Pacific Islanders WDV court Advocacy Program CO-ORDINATOR'S ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES
Pacific Islanders Strengthening Supporting Advocating Mentoring &
Educational Center
Community Development Coordinator Position Description
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Position Title: |
Community Development Coordinator (CDC) for all the PISSAM 3 programs |
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Responsible To: |
CEO Principal Researcher |
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Status: |
Full time |
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Project: |
PISSAM Centre |
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Hours of Work: |
SHARE workload with Principal Researcher & Principal Solicitor/Registered Nurse 24 hrs emergency line |
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Award and Grade: |
SACS Award Grade 6 |
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Performance Management: |
All times |
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Purpose |
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She is responsible for the coordination of the front counter enquiries service, providing a reliable good quality advice, information and referral service.
A second responsibility is the coordination and support of volunteers and students. Including recruitment and support of the Centre’s volunteers and students on placement with PISSAM. She will provide supervision for students and volunteers that report directly to the PISSAM.
She is also responsible for the smooth running of the PISSAM PROGRAMS both centre and community based.
Her assistant is the community worker who will share with the running of the office and court, school, home, jail visit. |
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Outcome |
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Services, groups and activities are: · Delivered in an atmosphere of support and acceptance; · Carried out in an efficient, effective and appropriate manner; · Are consistent with PISSAM values and Statement of Purpose
PISSAM is recognised as a leading provider of quality community services and activities within the inner west of Sydney focusing across Canterbury and its sister cities. |
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Emphasis and impact of the role |
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Advocate, lobby and work with service users to best meet the needs of the Pacific Islanders’ communities with an emphasis on the most disadvantaged and vulnerable members.
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Context in which the role operates: |
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PISSAM Centre supports Pacific Islanders’ people, CALD through community action and the provision of quality services and programs to address their needs, focusing on the most disadvantaged and vulnerable members in the community. PISSAM Center provides a diverse range of services to members of the public from ACROSS CANTERBURY and the Inner West of Sydney including;
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Key Accountability Areas |
Target |
Performance Indicators How will success be measured |
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1. Management |
In collaboration with the SERVICE PROVIDERS who are the executive members and are the facilitators and consultants to our Pacific Islanders communities, to ensure PISSAM has adequate numbers of professional specialists in various fields, volunteers across PISSAM’s activities
In collaboration with the executive members to ensure PISSAM has adequate numbers of students across PISSAM programs |
PISSAM’s volunteer’s policy and procedures is adhered to.
Number of active, trained volunteers in place.
Students on placement with PISSAM for majority of year. |
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2. Community Support
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Advocate and lobby on issues for PISSAM’s service users who are unable to advocate on their own behalf.
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Service users’ needs are responded to in an appropriate manner.
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3. Service Delivery
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The front counter information and resources has a variety of community resources that meets the needs of the community.
Ensure that groups that meet at the Centre are client focused and strive to meet the needs of the clients.
Explore and research the possibility of new groups that meet the community needs |
All information is reviewed twice yearly. Web-site is updated weekly. News is updated as soon as they reach the PISSAM network
Data collected is used in developing the community’s information needs
Group members are treated with respect and dignity and are provide opportunities to be involved in planning, implementing and evaluating their group.
PISSAM groups operate at viable numbers.
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4. Administration |
Ensure services and activities are in compliance within funding, legal and contractual agreements
Review all budgets expenditure of groups
Develop and maintain data capture system
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DOCS acquittal is completed in timely manner.
Data collection and management information is accurate, understandable and collected in timely manner
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5. Staff support and supervision |
Carry out duties as per their job description, work plans, policy and procedure and funding agreements.
Provide support and advice to students and volunteers. |
Work plan is developed and adhered to
100% of volunteers and students who directly report to PISSAM have regular supervision BY her and finalized by the CEO.
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6. Partnership and Stakeholders Engagement |
Maintain partnerships with appropriate stakeholders.
Develop new partnerships with other stakeholders who share PISSAM’s vision. |
Evidence of healthy working relationships with other stakeholders
Partnerships and collaborative working evidenced throughout year |
At all times she is:
- Commitment to the Values of PISSAM Centre
- Demonstrated experience in student or volunteer training, support and placement
- Demonstrated experience of working with disadvantaged and marginalized people
- Relevant qualifications or equivalent experience of working in Community Services / development
- Demonstrated high-level communication skills.
- Commitment to work as part of a team and independently
- Computer skills: word, excel, outlook, internet and desktop publishing
- Knowledge of OH&S, EEO and Anti-Discrimination
Declaration
I have read this position description, understand its contents and agree to work in accordance with the requirements of the position. I understand and accept that I must comply with the Policies and Procedures of PISSAM Centre
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Employee’s Name (please print)
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Employee’s Signature Date
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Management Member (CEO)
PISSAM support workers attend Liverpool, Fairfield, Burwood, Downing Centre and Bankstown Local Courts
on AVO list days, currently Fridays and Tuesdays and Thursdays
respectively. 2010 will be extended to Parramatta.
The primary aims of Support workers is to ensure the court and AVO experience is as comfortable and less distressing as possible and for women to obtain a successful and most appropriate outcome.
Court Support Services include:
- A safe room - this is a room dedicated for women seeking an AVO.
- Information - support workers explain the AVO process and any related issues to ensure women fully understand their situation and feel confident about the orders being sought.
- Advocacy - support workers communicate with Police, court staff and other relevant parties to ensure each woman's wishes are put forward and each case receives the best attention.
All Pacific Islanders CALD and friends:
Social justice can only be achieved through knowledge of an individual's rights and responsibilitie
Police ban DNA evidence
Victoria Police has banned the use of DNA evidence in court cases until it sorts out problems in its forensic labs.
Chief Commissioner Simon Overland says the methods used to interpret the evidence have not kept up with advances in technology.
He says only cases since September may have been affected.
But a leading forensic science expert is questioning the chief commissioner's explanation.
It has been a bad week for the reputation of DNA evidence in Victoria.
On Monday a man had his rape conviction quashed by the Victorian Court of Appeal.
Farah Jama had spent 16 months in jail. But he was released after the court accepted it was likely there had been a mix-up of DNA swabs at a forensic lab.
Mr Overland stresses that his decision to disallow DNA evidence in Victorian courts has nothing to do with the case of Mr Jama, nor with the integrity of DNA evidence.
"With the advances that have been made around the scientific technique and with the introduction of new equipment here in Victoria, the statistical models that are used to interpret the DNA results have not actually been able to keep pace," he said.
"That means that we have needed to pause here in Victoria because we are at the forefront, we're ahead of other states and other jurisdictions around Australia."
Bond University Professor of Forensic Science Angela van Daal agrees that the halt on DNA evidence in Victorian cases is not related to the botched rape case.
But she questions Mr Overland's explanation for his decision.
"To the best of my knowledge, Victoria's not doing anything that the rest of the country's not doing," she said.
"There is only really one new thing in the area of forensic DNA and that is what is called low copy number DNA or touch DNA - very, very low levels of DNA.
"Now it's my understanding that nobody in Australia is doing that, including the Victorian lab and so I think that the suggestion that what they're doing is new may not be entirely accurate."
Professor van Daal suspects the chief commissioner may be trying to put a positive spin on a controversial week.
"I suspect he may well be," she said.
"He talks about the interpretation of DNA and what they're doing being new. That's not really the case. What's being done in DNA has been around for about 10 years so there is nothing new in the interpretation unless they're doing low copy, which I understand they're not.
"What I think has become a problem for them is some of the procedures and processes in place and how the laboratories are implementing those DNA techniques."
Jeremy Gans, Associate Professor at the University of Melbourne's Law School, says this week's developments point to real problems in the use of DNA evidence in Victoria.
"You have to wonder whether the fact that two problems have emerged simultaneously points to a systemic problem in the entire way the Victorian criminal justice system and Victoria Police approached DNA issues," he said.
"It's possible that both problems are a sign of complacency about DNA. A desire to trumpet its advantages and a lack of recognition of all the many pitfalls that arise with DNA evidence."
Copyright Statement
The owner of this website and publication is PISSAM NETWORK, which is under the umbrella of Canterbury Harmony group Inc. auspice by Riverwood Community Centre and its working partner. Content may not be reproduced in any format or changed, sold or used to promote or endorse any product or service, inappropriate or misleading context.. Acknowledgment to the PISSAM NETWORK & Its auspice body Riverwood Community Centre
PISSAM NETWORK MANAGED BY ANNE SIKIMETI LATU
