Senior Program Manager - Criminal Law

Westjustice is a rights-based Community Legal Centre servicing Melbourne’s West on the lands of the Bunurong and Wurundjeri peoples and including the LGAs of Wyndham, Maribyrnong, Hobsons Bay, Melton and Brimbank, a population of over a million people. Melbourne’s Western Suburbs are the thriving backbone of the state, and home to Australia’s most diverse and fastest-growing population.

Westjustice’s purpose is to deliver targeted services and drive meaningful change to achieve fairness, safety and justice for Melbourne’s West.

We work to uphold peoples’ rights by providing free legal, social work, financial counselling services, community engagement, and advocacy for systemic reform across the five impact areas of Workers’ Rights, Children and Young People’s Rights, Women and Gender Diverse people’s Rights, Economic and Housing Rights and Our Team. We provide place-based, multi-disciplinary programs and partner with values-aligned organisations to focus on servicing those most impacted by these issues, and to ensure people have access to the services they need where they need them.

Through our work, we consistently see complex legal issues and the cyclical impact they have on longer term justice, economic, health and life outcomes. This is why our services and programs focus on prevention and early intervention in the cycle of economic precarity, criminalisation, violence and housing insecurity. It is also why we advocate for legal, social and policy reform to ensure the people of Melbourne’s West have access to services and the best version of justice.

Benefits & Culture

• Be a part of an organisation that 98% of our employees are proud to work for
• We pay 3% above the SCHADs award
• Not for profit salary packaging up to $15,900 per annum
• Flexible working conditions
• 17.5% annual leave loading
• Passionate, professional and dedicated team
• Gifted additional paid leave over the Christmas holiday period
• Strong focus on collaboration, wellbeing, inclusion and diversity

The Role

Westjustice is seeking to employ a full-time (or potentially part-time) Senior Program Manager, Criminal Law to:

• a) lead the Children and Young People’s Rights Program of legal and other services,
• b) lead the ongoing development and expansion of Westjustice’s Youth Crime Prevention and Early Intervention Program (YCPEIP) across the state, and
• c) collaborate with stakeholders across the organisation to meet client needs and achieve our strategic objectives.

This position will be primarily based at our Sunshine office and will be required to travel and work from other sites.

Skills and Experience Required

• 1. A law degree and an unrestricted Practising Certificate which entitles you to practise law in Victoria. In addition, a Principal practising certificate (or willingness to achieve the certificate).
• 2. Significant legal practice experience and subject matter expertise in criminal law, including experience in complex advocacy, casework and litigation.
• 3. Demonstrated understanding of high-quality legal practice management, including legal operations and risk management. An ability to think strategically and with integrity to meet clients and practice management needs.
• 4. Strong planning, project management, change management and stakeholder engagement skills to enable the successful achievement of the expansion of the YCPIEProgram.
• 5. Sophisticated people management skills to lead and develop a high performing team.
• 6. Demonstrated ability to develop and coordinate systemic impact work such as drafting policy or law reform submissions, legal projects and programs with strategic impact,
• 7. Ability to work autonomously, take initiative to progress program priorities including legal supervision, team management, project work, grant applications, funding proposals, program budgets and make sound judgements, with limited direction of the Legal Director.
• 8. Excellent written and oral communication skills including the ability to engage with stakeholders and clients experiencing trauma and/or disadvantage.
• 9. Strong commitment to social justice, community education and engagement

If you want to use your experience to improve life outcomes for people in the community experiencing significant disadvantage, please apply by COB on the advertised closing date.

Please note, Westjustice reserves the right to interview candidates as their applications are received. The position may close earlier than the advertised closing date should we receive sufficient quality applications.

Please call Ellen Howard on 03 9749 7720 if you have any questions in relation to the role.

The successful applicant will require a current Working with Children’s Check and a Police Check or be prepared to apply for both. People with lived experience of the justice system are encouraged to apply. A police check result does not automatically disqualify an application which in each case will be individually assessed for the relevant role. Applicants must possess the right to work in Australia.

Westjustice is committed to building a diverse workforce. We strongly encourage applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people living with a disability, people from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds, mature age workers and LGBTIQA+-identifying people. People with lived experience of the justice system are encouraged to apply. A police check result does not automatically disqualify an application which in each case will be individually assessed for the relevant role.

If you require any adjustments throughout the application or recruitment process please contact Ellen Flint at ellen@westjustice.org.au using the subject line: Senior Program Manager - Criminal Law enquiry via EthicalJobs. Information disclosed will be held in the strictest of confidence.