Dispute Assessment Officer

Department of Government Services VIC; Melbourne; On-site; AUD 80,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Department of Government Services VIC is seeking a Dispute Assessment Officer in Melbourne to promote, conduct and deliver dispute resolution services impartially. You will manage intake assessments, narrow issues and support parties to reach resolution.

Key duties include case assessment, advice on options, facilitation of settlement, and preparation of briefing documents for mediators, with active involvement in training and team projects.

Qualifications

• Experience in a high-volume case management environment.
• Experience in assessment of disputes and dispute resolution techniques.
• National Mediator Accreditation and mediation experience desirable.
• Ability to remain impartial and neutral throughout the process.

Responsibilities

• Undertake the assessment and analysis of the dispute and diagnose dispute resolution requirements.
• Provide advice to parties on options and make recommendations using assisted settlement processes.
• Encourage parties to explore mutually acceptable outcomes using a facilitative approach.
• Use sound judgement to determine appropriate action based on evidence and stakeholders.
• Organise mediation conferences and prepare briefing documents for mediators.
• Maintain case files and correspondence in accordance with guidelines and policies.

Skills

High-volume case management

Dispute assessment

Mediation experience

Impartial facilitation

Education

National Mediator Accreditation

Job description

Department of Government Services VIC – Melbourne VIC

About Us

The Department of Government Services (DGS) was established on 1 January 2023 to improve everyone's experience of doing business and interacting with the Victorian government. We bring important day-to-day services together in one department to make things easy and seamless for Victorians and businesses. We are doing this by connecting and digitising our systems and platforms across state and local government as well as streamlining our corporate and procurement services.

About the role

The Dispute Settlement Centre of Victoria provides a range of alternative dispute resolution services to the Victorian community. The role of the Dispute Assessment Officer (DAO) is to promote, conduct and deliver dispute resolution services to parties in dispute by working with parties individually and together to resolve dispute.The Dispute Assessment Officer conducts intake assessments, narrows issues and supports parties to reach a resolution through delivery of dispute resolution whilst remaining impartial and neutral.

Key Accountabilities

• Undertake the assessment and analysis of the dispute and diagnose dispute resolution requirements.
• Provide advice to parties on options available and make recommendations using the assisted settlement processes to provide fast resolution including independently providing parties with appropriate third-party referrals as needed.
• Encourage parties to explore potential solutions and find mutually acceptable outcomes, using a facilitative approach to resolution and ensure issues are clarified.
• Use sound judgement to determine appropriate course of action based on evidence from all parties and relevant stakeholders pertaining to the case.
• Organise, coordinate, or undertake mediation conferences and teleconferences as part of the dispute resolution process, including producing quality briefing documents for qualified mediators.
• Administer all correspondence and case file notes in relevant systems in accordance with DSCV guidelines.
• Support training and mentoring of new DAOs and DSCV staff as required.
• Contribute to the development of Dispute Settlement Centre Victoria team projects, work plans and goals and ensure they align with whole of Dispute Services vision and plan to deliver on evolving organisation priorities.

Technical expertise

• Demonstrated experience in a high-volume case management environment
• Experience in the assessment of disputes, case management and dispute resolution techniques.
• National Mediator Accreditation and mediation experience is desirable
• Experience resolving disputes is highly desirable.

There are 4 x ongoing roles available. The position is only open to applicants with relevant rights to work in Australia.

For more information and the key selection criteria, please see the Position Description.

Other relevant information

To be eligible for appointment to this role, applicants will possess corresponding work rights for the advertised employment period. Appointment to an ongoing role is only available to an Australian/New Zealand citizen or an Australian Permanent Resident. Preferred candidates will be required to complete a Pre-employment Declaration and Consent Form. Employment of successful candidates will be subject to a National Police Check.

The department is committed to providing and maintaining a working environment which is safe and without risk to the health of its employees and clients and consistent with the department's obligations under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (OH&S Act), to support this DGS has a COVID-19 Vaccination policy which strongly recommends all DGS employees be fully vaccinated.

DGS actively promotes diversity, inclusion and an equal opportunity workplace. All roles at DGS can be worked flexibly, however it may differ from role to role.