorian legal assistance sector, as well as support for key justice system entities.
- Honorary Justice Services Support -provides policy, day-to-day management and operational oversight of Victoria's Honorary Justices.

**The legal assistance team is responsible for**:

- Stakeholder engagement with all parts of the legal assistance sector, establishing and maintaining strong working relationships with key entities including Victoria Legal Aid (VLA), the Federation of Community Legal Centres (FCLC), and its constituent Community Legal Centres (CLCs), Aboriginal Legal Services, and the Victoria Law Foundation (VLF).
- Management of state-based grants, preparing budget submissions, and identifying the impacts of other justice initiatives on access to justice and the legal assistance sector.
- Working in partnership with the Commonwealth Attorney-General's Department, interstate peers and the Victorian legal assistance sector to manage the implementation of the National Legal Assistance Partnership (NLAP) 2020-25.
- Working with the sector, and other parts of DJCS, to identify emerging and continuing legal needs and opportunities for building sector capability and developing innovative solutions.

About the Role
The Policy Officer will be responsible for contributing to the advice to government on the performance of justice system entities, delivering initiatives to improve performance and advice on the effective use of public funds in achieving these goals. The role will contribute to identification and development of improvements to overall funding arrangements and the legal assistance evidence base. The role may also involve contributing to the coordination, research, development, implementation, review and reform of other policy and system issues across the Attorney-General's portfolio.
About You
- Knowledge of and/or experience of social policy or associated fields and/or knowledge of law.
- Knowledge of and/or experience in Victorian Government policy development, particularly the preparation of budget submissions or other forms of project or proposal plans.
- Knowledge of and/or experience in governance and financial or performance reporting.
- Comfortable working with numbers, including good computer skills.

To learn more about this role before applying, please read the attached position description.
How to Apply

**FOR INTERNAL VPS EMPLOYEES**:
**IMPORTANT INFORMATION**:
**CHILD SAFE STATEMENT OF COMMITMENT**:
The Department of Justice and Community Safety is committed to the safety and wellbeing of children and young people. We seek to prevent harm of any kind impacting children and young people and have zero tolerance for racism, child abuse and inequality. Children and young people's rights, relationships, identity, and culture must be recognised and respected, their voices heard, and their concerns acted upon. We aim to foster a culturally safe, child safe and child friendly environment for all children and young people we have contact with, deliver services to, or are impacted by our work.