First Nations Research & Evaluation Officer - Part Time

About Children's Ground

Children’s Ground is a First Nations organisation. The Children’s Ground Approach is designed and delivered through the leadership of First Nations people. We are committed to systems change to ensure dignity, justice and equity for all children and families. Our work focuses on national reform as well as evidencing a new way of working.

The Children’s Ground Approach is a whole of community, whole of life approach. We privilege First Nations knowledge systems and practice. Over the course of a generation, led by local expertise, we create and deliver an integrated system that is centred on learning, development and wellbeing that responds to the child and their family through the key transition points from pre-birth to young adulthood.

Our approach recognises the cultural, social, and economic strength of our communities. We build on this over a generation to ensure a future for our children and grandchildren that gives them freedom, opportunity and rights to their culture and identity.

Children’s Ground operates in Central Australia and across the Top End, with support provided by a Melbourne-based Shared Services team.

About the role

The First Nations Research & Evaluation Officer will work alongside the Research & Evaluation (R&E;) Team to support our monitoring and evaluation led by Children’s Ground First Nations staff, families and communities. This is a part-time 22.8 hours per week position to be worked Monday through Thursday. This is an identified position and only open to people of Aboriginal &/or Torres Strait Islander descent.

The focus of Children’s Ground evaluation and research is to demonstrate the impact of Children’s Ground Approach for children,



families and communities. Children’s Ground is committed to community led practice that privileges First Nations culture.

The First Nations R&E; Officer will play a key role in supporting the collection, analysis, and communication of data and stories from the communities we work with. This role is central to ensuring that the community voices and experiences, knowledge and data are collected, managed and used in ways that uphold First Nations Data Sovereignty principles. A core responsibility of the position is to support and promote community understanding, ownership and decision-making regarding Children's Ground data, ensuring communities are informed, empowered and engaged in how data is collected, accessed, interpreted and used. The role will also support the development of research and evaluation capability within communities and contribute to long-term monitoring, evaluation and learning.

This role will work with all communities in Central Australia that are currently working with Children’s Ground; Irrkerlantye, Mpweringke Anapipe, Yarrenyty Arltere, Uyenpere Atwatye, Ammonguna, Plenty Highway and any recent communities.

Key Responsibilities

Engaging and working with First Nations families and communities about research and evaluation:

- Contributing to engaging children, families and communities in research and evaluation




- Regularly engage with staff, families and communities to explain and discuss Children’s Ground evaluation and research activities, including how information and data are collected, used and reported
- Working with First Nations staff and families to build R&E; knowledge skills in western evaluation and research
- Contributing to evaluation and research information and resources for staff and communities
- Engaging in and support peer learning – learning from other First Nations and Western trained staff and sharing your knowledge and experience with them too

Community ownership and governance of information and data:

- Work with communities to build local skills and ownership of data collection, data analysis, reporting and evaluations.
- Build community understanding of how Children’s Ground collects, uses and reports information and data.
- Work alongside First Nations leaders, staff, families and communities to ensure their priorities and perspectives shape how information and data are used.
- Support communities to engage with evaluation findings and use information to inform local planning, decision-making and advocacy.
- Facilitate discussions about the purpose, use and value of information and data collected through Children’s Ground programs.
- Ensure cultural protocols and community priorities are reflected in data collection, evaluation and reporting activities.

Evaluation and Research:

- Supporting First Nations staff to the design, collection, analysis, interpretation and reporting of evaluation and research activities, while ensuring communities remain informed, engaged and empowered throughout the process
- Supporting staff to c

📌 First Nations Research (Australia)
🏢 Children's Ground
📍 Australia