Community Engagement Practitioner

Sunshine Coast Council; Maroochydore; Hybrid; AUD 99,000 - 117,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Wellbeing initiatives

Flexible working (9‑day fortnight +hyb

Salary packaging options

Job summary

Sunshine Coast Council is seeking a Community Engagement Practitioner to design and deliver innovative community engagement programs and provide expert advice to project teams across Council.

You will implement and embed Council's Community Engagement Policy and Excellence in Engagement Framework, while building organisational capability, and ensuring community voices inform decision-making and project outcomes.

Qualifications

• Strong communication and facilitation skills with diverse audiences.
• Proven ability to plan, design and deliver engagement projects.
• Ability to influence stakeholders and build trust across teams.
• Experience embedding engagement frameworks and policy guidance.

Responsibilities

• Design and deliver community engagement programs.
• Provide expert advice to project teams delivering initiatives.
• Embed the Community Engagement Policy and Framework across Council.
• Coordinate engagement activities and learning for staff.
• Oversee digital engagement platforms and community initiatives.

Skills

Communication

Facilitation

Stakeholder management

Education

Qualifications in community engagement / social planning / social sciences / community development

Job description

$113K – $117K Total Remuneration Package (pro-rata)

$99K – $104K Base Salary (pro-rata)

Location: Maroochydore

Vacancy No: 7249

Temporary - Full-time (until September 2027)

Applications close: 20 September 2026 11:59pm AEST

Why work with us?

At Council, we’re proud of our region. We collaborate with community to achieve truly sustainable outcomes, enhance our enviable lifestyle, and create award-winning places and spaces that are uniquely Sunshine Coast. So, if you love it here as much as we do, and you want to shape our region for the future – you’ll want to join our team!

With the vision to be Australia’s most sustainable region -Connected. Liveable. Thriving, our region is a model of sustainability, where caring for our environment, creating vibrant communities and growing our local economy is a way of life.

About the Role

As the Community Engagement Practitioner, you will help drive best-practice community engagement across Council by designing and delivering innovative community engagement programs, and providing expert advice, guidance and support to teams delivering projects and initiatives. You'll play a key role in implementing and embedding Council's Community Engagement Policy and Excellence in Engagement Framework, while building organisational capability and ensuring community voices inform decision-making.

Key Responsibilities

• Champion and embed Council's Community Engagement Policy and Excellence in Engagement Framework across the organisation.
• Provide specialist advice and support to employees delivering community engagement projects and initiatives.
• Develop and deliver best-practice community engagement programs.
• Coordinate community engagement training, resources and capability-building programs.
• Manage digital engagement platforms and oversee Council-led community engagement activities.

About you

• You are an experienced community engagement professional with qualifications in community engagement, social planning, social sciences, community development, or a related discipline. You bring contemporary experience delivering successful engagement outcomes in a complex environment.
• You have a proven ability to plan, facilitate, guide and deliver community engagement projects, applying innovative approaches and best-practice principles to achieve meaningful outcomes.
• You excel at building relationships and influencing diverse stakeholders. Your communication and facilitation skills enable you to engage, collaborate and build trust with a wide range of internal and external audiences.
• You are a highly organised and strategic thinker with strong project management skills. You can manage competing priorities, coordinate multiple initiatives and deliver quality outcomes within agreed timeframes.

Our Culture & Employee Benefits

Council is committed to creating aninclusive, culturally diverse, healthy, skilled and dedicated workplace culture. As an employee you will enjoy a range of benefits and working styles to suit you:

• Wellbeing: Your wellbeing is important to us therefore we offer a number of different initiatives such as discounted health related memberships, fitness passport, employee assistance program and development opportunities.
• Flexibility:We know it is important to balance life and work, therefore we offer flexible working including a 9-day fortnight and a hybrid WFH model that help you be your best.
• Extras:Those extras make a difference therefore we offer salary packagingoptions on novated leases, superannuation, smartphones and devices.

Further Information

Helpful information to assist you in completing your application is available on the Sunshine Coast Council website.

To learn more about Council’s vision and projects, you can view the Corporate Plan 2025-2030.

For specific enquiries contact Chantelle Kenzler during business hours on 0417 899 ***.

We're working hard to create an inclusive workplace that reflects the diverse community we serve. If you require adjustments at any stage of the recruitment process, please reach out to the Recruitment Team *********@sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au.

At Sunshine Coast Council, we embrace differences in gender, age, ethnicity, race, cultural background including First Nations, disability, religion and sexual orientation. To deliver the best service to our region we want a workforce that reflects the diverse community that we serve. Sunshine Coast Council strongly encourages all suitable applicants to apply for this role.