About the organisation

The Healthy Waters Partnership for the Dry Tropics (the Partnership) is a collaborative initiative involving government, industry, conservation and community groups, and research agencies. Its mission is to develop and implement a reporting program that communicates the health of waterways and marine environments and informs management actions in the Townsville region. The region includes the Black and Ross River basins, and the estuarine and marine environments of Cleveland and Halifax Bays, and Magnetic Island. The Partnership aspires to extend their reporting range to include the broader Dry Tropics region (including the Burdekin and Haughton basins).

Roles and primary duties

The role of the Communications and Engagement Officer is to successfully deliver all communications activities and community engagement activities of the Partnership.

These include:

• Develop and review with the Executive Officer the annual Communications and Engagement Strategies.
• Work with the Executive Officer to coordinate launch events including the official launch of the Partnership and the annual release of the Report Card.
• Create promotional collateral for Partnership events.
• Preparation of media releases and liaise with media to organise expert interviews.
• Provide brand communications advice to the Executive Officer.
• Create diverse communication materials, including articles, social media content, newsletters, speeches, and presentation decks for meetings and workshops.
• Manage and update all brand channels and collateral, including website and social media, fact sheets, and branded materials.
• Maintenance and promotion of awareness of the Partnership with media, schools, and other community stakeholders.
• Coordination of website development and updates.
• Assist the Executive Officer with developing agendas and taking minutes for Partnership, Management Committee, and other meetings, where required.
• Assist the Executive Officer with organising stakeholder meetings and forums.
• Plan and deliver community engagement activities to educate about healthy waterways.
• Ensure that your obligations with respect to Workplace Health and Safety and all relevant policies, procedures, and legislative requirements are understood and followed.

Selection criteria

Essential:

• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to work autonomously as well as collaboratively in a team.
• A tertiary degree or relevant experience in communications, engagement, public relations, stakeholder management, or marketing.
• Experience working with a wide range of stakeholders; from landowners to board members.
• Strong community engagement skills, enabling effective communication at all levels.
• Experience with Microsoft Office suite, including Teams and SharePoint.
• Experience with basic design tools (Canva or InDesign).
• Experience with CMS (WordPress, Wix, or similar).

Desirable:

• Experience in science communication.
• Experience of communications in North Queensland.

Other requirements:

• Current Queensland "C" class open driver's license.
• Some overnight travel will be required as part of this role (including but not limited to Brisbane, Cairns, Mackay).