1. Healthcare

Advocating for fairness
Disability Advocacy NSW
(Advocacy Law Alliance Inc.)
Advocacy Coordinator
Applications Close 5pm, 5 February 2015
Location: Newcastle NSW
Great new position to start 2015. This is an excellent leadership opportunity with a stand-out
disability advocacy service. Join us and help lead and coordinate our disability advocacy program.
For this role you will have significant experience as an advocate for disadvantaged people combined
with great people management skills.



Chance to show your flare for social (non-legal) advocacy.
Opportunity to create an environment for our team to innovate, grow and flourish.
Great fringe benefits: car, extra annual leave, salary packaging.
Advocacy Law Alliance www.advocacylaw.org.au provides Social Advocacy through Disability
Advocacy NSW (DA) business unit www.da.org.au and Legal Advocacy through the Mid North Coast
Community Legal Centre (MNCCLC) business unit www.mncclc.org.au . The service has 6 offices in
northern NSW (Newcastle, Port Macquarie, Tamworth, Coffs Harbour, Taree and Armidale. ALA
employs 25 staff to advocate for people with a disability and provide legal assistance to
disadvantaged groups.
Also view Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DisabilityAdvocacyNSW, and Twitter:
https://twitter.com/advocacynsw for up to date information on Disability Advocacy NSW.
If you have additional questions about the position, please email [email protected] with you phone
number/ name and request a call back
POSTION DESCRIPTION – Advocacy Coordinator
Advocacy Law Alliance (ALA) advocates for fairness and equality for disadvantaged groups in the
community. ALA operates two programs, Disability Advocacy NSW (DA) and Mid North Coast
Community Legal Centre (MNCCLC). DA provides social advocacy (non legal advocacy) services to
people with a disability and the MNCCLC provides legal advocacy to disadvantaged groups. We
believe the strength of our organisation lies in combining the expertise of different professions
(lawyers, social workers, disability workers) to achieve the best outcomes for disadvantaged clients.
As well as providing direct advocacy assistance to clients our organisation is involved in community
education, systemic change, law reform and research to ensure that disadvantaged people get a fair
go.
1
Reports to: Executive Officer – Social Advocacy.
Purpose of Position
The Advocacy Coordinator, based in Newcastle NSW, is the operational leader and coordinator of
Disability Advocacy NSW (DA). The bulk of DA’s work is focused on individual advocacy but we also
use other strategies to get good outcomes for people with a disability (e.g. systemic advocacy and
education). This position’s core role is to lead, coordinate and support Regional Coordinators and
Advocates in the Hunter, New England and Mid North Coast Regions of NSW. To ensure that the
Advocacy Coordinator is an excellent supervisor and sounding board for experienced advocates the
role will include taking on a limited number of complex individual advocacy cases to ensure skills and
knowledge are up to date
Conditions
 Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Award. Pay point 7.1 at 35 hours per
week. Package - $75,115 (Annual wage of $67,685 plus advanced Leave Loading $913.75 and
Superannuation $6,517)
 Company car (fully funded).
 Salary packaging options available within ATO limits and guidelines. Tax free salary
packaging options can significantly increase “take home” pay.
 Two weeks additional paid leave (in addition to 4 weeks annual leave) during Christmas/New
Year office closure.
 Employment will be on a two (2) year contract basis, with a potential for renewal.
 Must undertake police check prior to commencement.
The key deliverables are as follows:
Reports to Executive Officer– Social Advocacy
1.
Responsibility for operational leadership and management of Disability Advocacy NSW
program including NDIS External Merits Review Support Program via supervision and
support of Regional Coordinators – (direct reports - Regional Coordinators).

Manage the day to day delivery of disability advocacy services, through a team of Regional
Coordinators and Advocates.

Supervise and support DA Regional Coordinators (via Skype and travel to regular face-to-face
meetings).
Work with CEO and Executive Officer – Social Advocacy to expand disability advocacy
coverage and services in line with objectives in strategic plan and funding availability.
Work with Executive Officer - Social Advocacy and Intake Coordinator to monitor the intake
of new clients.
Provide operational advice in development of the annual budget
Assist with recruitment of DA advocacy staff




2.
Undertake an individual advocacy case load and provide specialist advice in complex
advocacy cases
2


3.




Undertake a limited individual advocacy caseload to ensure ongoing skills, experience and
knowledge in advocacy and as a result provide well informed support to Regional
Coordinators and Advocates.
Provide back up to Regional Coordinators with case advice to Advocates in complex or
ethically difficult cases.
Responsibility for continuous improvement and quality assurance in operational
service delivery to social advocacy clients including practice manual reviews and
updates
Promote, develop and maintain disability advocacy practice quality assurance and
continuous improvement systems by undertaking regular reviews and evaluations
Manage updates and improvement to the DA Practice Manual which contains the
operational policy and procedure for DA.
Work closely with the Executive Officer Social Advocacy to prepare for annual third party
verification audits.
Work closely with the Executive Officer Social Advocacy to ensure operational systems work
smoothly and meet the needs of clients and advocacy staff (e.g. client management system,
intake system)
4.
Manages client consultations, client feedback and complaints.
 Manage DA consultations, client feedback and complaints in accordance with DA policy and
procedure.
 Use client feedback both positive and negative as a key input into service improvements.
5.
Coordinates systemic advocacy
 Coordinate the systemic advocacy activities of the organisation in line with resources
available.
 Work with Executive Officer – Social Advocacy to seek resources to enhance DA’s systemic
advocacy or special project activities.
 Assist regional advocacy teams to research, identify, prioritise, plan and monitor systemic
advocacy actions.
 Build constructive and collaborative relationships with a range of organisations and
professionals, especially those that represent the interests of people with a disability.
 Gather information and report systemic advocacy evidence and actions.
6.
Coordinates social advocacy community education strategies
 Coordinate DA’s community education strategy and programs.
 Assist Regional Coordinators and Advocates to develop and provide education sessions to
empower people with disability with information about their rights and how to realise these
rights.
 Assists Regional Coordinators and Advocates to develop and provide education sessions to
relevant non-disabled people (e.g. key referrers, disability services, students and other
stakeholders).
Comply with all aspects of the NSW and Commonwealth Disability Services Acts and associated
standards (e.g. National Standards for Disability Services, NSW Disability Service Standards). Uphold
3
the United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities (CRPD) The CRPD’s guiding
principles on fairness and human rights include: respect for human dignity and freedom, equality
before the law, privacy, protection against discrimination and equal opportunity in employment.
Selection Criteria
Essential:
1. Demonstrated significant skills/experience in advocating for individuals from disadvantaged
groups.
2. Demonstrated significant skills/experience team and program leadership.
3. Hold tertiary qualifications relevant to the position (as a general indication only - e.g. social
work, social sciences, legal studies, psychology, disability studies etc.)
4. Sound knowledge of the disability sector
5. Ability to quickly master new challenges and develop innovative solutions.
Desirable
1. Current unrestricted driving license and preparedness to undertake travel within the regions
covered by the organisation or other reasonable alternative for regional travel.
Submission checklist:
To be considered for an interview applicants must submit the following:
A. Statement addressing all selection criteria, and a
B. Current resume/CV with contact details for at least 2 professional referees who have supervised
the applicant’s work.
Where to send applications:
Ideally application should be submitted directly through SEEK.org.au (note seek ad will be live after 5
January 2015).
However applications may be posted or delivered to Mark Grierson, CEO, Advocacy Law Alliance,
Suite 1 Level 2 408 King Street, Newcastle West NSW 2302 or emailed to [email protected] .
For enquiries about the position, please email [email protected] with you phone number and request
a call back or alternatively contact (02) 4924 3599.
4