Department of Education Victoria – Bendigo VIC

14d ago , from Department of Education & Training Victoria

The Employee Safety and Wellbeing Division (ESW Division) vision is to create safe, healthy, respectful and inclusive working environments for Department employees to thrive and succeed.

The ESW Division performs it functions through teams that span from prevention, through to response and recovery, along with strategy, advice and support, and diversity and inclusion. These teams adopt a holistic approach for supporting the health, safety and wellbeing of our workforce across schools, central and regional offices. This includes Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) and Workers' Compensation policy advice and support, for both physical and mental health and wellbeing, diversity and inclusion initiatives.

The objectives of the ESW Division are to:

- promote positive wellbeing in working environments
- prevent against known and expected risks to health, safety and wellbeing
- respond swiftly and effectively to manage potential issues as they emerge and prevent injuries
- support employees to recover from injury and illness, and return to work
- promote respectful and inclusive workplaces that upholds equal opportunity and prevents discrimination, bullying, harassment and sexual harassment
- promotes human rights and workforce diversity and inclusion.

OHS Services Branch

The OHS Services Branch provides Victorian government schools with systems, resources and expertise to support schools to manage occupational health, safety and wellbeing, with the objective of reducing administrative workload for schools by providing targeted service, support and advice. The Branch includes the operational Statewide OHS Services Team, the OHS Services Statewide Systems and Support Team and the eduSafe Plus Team.

- The Statewide OHS Services Team is made up of four regionally based teams that provide on the ground OHS services and support to schools, including:
- support with tasks in preparation for OHS Assurance assessments and with completion of post audit actions
- support with emergency management planning tasks
- proactive regular and risk-based OHS and emergency management planning support through onsite visits
- delivery of targeted OHS initiatives
- responsive support to service requests
- support with building OHS and emergency management planning capability in school leadership

Selection Criteria

Key Selection Criteria

- 'Public Sector Values' as detailed in Organisational Values section above
- `Specialist Expertise in OHS` as detailed in the Required Capabilities section above
- `Customer Focus` as detailed in the Required Capabilities section above
- 'Relationship Building' as detailed in the Required Capabilities section
- 'Planning and Organising' as detailed in the Required Capabilities section above

Key Accountabilities

OHS support services and advice

- Provide advice and services to schools about OHS policies, functions and systems, including support for schools to fully utilise eduSafe Plus
- Complete agreed emergency management planning tasks for schools
- Work with schools to identify and solve OHS issues and refer other issues to appropriate areas of the department
- Provide advice on the appropriate interpretation and implementation of Department OHS management system and policies

OHS policy, procedure and strategy implementation

- Implement or support strategic OHS change initiatives
- Assist in the implementation of complex safety system and process changes
- Identify opportunities for system improvement and capability building in relation to OHS; where possible address these using statewide developed training materials

Expert program advice and support

- Prepare reports, briefings and correspondence relating to OHS issues as required
- Provide advice and support to schools and service providers about OHS policies, functions and systems (e.g eduSafe Plus)
- Provide OHS services to support high quality outcomes.

Service delivery, quality improvement and integration

- Support strategic OHS and change initiatives
- Provide feedback to Manager OHS Services on the practical implementation of OHS policies and procedures and system use




- Respond to service requests and assist in the communication and implementation of policy updates or changes
- Support DE OHS activities and policies with a focus on continuous improvement
- Provide information and advice to principals and school leaders on changes to OHS policies and procedures

Emergency management

- Provide agreed emergency management planning services
- Liaise with Security and Emergency Management Division and Regional emergency management stakeholders to collaborate and resolve complex OHS matters and support the best possible outcomes for schools

Program delivery and digital system use

- Deliver the OHS Services Program to schools, with a focus on delivering hands on help to schools to complete OHS and emergency management tasks
- Support schools with the effective use of eduSafe Plus, as the department¿s digital OHS system
- Demonstrate knowledge base and skills in the use of technology/digital platforms for OHS and EM including eduSafe Plus

Required Capabilities

Planning and Organising

- Develops and implements systems and procedures to guide work and track progress
- Identifies more and less critical activities and operates accordingly, reviewing and adjusting as required
- Identifies processes, tasks and resources required to achieve goals
- Recognises barriers and finds effective ways to deal with them.

Influence and Negotiation

- Adapts the content, style, message or tone of a presentation to suit the audience and plans how to tackle objections
- Negotiates and implements a well-planned course of action to achieve a specific impact
- Sells own ideas by linking them to other values, needs and goals

Specialist Expertise in OHS

- Sound technical health, safety and wellbeing knowledge with significant understanding of relevant legislation and codes
- Knowledge of contemporary health, safety and wellbeing theory and practice
- Ability to support and improve OHS practice, professional development and work effectiveness.

Organisational Awareness

- Understands issues and pressures to which the Department and schools has to respond
- Understands the reasons behind the Department and schools climate and culture.

Personal Qualities

Customer Focus

- Actively seeks to meet customer needs
- Committed to delivering high quality outcomes for clients
- Listens to customers
- Seeks ways to improve services

Flexibility

- Accepts changed priorities without undue discomfort
- Adaptable
- Open to new ideas
- Recognises the merits of different options and acts accordingly

Relationship Building

- Builds trust through consistent actions, values and communication
- Establishes and maintains relationships with people at all levels
- Forges useful partnerships with people across the Department and schools
- Minimises surprises
- Promotes harmony and consensus through diplomatic handling of disagreements
- Proven ability to build positive and productive relationships with principals, school leaders and staff in complex areas (or local leaders and staff in other workplaces)
- Actively seeks to meet customer needs
- Committed to delivering high quality outcomes for customers

Role

Position title: OHS Service Officer, NWVR

Group: Employee Safety, Wellbeing and Inclusion Division, People and Executive Services Group

Region: North Western Victorian Region

Location: Bendigo

Classification: ES1-4

Employment Status: Fixed (6 months)

FTE: 0.4

Salary range: $100,037 - $117,951 (pro rata)

Note that Salary shown includes 30 days of additional attendance required, as compared to standard Education Support roles under the Victorian Government Schools Agreement 2022. This means the successful candidate will be entitled to four weeks of annual leave, to be taken during periods as agreed with their manager.

Role Purpose

The OHS Service Officer is a key role within the regional OHS Services Team,



providing high quality advice and OHS and emergency management services to principals, school leaders and employees.

This role delivers consistent, hands-on service to schools, to help achieve safer school environments and reduce principals OHS & emergency management workload. The OHS Service Officer partners with schools to complete OHS and emergency management planning tasks, and to provide advice on managing OHS hazards.

The OHS Service Officer works collaboratively as part of the regionally-based OHS Services Team. The role supports Senior OHS Service Officers and the manager with delivering customer-focused OHS and emergency management planning services to schools, completing tasks for schools.

Responsibilities

Key responsibilities for this role include:

- providing pre-OHS Assurance Assessment services including reviewing and updating the schools OHS Management System documents and processes and completing tasks for the school
- attending OHS Assurance Assessments to assist and support school leaders during the Assessment
- providing post-OHS Assurance Assessment services including working with schools to action and close management actions and completing tasks for the school
- providing services to schools with elements of emergency management planning and supporting schools¿ effective use of the departments digital systems
- providing proactive service to schools in non-OHS Assurance years including regular check-ins with schools and help with managing OHS and emergency management planning tasks
- responding to service requests and supporting with complex OHS matters
- supporting school leaders to effectively use the departments digital OHS system, eduSafe Plus
- coordinating and provide referrals to other department services
- leading the implementation and delivery of targeted and intensive OHS initiatives.

This role requires travel across the region to undertake school visits, and a current driver's licence is mandatory. This role will also involve work within regional office locations, including attending the relevant primary office on a regular basis to connect and collaborate with other staff.

Who May Apply

Qualifications

- Desirable: Relevant qualification in Occupational Health and Safety or equivalent professional experience.
- Desirable: Relevant qualification in Emergency Management Planning or Risk Management or equivalent professional experience

Diversity and Inclusion

The department is committed to diversity and inclusion and developing a workforce that is representative of the community we service. We value diversity and inclusion in all forms - culture, gender, religion, ethnicity, LGBTIQA+, disability and neurodiversity. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander candidates are strongly encouraged to apply for roles within the Department.The Department recognises that the provision of protected, respectful and inclusive workplaces is essential to high performance and promotes flexible work and diversity across all schools and Department workplaces.It is our policy to provide reasonable adjustments for staff with disability (seeWorkplace adjustment guidelines).

Additional support and advice on the recruitment process is available to Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander candidates from the Koorie Outcomes Division (KOD) via*******@education.vic.gov.au

Applicants seeking part-time employment are encouraged to apply for any teaching service position and, if they are the successful candidate, request a reduced time fraction. Such requests will be negotiated on a case-by-case basis and will be subject to the operational requirements of the school.

Child Safe Standards

Victorian government schools are child safe environments. Our schools actively promote the safety and wellbeing of all students, and all school staff are committed to protecting students from abuse or harm in the school environment, in accordance with their legal obligations including child safe standards. All schools have a Child Safety Code of Conduct consistent with the department's exemplar available at:

https://www2.education.vic.gov.au/pal/child-safe-standards/policy

DE Values

The department's employees commit to upholding the department's Values: Responsiveness, Integrity, Impartiality, Accountability,

#J-18808-Ljbffr

📌 OHS Service Officer, NWVR - Bendigo
🏢 Department of Education Victoria
📍 Bendigo