Worker & Employer Support Service Lead 133 views

Worker & Employer Support Service Lead

Company Overview:

About Palladium – Palladium is a global leader in the design, development and delivery of Positive Impact – the intentional creation of enduring social and economic value.  We work with governments, businesses, and investors to solve the world’s most pressing challenges. With a team of more than 3,000 employees operating in 90 plus countries and a global network of over 35,000 experts, we help improve economies, societies and, most importantly, people’s lives.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion – We welcome applications from all sections of society and actively encourage diversity to drive innovation, creativity, success and good practice. We positively welcome and seek to ensure we achieve diversity in our workforce; and that all job applicants and employees receive equal and fair treatment regardless of their background or personal characteristics. These include: (but are not limited to) socio-economic background, age, race, gender identity, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, nationality, veteran, marital or Indigenous status.  

Should you require any adjustments or accommodations to be made due to a disability or you are a neurodivergent individual or any other circumstance, please email our team at accessibility@thepalladiumgroup.com 

Safeguarding – We define Safeguarding as “the preventative action taken by Palladium to protect our people, clients and the communities we work with from harm”. We are committed to ensuring that all children and adults who come into contact with Palladium are treated with respect and are free from abuse.  All successful candidates will be subject to an enhanced selection process including safeguarding-focused interviews and a rigorous due diligence process. 

Project Overview and Role:

The Pacific Labour Facility (PLF)
facilitates seasonal and longer-term work opportunities for Pacific workers in
Australia. It connects Australian employers with Pacific workers, supports
the administration of the Pacific Labour Scheme (PLS) and provides targeted
support to the Seasonal Worker Programme (SWP).

The Worker and Employer Support Service Lead will lead the PLF in providing
support to workers and employers in relation to employment, welfare, health,
and community in Australia.   This includes successful preparation for and
participation in Australia’s labour mobility programs along with successful
return to participating countries, communities, or societies. The Lead will
manage a team of specialist case managers supporting worker welfare along with relationship
managers focussed on approved employer workforce participation.  The Lead will also collaborate across PLF to
ensure effective and efficient provision of services, including worker welfare
support whilst in Australia; support to workers upon their return to families
and communities; and initiatives to maximise the benefits to workers and their
communities (for example, by mobilising communities and churches to families in
home countries; supporting improved financial literacy; identifying areas to
reduce transaction and remittance costs etc.).

 Primary Duties and Responsibilities: 

Under the direction of the PLF Team Leader the Worker and
Employer Support Service Lead will:

Leadership and Management: As part of the PLF Management Group, and as a manager of a substantial PLF resource allocation, the Lead will be responsible for providing strategic leadership and quality project and human resources management including:

• Provide high-quality management
  to the PLF Worker and Employer Support Service – its products, services,
  and staff.  
• Act as direct line manager to
  relevant subordinate functional staff/section managers, with the
  responsibility for performance management and outputs.
• Design and deliver the Worker and
  Employer Support Service contribution to the PLF Annual Work Plan (AWP) (which
  includes activities, tasks, timeframes, budgets / resourcing, etc).
• As a member of the PLF
  Management Group, participate and contribute to PLS over-arching
  strategies, plans, processes, and deliverables.
• Hold
  accountability for the delivery of activities (inputs and outputs) under the
  Worker and Employer Support Service ensuring appropriate levels of
  monitoring, evaluation, learning and reporting.
• In
  collaboration with the Quality, Learning & Performance (QLP) team,
  support continuous monitoring of the effectiveness and efficiency of
  Worker and Employer Support Service functions through regular engagement
  with and feedback from employers, workers and key stakeholders as
  required.
• Drive
  a data culture within the Worker and Employer Support Service stream
  where data is appropriately sourced, managed, and valid information
  utilised.

Improve Benefits: Identify opportunities and implement strategies to improve the benefits (and reduce the risks) that workers, their families, employers, and communities accrue through labour mobility including:

• In
  collaboration with the Supply & Growth team, develop strategies to
  reduce transaction costs and improve efficiencies for workers, sending
  country stakeholders and Approved Employers.
• Aligned
  with the PLF End of Program Outcomes (EOPO’s), Head Contract Payment by
  Result targets and the PLS Roadmap for Sustainable Growth, ensure
  performance standards and targets are achieved with continuing growth and
  scale of the PLS.
• In
  collaboration with the QLP team, IT team and the Data Working Group, drive
  continuous improvement of relevant internal systems and processes along
  with data management and information interrogation to inform evidence-based
  decision making. 

Relationships and Linkages: Build and nurture purposeful relationships and linkages between key stakeholders to promote efficiencies across the system including:

• Establish
  and maintain strong stakeholder relationships between the PLF, employers,
  Australian Government agencies, Pacific and Timor Leste Government
  representatives, and workers, working closely with the PLF Supply and Growth
  Lead to facilitate linkages and ensuring the effective flow of
  information.
• Build
  and maintain effective functional responsibilities and standard operating
  procedures for efficient and responsive implementation of the Community
  of Care model and PLF regional engagement and networking structures.
• Establish
  and maintain a structured and open relationship with the Approved
  Employers of Australia association along with all PLS approved employers.
• Work
  with the QLP, Assurance and Communications teams to identify systemic
  trends in critical incidents, and worker and employer feedback and
  contribute to the development of targeted knowledge products. 

Worker Welfare: Manage services that support the welfare of workers whilst they are in Australia, including:

• Hold
  accountability for the management of critical incidents, ensuring that
  all stakeholders, including DFAT, Pacific and Timor Leste Governments,
  internal PLF teams (Assurance, Supply, Communications) are appropriately informed
  with status updates.
• In
  collaboration with other Leads, and DFAT, facilitate, broker and
  negotiate positive outcomes between AEs, partner governments (LSUs and
  HOMs) and workers in relation to PLS worker and employer support.
• Contribute
  to the ongoing development of AE capacity and performance, relating
  particularly to the support provided to workers and their obligations
  under the Deed and Assurance Guidelines.
• Participate
  in compliance visits to Approved Employers to monitor adherence to worker
  welfare related requirements in partnership with the PLS Assurance function.
• Develop
  appropriate monitoring and reporting indicators and systems to ensure
  that progress can be measured, results fed back and to assist with the
  early identification of emerging issues.
• Working
  with the PLF Supply & Growth Lead to ensure that regular and targeted
  feedback of PLS & SWP performance is provided to Pacific and Timor
  Leste Government  Labour Sending
  Units, Australian Government agencies, and Approved Employers.
• Continue to engage with the health insurance industry and
  potential welfare support providers to determine industry capacity/willingness
  to provide these services in collaboration with employers.

Public Diplomacy and Communications: Identify opportunities that can promote Pacific labour mobility schemes to different audiences in Australia and in eligible countries, including:

• Identifying opportunities to engage in
  public diplomacy events linked to PLS program or policy developments to
  amplify public awareness and engagement with Australia’s PALM Scheme and
  highlight Pacific labour mobility achievements.

Required Qualifications:

• Minimum 15 years’ relevant work experience in team leadership and management, particularly for a diverse/multi-cultural team.
• Demonstrated competence at managing large complex programs involving many stakeholders with diverse interests and expectations.
• Qualifications in a relevant discipline, e.g., Health, Education and Training, Human Services.
• Demonstrated knowledge of labour mobility in Australia, including the challenges and issues pertaining to worker welfare.
• Demonstrated high relationship management skills, including the ability to negotiate for outcomes that are beneficial to clients and communities.
• Highly developed information management and analytical skills, evidence-based judgement, ability to prioritise, and work calmly under pressure.
• Well-honed management skills, with the ability to lead a large team based across multiple locations.
• Excellent written and oral communications skills with demonstrated experience in using communications strategically for advocacy purposes.
• Competency in the use of MS Word, MS Excel, and Office 365.

The Worker and Employer Support Service Lead position is classified at C4 under the DFAT Aid Adviser Remuneration Framework (ARF). The successful candidate will be offered an initial contract to 30 June 2023.

You must have valid Australian work
rights to be considered for this position – visa sponsorship is not available
for this position.