AAFRO Circle Community Cultural Connector Role-headspace Australian African Foundation for Retention and Opportunity – Dandenong VIC

The Australian African Foundation for Retention and Opportunity ( AAFRO ) exists primarily to build a bridge between children, young people, and families of culturally and linguistically diverse ( CALD ) backgrounds, especially those of African descent, and the wider Australian community.

Our Vision

All children, young people, and families have access to the opportunities they need to thrive independently and achieve their full potential.

Our Mission

To promote social justice by becoming a trusted hub for children, young people, and family services, providing specialist support and leadership to ensure African and multicultural communities feel trusted, welcomed, and understood.

AAFRO Values

Safety:

We create safety

Culture:

We are cultural champions

Empathy:

We act with empathy and understanding

Transparency:

We tell you what we can and can’t do

Advocacy:

We advocate for those we work with and the community

Child Safety

AAFRO is a child-safe organisation, and we have zero tolerance for all forms of abuse and neglect towards all children and young people, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, culturally and linguistically diverse children, and children with disabilities. Our organisation is committed to

enjoy their cultural rights.

About headspace

headspace is Australia’s National Youth Mental Health Foundation, providing early intervention mental health and wellbeing services to young people aged 12-25.

Each year, headspace helps thousands of young people access vital support through headspace centres in communities across Australia,



online and phone counselling services, vocational services, and a presence in schools. headspace helps young people with mental health, physical health (including sexual health), alcohol and other drug services, and work and study support.

The headspace Multicultural Practice Team aims to:

Build a culturally responsive workplace to better support multicultural staff, young people and their families and communities.

Strengthen the skills and capacity of the headspace centre workforce to meet the needs of multicultural young people, their families and communities.

AAFRO Model of Care

The AAFRO Model of Care is grounded in community restorative and healing practices, drawing from a variety of traditional justice systems that emphasise collectivism over individualism. These include Indigenous justice circles, the African philosophy of Ubuntu, and contemporary restorative justice approaches. Moreover, AAFRO’s Model of Care philosophy is built on the principles of shared humanity and traditional moral values such as respect, integrity, togetherness, compassion, fairness, and dignity. This Model of Care is used in programs that are designed to address community-wide issues such as early intervention for children and young people, education support, family engagement, unemployment, crime prevention, community safety, wellbeing,



social justice and cultural training. It works with individuals and groups to help them reach their full potential while remaining connected to their community, including taking full responsibility for their actions. It supports the restoration of family relationships, assists incarcerated individuals to reintegrate into their communities, promotes women’s empowerment and fosters community harmony.

Role Overview

The AAFRO Circle Community Cultural Connector role is a unique interlink position jointly embedded within the Australian African Foundation for Retention and Opportunity (AAFRO) and headspace National. The role is designed to help bridge the gap between African Australian communities and headspace services. It will strengthen cultural understanding of the needs of young Africans and their families who require mental health and wellbeing support.

Working closely with two headspace centers in ( Dandenong & Melton) , the role will work at the intersection of community and services, supporting young people and families to engage meaningfully with mental health and wellbeing services in ways that are culturally reflective and informed.

A key function of the role is to actively contribute to building strong, sustainable relationships among services, community members, and individuals who directly engage with young people from African backgrounds through culturally responsive methods using the AAFRO framework and ways of working.

The position will be

employed and managed by AAFRO

and will report to AAFRO Managers for employment matters, cultural governance, career development, performance and alignment w

📌 AAFRO Circle Community Cultural Connector Role-headspace (Dandenong)
🏢 Australian African Foundation for Retention and Opportunity
📍 Dandenong