Project Officer – ‘Kulintja Palyaringkunytjaku’

Position: ¬ Project Officer – ‘Kulintja Palyaringkunytjaku’
Program: Youth Program
Classification: Ongoing, full Time – 38 hours per week
Location: Alice Springs based with travel to the NPY region
Salary: $54,102 – $66,657 (dependent on experience). Total earning potential: $70,378 – $84,578*

About Us

The NPY Women’s Council Youth Program works with children and young people aged 10-25 and their families. Our model is based on four key components; case management, leadership and education, youth diversion and recreation as well as advocacy and collaboration. The main activities of the NPYWC Youth Program are to:

• Identify young people who are at risk and provide enjoyable and safe recreational activities
• Divert young people from substance misuse, other harmful and anti-social behaviour and entry into the criminal justice system
• Provide case management and support to those most at risk and to their families
• Identify and advocate in relation to gaps in services and programs for young people in the cross-border region
• Pursue initiatives such as leadership training, the Kungka Career Conference, structured school holiday programs and youth committees.

About the role:

Kulintja Palyaringkunytjaku (KP) means ‘to get better thinking’ and is the Pitjantjatjara name for this capacity building project within the NPY Women’s Council (NPYWC) Youth Program. The focus of the KP Project is to support NPYWC youth workers, young people aged 10 – 25 years and community members in the NPY region to understand and respond appropriately to issues of drug and alcohol use, mental health, and other associated harms. More specifically, you will:

• Facilitate regular educational bush camps and workshops in remote Aboriginal communities of the NPY region in a culturally appropriate way, addressing drugs and alcohol, mental health, healthy relationships and other locally relevant issues.

• Utilise a community development framework that involves Anangu in all stages of the planning, design, delivery and evaluation of activities; Consultation and collaboration with senior community members, Ngangkari and cultural leaders to respond to issues affecting young people in the region.

• Mentoring and support for NPYWC youth workers – building capacity to deliver early intervention, preventative and therapeutic responses for young people engaged in, or at risk of substance abuse, mental health issues and other associated harms; Provision of direct training, and sourcing external training to build staff skills and capacity.

• Developing and sourcing locally relevant, culturally appropriate resources related to drug and alcohol, mental health, healthy relationships and other associated issues – to support delivery of the KP Project in the NPY region.

• Monitoring, data collection, reporting and advocacy of issues and trends relating to drug and alcohol use, mental health and healthy relationships in the NPY region.

• Work closely with internal and external service providers for the purpose of offering a holistic and coordinated approach to service delivery.