Complaints and Governance Officer

Complaints and Governance Officer

An opportunity has arisen for an outstanding candidate to join the Australian Press Council as Complaints and Governance Officer.

The Australian Press Council was established in 1976 and is responsible for promoting high standards of media practice, community access to information of public interest and freedom of expression through the media. The Press Council is also the principal body with responsibility for responding to complaints about Australian newspapers, magazines and associated digital outlets.

More information about the Press Council is available on its website: www.presscouncil.org.au

Key responsibilities

The Complaints and Governance Officer will mainly be responsible for assisting the Director of Complaints with the complaints-handling work of the Press Council, including:

• responding to readers’ complaints about published material;
• communicating with complainants and publications and facilitating resolution of complaints in accordance with the Press Council’s procedures;
• preparing material for use by Adjudication Panels and assisting with the conduct and finalisation of Adjudications;
• assembling complaints-related information for Press Council communications and publications as required; and
• contributing to the drafting of standards, reports and issues papers, advisory guidelines and other documents as specified by the Executive Director.

The Complaints and Governance Officer will also assist the Executive Director (and the Chair) in preparing Council and committee papers, drafting agendas and minutes of meetings, maintaining corporate registers and performing other corporate governance and compliance activities as required.

Qualifications

Law degree required.

It will also be an advantage to be familiar with the principles of administrative law and procedural fairness, the principles of Alternative Dispute Resolution and have an understanding of the print and digital media industry.

Skills, knowledge and experience

The successful candidate must demonstrate competence or potential at a high level in the following areas:

• communicating information accurately, clearly and succinctly, both orally and in writing;
• complaints-handling and alternative dispute resolution processes;
• use of digital resources, such as a complaint management system and other databases; and
• preparing and presenting reports and statistics.

Personal qualities

The successful candidate will need to be:

• capable of paying close attention to accuracy and detail, and of bringing emotional intelligence to the work of dealing with complainants and publications;
• constructively responsive to supervision, while also able to take initiative and work independently when appropriate;
• flexible and cooperative while working in a small secretariat, including the ability to adjust tasks and working hours when required;
• well-organised and able to manage competing priorities, often working to tight deadlines; and
• comfortable and adept at working in a team environment.

Reporting and supervision

The successful candidate normally will report to the Director of Complaints on complaint matters, and will work under the supervision of other senior staff when focusing on other areas of work, as determined by the Executive Director.

Salary will be in the vicinity of $80,000 pa including super and depending on skills and qualifications.

Applications should be addressed to Yvette Lamont, Executive Director and emailed to employment@presscouncil.org.au. Please include a cover letter addressing the criteria above and your current CV, without these it will not be possible to consider the application.

For all enquiries regarding this position, please contact Yvette Lamont, Executive Director or Paul Nangle, Director of Complaints on (02) 9261 1930.

Applications Close: 15 October 2021

 Applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are especially welcome.