Title:  Community Engagement Officer

About VRU
The Victorian Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) was established in December 2025 to reduce violence in Victoria through an early intervention and prevention approach.

About the role 

The Community Engagement Officer Pasifika supports engagement and collaboration with diverse communities and stakeholder groups across Victoria, to understand community views and perspectives on the reduction of violence, centring the voices of those most impacted and translating these into meaningful insights, and evidence-based outputs and reporting to support the work of the VRU.

The role is responsible for undertaking engagement with communities in relation to specific initiatives and projects being led by the VRU to reduce violence.
Reporting to the Director Statewide Coordination & Engagement, as the successful candidate, you will:

• Engage meaningfully and constructively with individuals and communities impacted by violence, focusing on priority communities and learning what communities think will work to reduce violence, particularly in relation to priority VRU initiatives and projects
• Proactively engage with a diverse range of stakeholders to support the development and delivery of innovative violence prevention initiatives
• Support the delivery of community engagement forums, roundtables and other events
• Engage directly with youth and community collectives, and other government and community sector agencies
• Act as a conduit between Victorian communities and the VRU, to inform the strategic direction of the VRU and the implementation of violence reduction initiatives.
• Facilitate workshops and co-creation sessions centring voices of those impacted by violence and those close to the issues
• Synthesise complex information, community knowledge and systems interactions into tangible outputs including products such as case studies, journeys and reports

Key Accountabilities

• Support the delivery of the VRU’s approach to community engagement, including supporting delivery of youth, community and expert collectives.
• Support the development and implementation of violence prevention programs in conjunction with community members and groups, as well as the VRU’s youth stakeholder and community collectives.
• Engage meaningfully and collaboratively with community members, including young people, families and community leaders.
• Work to understand community and stakeholder views, perspectives and needs, and utilise this to inform the work of the VRU.
• Collaborate with community groups, and other government and community sector agencies to identify opportunities for innovation, development and improvement in violence prevention initiatives.
• Supports the planning, delivery and implementation of all phases of strategic projects. This includes, but is not limited to, the ability to be hands-on in the planning and delivery of facilitation, insight synthesis, ideation, concept building and final output production.
• Develop and maintain positive relationships with a diverse range of stakeholders to enhance the VRU’s ability to deliver on its strategic objectives and priorities.

 
Key selection criteria

• Resilience: Gives frank and honest feedback/advice. Listens when ideas are challenged, seeks to understand the nature of criticism and respond constructively; Displays confidence and conviction when communicating an opinion
• Partnering and Co-Creation: Identifies and partners with users /stakeholders / experts to ensure active collaboration in the design process to understand user needs, obtain ideas, insights and input. Works with stakeholders/users to build prototypes and coordinate testing to validate the strategy, program or product. Ensures decisions are made within agreed timeframes
• Promote Inclusion: Pays attention to words, expression and body language; Recognises behaviours that promote a culture of inclusion. Holds self and team accountable towards being inclusive to individuals from diverse backgrounds. Takes corrective actions when behaviours displayed do not promote an inclusive workplace
• Systems Thinking: Assesses situations and identifies the best systems tools for analysing, understanding the system and addressing problems; Can apply system archetypes to identify common dynamics that appear in different situations; Identifies and understands the impact of particular courses of action on other parts of the organisation or more broadly
• Innovation and Continuous Improvement: Seeks opportunities for continuous improvement and ways to innovate; Offers suggestions and ideas, encourages others to do the same; Leverages on existing continuous improvement systems and procedures to improve outcomes, quality and efficiency of work; Creates space for learning and innovation by seeking input and feedback from others

Mandatory requirements

• Working Collaboratively: Build a supportive and cooperative team environment; Engages with other teams to share information in order to understand or respond to issues; Supports others in challenging situations
• Stakeholder Management: Takes steps to add value for the client or stakeholder; Links people with other areas as appropriate; Monitors client and stakeholder satisfaction; Constructively deals with stakeholder issues
• Managing People: Communicates role expectations and purpose; recognises deviation from values, performance standards and provides timely and constructive feedback; Understands individual needs to optimise employee engagement
• Demonstrated experience and cultural competency: In working with diverse communities and stakeholders, including understanding of leading practice community engagement approaches

Desirable

• A tertiary qualification in a relevant discipline.
• A valid Victorian driver’s license.

 
For more information about the role, please see the Position Description.

This is a fixed term role till 30 June 2027. This role is only open to candidates with valid Australian working rights. 

This role will close on 6 July at 11.59pm.
To Apply, please attach your:

• Resume
• Cover Letter (no more than 3 pages).