Aboriginal Liaison Officer

Full time ongoing opportunity available at the Parkville or Malmsbury Youth Justice Precinct
- Salary range $72,751 - $83,662 plus superannuation
- Work with Aboriginal children and young people in custody providing cultural support and programs to the children, young people, family and community

About us
The Department of Justice and Community Safety's Youth Justice Division is responsible for the supervision of children and young people in the criminal justice system and for providing strategic advice and delivering strategic outcomes to address youth crime and reduce offending.
Youth Justice Custodial Services is responsible for managing the two Youth Justice Custodial Precincts in Victoria, located in Parkville and Malmsbury. Youth justice custodial centres accommodate young people aged 10-18 years who have been remanded or sentenced by the Criminal Division of the Children's Court, and some 18-21 year olds sentenced by Adult Courts to a youth justice custodial centre.
Aboriginal Youth Justice is responsible for ensuring all Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander children and young people in custody are managed in a culturally safe manner and that cultural support is provided. They are also responsible for community programs, policy development and implementation in relation to Youth Justice Community Services.
About the role
As an Aboriginal Liaison Officer, you will engage and work with Aboriginal children and young people in custody, providing culturally specific support and programs to these children and young people, their families and communities.
You will advocate for Aboriginal children and young people in custody, involve family members and the community in cultural support and transition planning and develop and maintain Cultural Support Plans. You will also provide input into care teams and to custodial staff to ensure that Aboriginal cultural rights are upheld.
This position can be based at either the Parkville or Malmsbury Youth Justice Precincts, though regular travel between precincts may be required.

**To be successful in this role you will**:

- Have knowledge and understanding of the Victorian Aboriginal Community, both society and culture and the issues impacting on it.
- The ability to communicate sensitively and effectively with members of the Victorian Aboriginal community.
- Provide individualised cultural and practical support for Aboriginal children and young people in custody through identifying their strengths, aspirations and obtainable goals for returning to a non-offending lifestyle in their community.
- Develop and maintain effective relationships with a range of relevant Elders, community and professional groups to maximize their input to service development.
- Provide secondary consultation to staff to assist them to appropriately respond to the needs of Aboriginal children and young people.
- The Aboriginal Liaison Officer role requires participation on a weekly rotating standby/on-call roster.

You will be required to obtain a Working with Children Check (WWCC) to be maintained by the employee for the period of employment.
For more information on the accountabilities and key selection criteria for the role, please refer to the attached position description.
What's in it for you?
You will be working for the Department of Justice and Community Safety, which is one arm of the Victorian State Government, a recognised top employer of choice nationally. All our staff work to the vision of a safe, just, innovative and thriving Victoria.
There are many advantages in working for the department, including:

- Job stability - ongoing position as a member of the Victorian Public Service (VPS)
- A fair salary
- enjoy great work conditions and salary sacrificing options.
- Transparent performance framework
- approach your work with confidence in how you're tracking, working to professional development plans agreed on by you and your manager.
- Generous leave entitlements
- provisions for many forms of leave; including personal, parental, carers, study, cultural, compassionate, and sick leave.
- Employee Assistance Program support - you are encouraged to use this short-term, confidential counselling service if you're experiencing emotional stress, relationship problems, conflict with others or personal issues. It is also available for financial counselling and retirement planning.

We want to make sure all Victorians feel represented by the department's work. One of the ways we do this is by recruiting a diverse workforce - we welcome people of any gender, age, religion, sexual orientation, disability and cultural background. We are also committed to the Victorian Government's promise to increase the number of veterans working in the public sector.
We're proud of our individual differences. We're proud of the many languages we speak and the stories we can share with each other. We hope you will share your story too.
We have various staff support networks in place including a stat