Community Planning Officer

SWAN HILL RURAL CITY COUNCIL

POSITION DESCRIPTION

TITLE:COMMUNITY PLANNING OFFICER

AWARD:PARTS A & B OF SWAN HILL RURAL CITY COUNCIL ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2014

CLASSIFICATION:MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEE - WITHIN BAND 6

PERMANENT FULL TIME

NAME OF OCCUPANT:VACANT

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APPROVED:FIONA GORMANN(Supervisor)

Community Development and Riverfront Coordinator

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BRETT LUXFORD

Director Development and Planning

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ACCOUNTABILITY STATEMENT

Reporting to the Community Development and Riverfront Coordinator, the Community Planning Officer will be responsible for the Community Planning program, includingplanning, development, implementing and reviewing of community plans.This program is designed to strengthen and build the capacity of communities within the Swan Hill municipality. This program involves working closely with community members and town representative groups within the municipalitythree components: Navigating Our Council, Navigating Our Communities and Navigating Climate Change and will continue to build on the established community planning processes.

POSITION OBJECTIVE

  • To deliver Council’s Community Planning program.
  • To work closely with communities through representative groups and established working parties.
  • Assist communities to prioritise and review projects in accordance with community expectations and available external funding opportunities.
  • To build and strengthen community capacity through a range of integrated strategies including supporting established town representative groups and identification and facilitating training for community members.
  • To continually engage the participation of the community and hard to reach groups, particularly young people, the Indigenous community, migrants and people with disabilities.
  • To build on communities’ capacity to
  • Improve governance
  • Continually plan for the future
  • Stay informed on and respond to anticipated changes and challenges Manage and implement projects
  • Engage wider sectors of the community to be involved
  • Negotiate desired outcomes with the ‘whole of community’
  • To develop local skills through training to undertake activities, such as:
  • Project management
  • Reviewing and evaluation of activities and projects
  • Identification and application for funding
  • Acquitting successful funding applications
  • To enhance strategic partners with other levels of Government and key service providers.
  • To deliver actions within Council’s Active Transport Strategy
  • To deliver Council’s Transition Towns initiative

KEY RESPONSIBILITY AREAS

Community Development

  • Assist and support community representative groups to plan, develop and implement Community Plans.
  • Assist communities with periodic reviews of Community Plans allowing for consideration of changes in response to changes in the external and internal environments.
  • Assist town and districtrepresentative groups and community leaders to identify learning skills development priorities and liaise with relevant organisations and training providers to deliver appropriate development programs.
  • Communicate regularly with relevant stakeholders over the implementation of community planning projects.
  • Support community implementation groups in their liaison with government organisations and complete relevant funding submissions as required.
  • Facilitate community implementation groups with systems to enable community aspirations and initiatives to be delivered in accordance with their annual budget.
  • Where required, attend community representative group meetings (oftenout of hours) to assist with Community Planning.
  • Convene, participate in, and develop a range of forums in local communities to facilitate collaborate approaches to local issues.

Council

  • Provide input into continuous improvement strategies for the community planning program.
  • Liaise with the Executive LeadershipTeam and the Council Community Development Team to develop and implement policies, practices and procedures relating to improving Councils internal structures to promote community self reliance.
  • Enable communities to implement their aspirations and initiatives identified in individual community plans and the Municipal Community Plan.
  • Work with Council staff and community implementation groups to facilitate collaborative planning processes that address shared issues and priority projects.
  • Develop an integrated approach to Community Development by assisting to enhance Council’s organisational systems and community engagement processes.

Financial Management

  • Ensure operation of the Program is conducted within budgetary limits and service agreements as appropriate.
  • Prepare annual operational budgets, and recommend appropriate resource levels for operation of the Program.
  • Monitor ongoing financial viability of the Program, within budgetary constraints and Council’s strategic objectives.
  • Ensure the accountability requirements of funding agencies are met.
  • Actively pursue opportunities for external funding of the Program.

Policy and Planning

  • Lead the strategic and business planning, and policy development functions of the Program.
  • Provide advice to the Community Development and Riverfront Coordinator and Council on strategic issues.
  • Identify and implement consultative mechanisms that involve community participation in the planning, development and evaluation of the Program.
  • Develop and implement relevant program compliance and performance targets in line with Councils policy framework.
  • Provide regular reports to the Community Development and Riverfront Coordinator monitoring progress towards achievement of key performance indicators and financial outcomes.

Standard Organisational Responsibilities

  • Comply with all Occupational Health and Safety procedures and requirements with reasonable care in relation to personal health and safety and the health and safety of other staff.
  • Understand and observe Council's Risk Management Policy and related Procedures and undertake the requirements of the position.
  • Note: There is an expectation of extensive travel throughout the municipality with the requirement to carry out some duties out of normal work hours.

ACCOUNTABILITY AND EXTENT OF AUTHORITY

The position is authorised to manage the Program and associated resources within the bounds of the annual budget and relevant Council policy and in particular:

  • Promote and make public statements within the Programs field of interest; in line with Council’s media policy.
  • Develop and recommend Council policies relevant to the functions of the position.
  • Authority to incur expenditure within Council’s approved budget within delegated limits.
  • Responsible for the overall conduct and performance of Program within the Officers' control.
  • Accountable for input into strategy development within areas of expertise.
  • Accountable for ensuring timely advice and support to the Community Development and Riverfront Coordinator to ensure achievement of position objectives.
  • Freedom to act is governed by objectives and budgets with regular reporting to the Community Development and Riverfront Coordinator.
  • The incumbent is authorised to commit expenditure within the approved unit budget.

JUDGEMENT AND DECISION MAKING

  • Provide support to the Community Development and Riverfront Coordinatorto achieve organisational goals.
  • Effect all decisions in a fair and timely fashion for all matters under the control of the Officer as they relate to policy, statute and delegated authority.
  • The Officer must not commit Council to any expenditure unless it is contained in Council's annual budgets.
  • Ability to display good judgement on technical, financial and human resource issues.
  • Demonstrated capacity to develop and consider options and make timely decisions consistent with organisational plans, priorities, procedures and culture.
  • Shall operate with discretion within the scope of priorities as determined and agreed with the CommunityDevelopment and Riverfront Coordinator.

SPECIALIST SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE

  • Strong conceptual and working knowledge of community development principles and practice.
  • Strong knowledge of the Victorian Local Government Industry and the role of Council in small rural communities.
  • Ability to seek input from, and negotiate with target audiences and formulate appropriate plans and activities.
  • Capacity to build relationships within and outside the organisation and liaise effectively at all levels.
  • Understanding of functions of the position within the organisational context including relevant polices, precedents and regulations.
  • Understand and demonstrate a strong commitment to the values of the Swan Hill Rural City Council.
  • Ability to monitor and evaluate program performance against agreed targets.
  • Ability to manage projects within set timelines and budgetary restraints.
  • Excellent written and communication skills with the ability to prepare concise reports.
  • Ability to apply relevant occupational health and safety practices & WorkCover procedures including knowledge of risk and incident assessment processes.

MANAGEMENT SKILLS

  • Ability to manage own time, set priorities and plan and organise work to achieve specific objectives within given timetables.
  • Ability to develop goals, strategies and policies.
  • Capacity to determine and allocate or recommend upon appropriate resource requirements.
  • Understanding of business, planning and financial management.
  • Extensive knowledge of and experience in management of human and physical resources.
  • Strong negotiation and conflict resolution skills.
  • Identify and analyse issues and opportunities in relation to operation of position.
  • Ability to manage and monitor resources to ensure achievement of organisational goals.

INTERPERSONAL SKILLS

  • Excellent skills in communicating with a broad range of people from diverse backgrounds and ages.
  • Ability to gain co-operation and assistance from key community organisations.
  • Ability to discuss issues with key stakeholders and relevant staff.
  • Ability to represent Management in a range of situations related to the position.
  • Public speaking and negotiation skills.
  • Ability to liaise with counterparts in other organisations to discuss specialist matters.
  • Recognition of the principles of group dynamics and an ability to apply them in an effective manner.
  • Personal presence and presentation appropriate to the position.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

  • Relevant tertiary qualifications in an area related to community development.
  • Relevant work experience commensurate with the requirement of the position.
  • Experience in project management.
  • Well-developed understanding of the role of local government, particularly in relation to community development.
  • Satisfactory police records check.

ORGANISATIONAL RELATIONSHIPS

Reports to:Community Development and Riverfront Coordinator

Internal Liaisons:Executive Leadership Team

Director Development and Planning

Economic and Community Development Manager

All Councillors

All Council staff

External Liaisons: Community groups/organisationsschools, media, township representative groups, Government and non government organisations and the private sector.

PERFORMANCE CRITERIA

The performance of the Officer will be formally reviewed annually, and shall take into consideration performance against both key indicators and specific objectives set for the term of the review.

Key Performance Indicators

  • Performance against key requirements of the position description.
  • Planning and organisational abilities.
  • Communication and team work within the Officer’s work area and across the organisation.
  • Productivity levels.
  • Technical and Operational Skills.
  • Customer Service competencies.

KEY SELECTION CRITERIA

  • Understanding of and the ability to work with the local community and empathy for social and cultural issues relevant to a rural environment.
  • Demonstrated ability to organise and plan workflow, set priorities and meet deadlines to address the position’s key responsibility areas.
  • Possession of well developed communication skills, both verbal and written in negotiation, facilitation, report preparation and conflict resolution.
  • Budgetary and financial management experience.
  • Proven ability to work unsupervised with solid time management and organisational skills.
  • Any desirable tertiary qualifications relative to the position requirements or relevant work experience in a related area.