Health Educator – Sexually Adventurous Men Project

POSITION DESCRIPTION

POSITION TITLE: Health Educator – Sexually Adventurous Men Project

PROGRAM: Health Promotion, Policy & Communications Program

POSITION STATUS: Full-time 2 year fixed-term appointment

REPORTING TO: Health Promotion Team Leader

1. PRIMARY OBJECTIVES

Within the policy frameworks and strategic directions of the Victorian AIDS Council (VAC), the Health Educator will work effectively in a team environment and contribute to the development and delivery of effective and innovative health promotion strategies targeting gay men, homosexually active men, people living with HIV/AIDS and other at risk and/or affected communities.

One of the primary roles of this position will be to develop appropriate and effective strategies to work with sexually adventurous men to:

• Provide networking capacity in addition to supporting existing networking through community events, the resourcing of both commercial and private events and activities based in and targeting sexually adventurous networks and;

• Support social networking opportunities for sexually adventurous men to facilitate their access to information, resources and communication within and across existing formal and informal sexually adventurous networks under the direction of the Team Leader of Health Promotion.

2. ORGANISATIONAL ENVIRONMENT

VAC aims to improve the health and social and emotional well-being of the Victorian HIV positive and gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) communities, with a particular investment in bringing the HIV/AIDS epidemic to an end. To achieve this aim, VAC:

 Provide care, support and advocacy to the HIV positive community;
 Build the capacity of HIV vulnerable/at risk communities through preventative health strategies; and
 Advocate for social justice for the GLBT communities and improving their experience of the health service system.

3. THE ROLE OF THE HEALTH PROMOTION TEAM.

The Health Promotion Program (HPP) delivers a range of preventative and health promotion strategies targeting gay men, homosexually active men, people living with HIV/AIDS and other at risk and/or affected communities. The framework of VAC education work is a combination of adult and peer education, health promotion, social marketing, community development, and cultural intervention.

The Health Educators form the Health Promotion Team and work in planning, developing, implementing and evaluating the strategic plan of the program. S/he will also contribute to the continuous improvement of the Program through the sharing of skills, knowledge and expertise with other members of the Health Promotion Team.

4. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

4.1 Working as part of a team

The Health Educator will be required to work in a team environment and contribute to the development and implementation of effective and innovative education activities. S/he will be required to contribute to the continuous improvement of the program.

This will involve participation in all aspects of the planning and development of projects, taking responsibility for specific project tasks, and working with and assisting other team members in carrying out project tasks to ensure the efficient delivery of HPP education outcomes. It will also involve sharing skills, knowledge and expertise within the HPP team.

4.2 Planning and developing education strategies

As part of the HPP team, the Health Educator will ensure that the program’s education strategies are dynamic, innovative and effective activities which respond to and address the HIV-related health promotion issues for gay men, homosexually active men, people living with HIV/AIDS and other at risk and/or affected communities. These issues will be addressed with a particular focus on sexually transmissible infection (STI) incidence and its relationship to HIV transmission risk.

To do this, the Health Educator will be responsible for participating in all aspects of project planning, development and evaluation. S/he will also be required to keep abreast of trends and changes in aspects of the epidemic, related research findings, and other social and cultural developments.

4.3 Reporting

It is the responsibility of the Health Educator to maintain project records and to ensure the flow of information within the HPP team to enable the efficient functioning and the continuous improvement of the program. S/he is also required to provide information to the Manager, Health Promotion to enable quarterly reporting to funders against performance indicators.

4.4 Assessment and Evaluation

Evaluation is a non-negotiable component of VAC’s education work. The Health Educator with the rest of the HPP team, will be required to assess and evaluate current and planned activities against their relevance to current issues, and evaluate new strategies and projects as implemented. Evaluation must feed back into improving service delivery and education practice to ensure the continuous improvement of the program’s activities.

4.6 Group Activities

In delivering on the outcomes of the program’s strategic plan, and in collaboration with other members of the team, the Health Educator may be responsible for designing and conducting a range of group activities. These may include small group workshops and courses, large group seminars, and other peer and adult education based activities to support skills acquisition and shared learning opportunities, and to facilitate and sustain behaviour change.

4.7 Outreach Activities

In accordance with the strategic plan of the program, the Health Educator may be required to develop and conduct outreach activities to ensure the broad reach of the HPP’s education activities. This may be in a range of community and sexual settings such as dance venues, sex on premises venues and beats, and utilise a range of media including print media, radio and television.

4.8 Training and Support of Volunteers

The Health Educator may be required to recruit and maintain the interest and enthusiasm of volunteers. S/he may be expected to encourage the involvement of existing and new volunteers in the program’s activities, and to coordinate the work of volunteers.

4.9 Working with stakeholders and other service providers

In accordance with the program’s strategic plan, the Health Educator may be required to liaise and collaborate with venue owners, gay and lesbian organisations, other relevant service providers, and policy bodies. S/he may be required to represent the Health Promotion Program on external working groups and committees, as negotiated with the HPP team and the Director, Health Promotion, Policy and Communications.

4.10 Ensuring safe working environment

As an employee of VAC the Health Educator is responsible for ensuring a safe and healthy workplace by complying with the provisions of Section 25 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (Duties of Employees).

4.11 Other Duties

The Health Educator must undertake any other relevant duties as directed by the Health Promotion Team Leader and the Director, Health Promotion, Policy and Communications.

5. KEY SELECTION CRITERIA

5.1 High level writing and editing skills with an emphasis on clear communication.

5.2 Demonstrated ability to work effectively as part of a multi-disciplinary team to contribute to the development and delivery of education strategies, and to maintain and foster professional, harmonious working relationships that contribute to a motivating work environment.

5.3 An understanding of gay male sexual scenes and their cultures, and specifically sexually adventurous sexual scenes and cultures, including a demonstrated sensitivity to the issues of, and willingness to work with, people living with HIV/AIDS, gay men, and other people and communities at risk.

5.4 Sound knowledge of HIV/AIDS, STIs and other BBVs transmission and treatments issues or an ability to acquire that knowledge within a short period of time.

5.5 A working knowledge of the internet and web design is desirable but not essential.

5.6 A deep understanding of community development and harm reduction principles and the ability to apply them.

5.7 Excellent interpersonal skills.

5.8 Willingness and ability to work outside of conventional working hours.

5.9 A current Victorian Drivers Licence.

6. QUALIFICATIONS

Tertiary qualifications in health promotion, social marketing or an appropriate discipline are desirable but not essential.

7. SALARY AND CONDITIONS

• This is a full-time, 38 hours per week position.

• The modern award classification is Community Development Worker Class 2B/SACS Level 4 in the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry Award, 2010.

• The salary range for this position is $67,310 to $74,533 per annum dependant on experience and compensates the employee for flexible hours and overtime.

• The compulsory employer contribution to the Superannuation Guarantee, currently 9.5% is paid in addition to the salary.

• Salary packaging is also available to all employees.

• The salary is regulated by the Victorian AIDS Council Inc. and Gay Men’s Health Centre Inc. Employment Agreement, 2014.

• Conditions of employment with the exception of Overtime are provided in the Victorian AIDS Council Inc. and Gay Men’s Health Centre Inc. Employment Agreement, 2014.

• Overtime is not paid and time-in-lieu provisions do not apply to this position. Notwithstanding, it should be noted that there will be a requirement to work flexible hours, including early morning, evening and weekend meetings and other work-related events. This requirement is not negotiable and is intrinsic to the performance of the position.

• This appointment has been funded by the Department of Human Services.

• VAC is an equal opportunity employer and as such all staff members are required to contribute to creating a non-discriminatory workplace.

• VAC provides a non-smoking workplace.

• This position is subject to a three (3) month probation period.

8. APPLICATION PROCESS

Written applications addressing the selection criteria and including a resume and the names and contact details of three professional referees should be sent to recruitment@vac.org.au

For further enquiries please contact: Adam Hynes recruitment@vac.org.au ph: 03 9865 6700

Applications close: 10.00am, Friday, 3 June 2016.

Important: it is essential that applicants specifically address the selection criteria. Where selection criteria have not been addressed, applications will not be considered.

Approved by: Simon Ruth, Chief Executive Officer
Date May, 2016