Moriarty Foundation is seeking a Team Mentor to guide and mentor our local early childhood educators in Borroloola, NT, at their request. This is a collaborative role with the Indi Kindi Program Manager (based in Sydney). The Indi Kindi Team Mentor will support the continued development of Indi Kindi established in our Borroloola hub – building on the strengths of over 12 years of delivery. The position is based in Borroloola, NT.
A key responsibility of this role is to coach and mentor the Indi Kindi educator team in Borroloola, NT to support the existing in-team leadership model by building capacity and impact of the early learning program. You will support the development of existing community relationships and culturally appropriate working relationships with families, service providers and community members.
Indi Kindi is a proven early years program that has been operating since 2011 in the remote communities of Borroloola and Robinson River in the Gulf of Carpentaria, and in Tennant Creek. A recent Deloitte Access Economics (DAE) evaluation showed that Indi Kindi is an exemplar of quality pedagogy that is positively impacting life outcomes for Indigenous children in remote communities. The report noted that Borroloola has strong preschool attendance compared to other communities, supported by a deliberate transition approach employed by Indi Kindi. Progression through to preschool and school is common for Indi Kindi children and a very high proportion of children who attend Indi Kindi, go on to be enrolled in preschool, transition, or school.
Purpose of the position
The Indi Kindi Team Mentor will work on the ground in the Borroloola community and in collaboration with the Indi Kindi Program Manager (Sydney) and the Indi Kindi Program Director (Sydney) to support the development and delivery of the day to day Indi Kindi program. Our local Indigenous staff educators who lead and run the program have requested this embedded support to help them build capacity and continue to develop ECEC skills, alongside their academic studies.
The role is responsible for supporting the team to achieve the logistics and administration and curriculum required for the smooth delivery of our high-quality early learning program. This includes: Walking Learning® Curriculum along with policies and procedures. Our goal is to maintain and grow the success of Indi Kindi which fosters connections to culture and promotes education, health and wellbeing outcomes for the children and their families, and wider community stakeholders.
Central to this position is the development of relationships with staff and community stakeholders to continue to bring to the forefront the visibility and positive impact of our program.
Key duties & responsibilities
Indi Kindi Program Delivery
- Coach and mentor the community-based educator team to facilitate best possible outcomes on enrolments, program planning, evaluation, attendance, parental engagement and integrated delivery with local organisations and services.
- Support the local team administratively to complete all required paperwork including child and family attendance, enrolment forms, staff timesheets and leave applications.
- Work collaboratively with the Indi Kindi Program Manager to gather data on indicators to measure progress and outcomes of Moriarty Foundation’s Theory of Change.
- Support engagement with the annual Learning and Professional Development Plan in place for each member of the local team. This includes study support for educators to complete certificate three and diploma qualifications in ECEC.
- Work with the Program Manager to identify development needs for the educator team through the annual team review process.
- Support staffing planning and report to the Program Manager on staffing needs against roster.
- Support new educators to complete all required onboarding paperwork (Ochre cards, national police checks) within agreed timeframes.
Wellbeing & nutrition
- Work with local teams and the Program Manager and Program Director on matters of staff and participants wellbeing.
- Coach the educator team on the nutrition component of the program, collaborating to assist with the planning and preparation of nutritious meals for staff, children and families.
- Responsible for guiding and upskilling the team in the delivery of health and wellbeing key messages to the participants.
- Promote health and wellbeing upskilling of staff and program participants, through key projects focused on health, nutrition, physical activity and prevention.
Team management
- Be a role model who supports a professional workplace and team member organisational skills while promoting enthusiasm and engagement in employment.
- Drive the local recruitment of staff, following the recruitment process and procedures, with support from the Sydney head office, and in liaison with Program Manager agree on final recruitment decisions.
- Be responsible for the scheduling of the team to ensure adequate staff are available for each session, in both the hub and satellite community.
- Coach local staff to lead program and delivery decisions.
- Be the back-up in community for the Indi Kindi Program Manager to address Indi Kindi staff welfare and challenges.
- Ensure the provision and maintenance of supplies and resources for local staff.
- Support local staff human resources matters, with support from Program Manager, and HR in the Sydney head office.
- Operate with a solution-focused approach.
- Train the local team in digital proficiency, including program software, apps and systems implemented by Sydney head office.
Relationship management & operations
- Support local staff to gain involvement and input into program development and delivery by parents, elders and community stakeholders.
- Act in the program’s staff and participants’ best interests.
- Liaise with local stakeholders to identify mutually beneficial ways to work together.
- Coordinate the order of supplies for program delivery from the local and regional stores.
- In conjunction with the JMF Coach and Mentor, local staff, and head office leadership team, support the planning and implementation of Community Advisory Group meetings for authentic community-led decision making.
- Support local logistics matters e.g. Foundation residence/office premises, program resources and vehicles.
- Manage organisational risks and WHS according to policies and procedures provided by head office.
- Promote compliance with laws, legal principles and procedures as per guidelines set by head office and the Operations Manager.
- Deliver basic first aid when required.
Reporting
- Support the team to keep accurate records in relation to day-to-day delivery, including but not limited to daily participant register, program planning and evaluation, enrolment and waiver forms, incident reports and staff timesheets.
- Regularly report to the Program Manager on program delivery, local staff engagement and needs.
- Monitor and report on budget spending in accordance with head office guidelines and submission of invoices to finance for processing, as per expense guidelines.
Qualifications & experience
Essential criteria
- Willingness to live in remote Borroloola, NT.
- Proven experience in developing and mentoring teams.
- Proven ability to communicate effectively and sensitively with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
- Demonstrated experience in understanding the issues faced by remote Aboriginal communities.
- Commitment to transfer skills to local in-field staff with a collaborative and inclusive approach.
- Proven experience with reporting and presenting documentation that captures and presents clear data and information.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to adapt the language across different stakeholders.
- Competent computer skills in MS Office Word & Excel format.
- Current Australian driver’s license (to include license status) with the ability to drive a manual vehicle in a 4WD environment.
- Eligibility to receive a Northern Territory Ochre Card (Working with Children check) and National Police Check.
- First Aid Qualified.
- Desire to work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and a commitment to helping create positive change amongst children in Indigenous communities.
Desired criteria
- Tertiary qualification or equivalent experience in Early Childhood Education or Social Work, preferably in remote Aboriginal contexts.
- Direct experience in working with Indigenous communities, preferably in remote Aboriginal contexts.
- Experience working with children and youth.
- Australian Permanent Resident.
About Borroloola
Borroloola is a remote Aboriginal community on the McArthur River, about 50 kms from the Gulf of Carpentaria in the Savanna grasslands and over 900 km from Darwin.
The people of Borroloola speak Garrwa (language of the Gulf), Yanyuwa*, Marra, Gudanji, Binbingka and English (*Yanywa language is distinctive with separate dialects for men and women). English for some is their second or third language.
The Borroloola area has been home to the Yanyuwa people for tens of thousands of years. They are li-antha-wirriyara, people of the salt water. Borroloola and its surrounding communities face complex multi-generational issues of disadvantage and trauma.
755 people live in Borroloola with a median age of 32 years (Census 2021).
Apply now
To apply please submit your resume and cover letter (max two pages) below.
For further information please contact: [email protected]
