Project Officer – Child Healthcare, Adversity and COVID19 Project

CHILD HEALTHCARE, ADVERSITY AND COVID-19 PROJECT

COVID-19 prevention and control measures have disrupted communities across Victoria. However, the impact of COVID-19 is not equal. Victorian children, young people and families who were already experiencing vulnerability have been disproportionality impacted by social isolation and financial hardship. In addition, prior to COVID-19 there have been significant challenges identifying and meeting health needs for children and young people in out-of-home care (OOHC). Federal and state policy support routine and early health assessment, however Victoria has no state-wide approach to service delivery. Recent Victorian research has confirmed other studies demonstrating high levels of health needs for this population and has also identified many barriers to healthcare. The issues adversely impact the safety, wellbeing and development of Victoria’s most children and young people experiencing vulnerability, now and for the rest of their lives. They also place children and young people at increased risk of entering OOHC.

To further understand the health needs and healthcare provision for children and young people experiencing adversity and/or in OOHC, a new partnership between the Centre & the CCCH (MCRI) is commencing. This partnership is supported by seed funding from the Medical Research Branch in the Victorian Department of Jobs Precincts and Regions (DJPR). It brings together the advocacy and child and family services sector experience of the Centre with the child public health research and knowledge translation skills of CCCH. This joint work will not only generate new understandings but also aim to translate this knowledge into prevention, interventions, and operational practices to alleviate adverse impacts.

ROLE PURPOSE

The 18-month Project Officer role will support the Project Manager in the Child Healthcare, Adversity and COVID-19 Project undertake the project three workstreams to:

1. Understand the COVID-19 LifeCourse Impact: utilising cohort study data to analyse the impact of COVID-19 upon health (including mental health) needs and health service access for children and young people experiencing adversity.
2. Engage with young people: a research study exploring barriers and enablers to healthcare and the relevant impact of COVID-19 for young people with an experience of OOHC.
3. Identify OOHC Health Priorities: develop a collaborative strategy development with a range of stakeholders to identify research and service development priorities aiming to improve health outcomes for Victorian children and young people in OOHC.

The Project Officer role will report to the Project Manager, and this work will be under the Director of Strategic Innovation at the Centre.

POSITION DETAILS

• Project Officer, Child Healthcare, Adversity and COVID-19 Project
• Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare (the Centre) in partnership with the Centre for Community Health (CCCH) at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI)
• 0.6 FTE (commencing in February 2021 for 18 months)
• Salary $75,000 + superannuation (pro-rata)
• Reports to the Project Manager, Child Healthcare, Adversity and COVID-19 Project
• Co-located at the Centre, Level 5, 50 Market Street, Melbourne, and CCCH, MCRI, 50 Flemington Road, Parkville, and working from home arrangements available

CAPABILITY CRITERIA

• Project planning – Demonstrates key project planning, management and evaluation skills that are critical to effective project delivery
• Stakeholder Engagement – Communicate and engage effectively with all stakeholders and develop strong relationships
• Emotional Awareness – Demonstrate empathy and integrity towards others and make effective judgements in complex situations
• Ability to problem solve – Apply critical thinking to solve problems, explain root causes and evaluate solutions
• Research – Use appropriate quantitative and qualitative research methodology and analytic thinking to co-develop research questions and conduct projects through to completion

POSITION REQUIREMENTS

The successful applicant will have:

• Tertiary qualification, minimum BSc or BA with Honours in health or related discipline
• Appropriate level of expertise gained from a combination of experience, training, or professional accreditation
• Experience in survey development, and conducting and analysing semi-structured qualitative interviews and focus groups
• Experience in working with vulnerable families and a strong understanding of the sensitivities around children and young people in OOHC
• Demonstrated ability to effectively work independently to complete tasks
• Demonstrated effective administrative and organisational skills, including personal time management
• Ability to develop innovative solutions to problems in a complex environment
• Experience in the preparation of project plans, agendas, minutes, reports, and presentations
• Demonstrated ability to liaise in a professional manner with a diverse stakeholder group
• Excellent time management, prioritisation, and organisational skills and an ability to meet tight deadlines
• Excellent oral and written communication skills for a range of audiences (including academic journals and stakeholder groups)
• Demonstrated ability to work as part of a team
• Computer skills in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and MS Project

A position description is attached.