Community Engagement Officer

Vinova; Hervey Bay; Hybrid; AUD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Vinova is seeking an experienced stakeholder engagement professional to act as a key liaison between a major project and regional communities in Queensland. The role involves building relationships with landholders, councils, community groups and other stakeholders, and supporting engagement planning and benefit-sharing initiatives.

The position is hybrid with a 20-month fixed-term contract, offering opportunities to lead community engagement activities and address inquiries and concerns from

Qualifications

• Demonstrated ability to engage with landowners, councils and community groups.
• Proven track record in managing inquiries, concerns and complaints.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills in a live construction setting.
• Ability to plan and deliver engagement activities and reporting.
• Experience coordinating stakeholder meetings and engagement events.

Responsibilities

• Build and maintain relationships with landowners, councils, community groups and Traditional Owners.
• Support delivery of community engagement and benefit-sharing initiatives.
• Manage community inquiries, concerns and complaints in a professional manner.
• Coordinate community meetings, information sessions and engagement activities.
• Monitor community sentiment and identify issues early during construction.
• Collaborate with construction team to ensure stakeholder issues are managed.
• Maintain stakeholder records and support reporting and communications.

Skills

Stakeholder engagement

Community relations

Relationship building

Conflict resolution

Construction industry experience

Education

Experience in stakeholder engagement roles

Job description

This is an opportunity to join a growing organisation and play an important role on a major project.

You'll be joining at an important stage of delivery, working closely with the construction team while becoming a key point of contact between the project and the surrounding community.

This is a genuinely stakeholder-facing position. You'll be out building relationships with landholders, councils, community groups and other regional stakeholders, helping ensure issues are identified early and managed properly throughout construction.

For an experienced engagement professional, it also provides the opportunity to get involved in wider community initiatives, including engagement planning and benefit-sharing programs.

The role offers a hybrid working arrangement and is a 20-month fixed-term contract with the potential for extension.

• Building and maintaining relationships with local landholders, councils, community groups, Traditional Owners, neighbours and other regional stakeholders
• Supporting the delivery of community engagement and benefit-sharing initiatives
• Managing community enquiries, concerns, feedback and complaints
• Handling potentially difficult conversations professionally and working towards practical resolutions
• Coordinating community meetings, information sessions and stakeholder engagement activities
• Monitoring community sentiment and identifying potential issues before they escape
• Working closely with the construction team to ensure stakeholder and community issues are appropriately managed
• Maintaining accurate stakeholder records and supporting engagement reporting, presentations and communications

We're looking for someone with genuine community and stakeholder engagement experience, ideally gained within construction, infrastructure, utilities or another major project environment.

Importantly, renewable energy experience is not required.

You’ll need to have:

• Direct experience engaging with landowners / landholders and maintaining relationships throughout a project
• Experience working with local councils and government stakeholders
• Experience managing community enquiries, complaints and potentially sensitive stakeholder issues
• Strong stakeholder management and relationship-building skills
• Confidence handling conflict and difficult conversations
• The resilience to operate effectively within a live construction environment
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• The ability to work closely with construction and project delivery teams while representing the project professionally within the community

Experience delivering stakeholder engagement strategies, community consultation, benefit-sharing programs or Traditional Owner engagement would be particularly valuable.

We're open on sector background. If you've gained your experience around infrastructure, construction, utilities, resources, transport or other major regional projects, we'd be interested in speaking with you.