Communications and Events Officer - Templestowe

• 0.6 FTE - 18-month fixed-term contract starting in October - Flexible working arrangements - Templestowe
• Package at 0.6 FTE (ie. 3 days pwk however can be spread across more days): $54,000 inc. superannuation (FTE equivalent package $80,000)
• Fixed-term: 18 months
• Total package over 18 months: $81,000 inc. superannuation *Plus option of Phone and PC allowance

Help shape how Victoria’s outdoors sector connects, communicates and grows.

Outdoors Victoria is looking for a creative, digitally savvy Communications & Events Officer who can help us strengthen our voice, grow our reach and find better ways to connect with the people and organisations we serve.

This isn't a traditional communications role where you'll simply be handed content to publish.

We are looking for a self-starter who can see opportunities, bring ideas to the table and then make them happen.

You might improve how we tell the story of one of our programs, develop a smarter digital campaign, create a great piece of visual content, identify a new sponsorship opportunity, improve one of our communications systems, or help make our annual Outdoors Conference even better.

You'll be joining a small, collaborative team, which means you'll have plenty of scope to influence how we work.

About Outdoors Victoria

Outdoors Victoria (OV) is the peak body for Outdoor Education and Outdoor Recreation in Victoria.

We advocate for and support the people and organisations that help Victorians get active outdoors. Our work spans sector advocacy, professional development, careers, disability and inclusion, outdoor participation programs, research, partnerships and major sector events.

Over the coming years, we want to strengthen OV's leadership, influence and impact — and build an organisation that is increasingly connected, capable and financially sustainable.

Great communication is central to that ambition.

Key Accountabilities

You'll take responsibility for much of OV's day-to-day digital communications while helping us become more strategic about our brand, audiences, events and commercial opportunities.

Your accountabilities will span three broad areas:

1. Communications support for Level the Field and other projects

Outdoors Victoria delivers a diverse portfolio of projects designed to get more Victorians active outdoors and strengthen the capability of our sector.

You’ll provide communications expertise across our project portfolio, working with project leads to:

• turn programs, research, resources, stories and outcomes into engaging content for the audiences we need to reach;
• identify the right stories, audiences, channels and creative approaches to build engagement and demonstrate impact;
• develop and coordinate communications content and assets across multiple projects; and
• help project leads think strategically about how communications can support their project goals.

A particular focus will be our Level the Field – Inclusive Outdoor Recreation Workplaces initiative, helping regional outdoor recreation providers build their capability to create more inclusive employment and volunteering opportunities for people with disability.

2. Communications, content & brand

You'll help make OV's communications more engaging, consistent and effective by:

• managing our digital communications across eNews, social media and website;
• developing targeted communications and marketing campaigns across OV and our programs;
• creating and coordinating strong written, visual and digital content;
• helping maintain and strengthen the OV brand across our different activities;
• identifying stories, achievements and opportunities worth sharing;
• supporting media releases, stakeholder communications and sector engagement;
• using analytics and audience insights to continually improve what we do; and
• helping the team communicate complex ideas simply and effectively.

Design capability would be a significant advantage. If you can take an idea and turn it into a polished social tile, digital campaign, publication, presentation or other visual asset, we'd love to hear from you.

3. Events, Conference & revenue development

Our annual Outdoors Conference is one of the most important events on the Victorian outdoors calendar — and an important opportunity for OV to build relationships and generate revenue.

You'll work with the OV team to help deliver the Conference, with responsibility for:

• coordinating and growing the Conference exhibitor area;
• developing strong relationships with exhibitors and sponsors;
• improving sponsorship collateral, packages and promotion;
• identifying opportunities to increase sponsorship and event revenue;
• supporting Conference marketing and ticket sales;
• managing relevant event systems and communications; and
• helping us continually improve the attendee, exhibitor and sponsor experience.

We're particularly interested in someone who understands that good communications and events can create commercial value as well as engagement.

Help us work smarter

We're a small organisation with a broad remit, so we're also looking for someone who naturally asks: "Could we do this better?"

That might mean improving a workflow, automating a repetitive process, introducing a useful digital tool, creating a better template, improving how we capture audience information or simply finding a more efficient way of getting something done.

We are looking for someone curious, organised, digitally confident and willing to take ownership.

About you

We're less interested in finding someone who ticks every traditional communications box than finding the right person for a small, ambitious organisation.

You'll probably be someone who:

• has strong communications, marketing and/or events experience;
• writes exceptionally well and can adapt communications for different audiences;
• understands social media and digital communications strategy;
• has a good eye for brand, design and presentation;
• can develop content rather than simply distribute it;
• is comfortable managing websites and digital platforms;
• can coordinate events, exhibitors, sponsors and multiple deadlines;
• sees opportunities to generate value and revenue;
• enjoys improving systems and experimenting with better ways of working;
• uses data and analytics to inform decisions;
• can work independently without needing constant direction;
• enjoys collaborating with people who have different areas of expertise; and
• is comfortable moving between strategic thinking and getting the job done.

Experience with tools such as Canva, Adobe Creative Suite, Mailchimp, WordPress or other CMS platforms, Google Workspace, Humanitix, Monday.com, Thinkific and Google Analytics would be valuable.

Experience in the outdoors, education, sport, recreation or not-for-profit sectors would be an advantage, but isn't essential. A genuine interest in the outdoors and the work we do is important.

What we can offer

We offer meaningful work, genuine flexibility and the opportunity to have a visible impact on an organisation that is evolving.

This is a 0.6 FTE position over 18 months, and we're open to discussing how those hours are structured across the week.

For the right person, that could include working shorter days across the working week — including school-hours arrangements — rather than three traditional full working days.

We ask that you work from our office at Westerfolds Park, Templestowe for at least two days each week, because being part of our small team and collaborating face-to-face matters to us. Other hours can be worked flexibly by agreement, including from home or our Templestowe office.

Our annual Outdoors Conference is the exception to our usual rhythm. The 10 days leading into the Conference and the two Conference days themselves are an important team effort, and we'll need greater availability and flexibility during this period. We'll plan for this well in advance and work with you to balance your hours around this busier period.

Outside of this peak period, we're committed to providing the flexibility that makes this role work for both you and OV.

The position includes superannuation and standard leave entitlements.

Outdoors Victoria is committed to creating an inclusive and welcoming workplace. We encourage applications from people of all backgrounds, identities, abilities and lived experiences, and we're happy to discuss any adjustments that will help you participate fully in the recruitment process and the role.

Interested?

If you're a creative communications person who likes making things happen — and you'd enjoy helping a small organisation communicate better, work smarter and grow its impact — we'd like to hear from you.

We're particularly interested in hearing about what you've created, improved or grown in previous roles.

Tell us about the communications, brand building campaigns, journalism work, growing memberships, events, systems, sponsorships or creative work you're proud of, and what you personally contributed.

If you have further questions about the role, please email ceo@outdoorsvictoria.org.au using the subject line: Communications and Events Officer - Templestowe enquiry via EthicalJobs to arrange a brief phone conversation with Outdoors Victoria CEO, Andrew Knight.