Child Safety and Wellbeing Manager

AYO is seeking a Child-safety and Wellbeing Manager

Join the team at the Australian Youth Orchestra (AYO) dedicated to providing children and young people with a positive, safe, inclusive and enriching educational environment that promotes their musical, social and personal development. AYO delivers residential programs across the country for hundreds of young people aged 12 years and over. We are seeking a Child Safety and Wellbeing Manager to lead our approach to wellbeing, safeguarding and operational risk management. Reporting to the CEO and overseeing a high-performing team of residential and pastoral staff, this role will support AYO participants to have the best possible experience on our programs as they hone their musicianship, create unforgettable memories and forge life-long friendships.  

POSITION DESCRIPTION

Position Title   Child-safety and Wellbeing Manager

Location   Sydney or Melbourne

Reports to   CEO / Director of Programs

Work type   Part-time (0.6 FTE), ongoing

COMPANY VALUES 

AYO’s vision is that all young Australians are empowered with musical knowledge, imagination and a love of music. AYO’s values are the guiding principles for decision making and interactions in our workplace: Quality, Respect, Creativity & Connection 

POSITION OBJECTIVE 

The Australian Youth Orchestra (AYO) is committed to providing safe, inclusive and supportive environments in which young people can participate, learn and thrive.  

The Child-safety & Wellbeing Manager leads AYO’s approach to participant wellbeing, safeguarding and operational risk management. The role is responsible for maintaining child-safety systems, supporting a culture of wellbeing and inclusion, and ensuring risks affecting participants, staff and volunteers are proactively identified, assessed and managed. 

The role provides specialist advice across all AYO programs and supports continuous improvement in safeguarding, welfare and risk management practices to help build an organisation-wide culture of safety, wellbeing and risk awareness that enables young people to participate confidently and thrive within AYO programs. 

During the delivery of AYO programs and activities, the role is responsible for managing the pastoral care of participants and leading program-specific residential and pastoral staff. The role reports directly to the CEO, with a dotted-line reporting relationship to the Director of Programs in relation to program delivery. 

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES 

Child-safety and Safeguarding 

• Lead organisational implementation, compliance and continuous improvement against the National Principles for Child-safe Organisations and relevant State Child-safe Standards. 

• Support Child-safe recruitment, onboarding and contractor engagement processes, including Working with Children Compliance. 

• Support incident management, reporting and escalations. 

• Review and update safeguarding policies, procedures and resources. 

• Support risk assessments relating to child-safety across programs, travel and accommodation. 

• Establish mechanisms for participant voice and feedback on wellbeing and safety matters 

Participant Wellbeing and Welfare 

• Lead planning and implementation of participant welfare frameworks across all programs. 

• Coordinate welfare systems for residential programs, tours and activities (in person and online). 

• Support the recruitment, training and supervision of residential and welfare staff. 

• Develop resources and procedures that support participant wellbeing. 

• Monitor participant welfare trends and identify opportunities for improvement, whilst ensuring participant views inform organisational practice 

• Lead organisational responses to serious safeguarding, welfare and critical incidents. 

• Maintain records and reporting relating to participant welfare matters. 

Program Risk, Safety and Incident Management 

• Lead risk management processes relating to the safe delivery of AYO programs, residential activities, tours and events. 

• Coordinate the development and review of program risk assessments, ensuring risks affecting participants, staff, artists and volunteers are identified and appropriately mitigated. 

• Support program teams to implement risk management controls and safe operating procedures. 

• Contribute to emergency management planning and critical incident preparedness across AYO programs. 

• Coordinate responses to significant participant safety, wellbeing and operational incidents, including incident reporting, review and follow-up actions. 

• Monitor trends and emerging risks arising from programs and recommend improvements to policy, procedures and practice. 

• Maintain registers relating to participant safety, wellbeing and program risks, and monitor implementation of mitigation actions. 

• Prepare reports and analysis on child-safety, wellbeing and program risks for senior management and the Board. 

• Promote a proactive culture of safety, wellbeing and risk awareness across all AYO activities.   

KEY OUTCOMES 

Welfare 

• Participants report feeling safe, supported and included. 

• Welfare systems are consistently implemented across programs. 

• Welfare incidents are managed appropriately and professionally. 

• Residential staff are well trained and supported. 

Child-safety 

• Strong compliance with child-safe standards and legal obligations. 

• Staff, artists and volunteers demonstrate confidence in safeguarding practices. 

• Child-safety risks are proactively identified and mitigated. 

• Incidents are managed in accordance with policy and best practice. 

Risk Management 

• Organisational risks are regularly reviewed and actively managed. 

• Program teams utilise risk management processes effectively. 

• High-quality reporting supports organisational decision making. 

• Continuous improvement is evident through incident and risk analysis. 

KEY RELATIONSHIPS 

Reports to: CEO (direct) / Director of Programs (program delivery) 

Works closely with: Senior Management Team, Senior Coordinator – Program Operations, Program Staff, Volunteer and Residential Staff, Contractors, Participants & Next of Kin 

HOURS AND WORKING ARRANGEMENTS 

The role is employed on a 0.6 FTE basis and requires flexibility to support residential programs, tours and events, including occasional evening and weekend work. Additional hours will be managed in accordance with AYO employment arrangements.  

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE 

• Experience in child-safety, safeguarding, welfare, education, youth development, risk management or a related field.  

• Demonstrated knowledge of child-safe principles and safeguarding practices.  

• Strong stakeholder engagement and communication skills.  

• Current Working with Children Check.  

• Willingness to undertake First Aid and Mental Health First Aid training. 

• Experience in a Performing Arts environment (desirable) 

This position description describes the broad scope of the role and is not an exhaustive list of duties and responsibilities. It may change from time to time, with due consultation, to meet the changing needs of the organisation. 

HOW TO APPLY 

Apply via : Citation HR 

If you would like further information about the role, please email [email protected] to request a call with Kimbali Harding, CEO.