EMILY’s List Australia
Position Title: Status: Tenure: Salary: Finance Officer 0.4 (2 days/15 hours over week neg., 0.6 in the longer term) 1 year, subject to review $51,086.96k (pro-rata), based on the award rate for the SACS Community Development Worker, Class IIb),5th Yr and featuring all the conditions under the SACS Award. EMILY’s List Office, Queen Victoria Women’s Centre, Level 2, 210 Lonsdale St, Melbourne Mid August This position is accountable and shall report directly to the National Co-ordinator.
Location: Start Date: Accountability Arrangements:
1. ABOUT EMILY’s List AUSTRALIA Vision: EMILY’s List Australia believes in building a more progressive Australia, by providing advocacy, research and political and financial support to enable progressive Labor women to win and retain seats in parliaments around the country, allowing them to implement reforms to achieve equity. EMILY’s List Australia (ELA) is a unique organisation within the Australian political landscape and within the community sector. At its core, it aims to create political and social change by being a financial, political and personal support network for progressive Labor women candidates. ELA, replicating the model of EMILY’s List USA, which assists Democrat women, supports progressive Labor women, once they have been preselected, with funding, mentoring, training, and Gender Gap research. “EMILY” is an acronym and stands for Early Money Is Like Yeast – it makes the dough rise – acknowledging that early campaign money is often the most important support a candidate can have when heading into an election. Members join ELA to support these potential and current Members of Parliament to achieve political change aligned with the principles of equity, diversity, pro-choice and the provision of equal pay and childcare. Hence its slogan, “When Women Support Women, Women Win”. ELA is a non-factional national organisation, governed by a National Committee with State and territory representatives. This is supplemented by EL Action Groups (ELAGs) operating in each State and Territory who undertake fundraising to support the organisation’s operations and support candidates with training and volunteer support. A National Partnership in Equity Network (PEN) was also formed to foster the participation of Indigenous women. The Victorian PEN is currently involved as a partner in a pilot project with the YWCA, VLGA and Koori Women Mean Business to empower Indigenous women to take on leadership positions in public life, called Sisters Doing it For Themselves. ELA is independent of the ALP, and about 40% of ELA members are not members of the ALP but see it as a way to donate to and offer practical support for EMILY’s List-supported ALP candidates.
Page 1 of 7
Organisational Functions The EMILY’s List National Committee has recently revised the organisation’s core functions as being: 1. Endorsing progressive Labor women candidates in state and federal elections; 2. Providing strategic and practical support to endorsed candidates via; a) “Early Money” to start their campaign b) Facilitating “Directed Donations” from the EL membership c) Allocating an experienced campaigner as their mentor d) Providing training for them and campaign managers to run effective campaigns; e) Facilitating volunteers from the EL membership; f) Conducting research to ascertain and highlight what women want in government and how to build women voter support (“Gender Gap Research”); 3. Fostering the next generation of potential candidates; 4. Raising the profile of the organisation via showcasing the impact of electing progressive Labor women for greater equity outcomes; 5. Raising funds, via events and membership strategies, to support the aforementioned priorities underpinning EL’s operations. Achievements Since its inception in 1996, EMILY’s List has: • Helped 125 new women MPs to be elected, including from 1996 to 2007, assisting the Federal House of Representatives to go from 4 to 27 women– a 575% increase; • Assisted in the election of 6 Indigenous women to Australia’s parliaments; • Supported the election of Julia Gillard, the first woman to be Deputy Prime Minister, and Anna Bligh, the first woman to be elected Premier of Queensland; • Re-shaped the political landscape with EMILY’s List Ministers & MPs implementing policies and progressive law reform aimed at improving women’s lives: o Reforming abortion laws in Victoria, Tasmania, NT, & ACT; o Improving working conditions through the abolition of WorkChoices and AWAs, which have unfairly penalised women, led by Deputy PM, Julia Gillard; o Implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW); and o Introduction of a National Plan to Reduce Violence Against Women and Children, led by Tanya Plibersek; o The availability of the RU486 pill through the passage of the Therapeutic Goods Amendment, co-sponsored by Sen. Claire Moore (QLD) o Creation of a new, integrated system to address family violence in Victoria, led by former Ministers Candy Broad and Mary Delahunty (VIC) • Contributed over $850,000 directly to Labor women’s campaigns • Commissioned Gender Gap research into how government can meet the needs of women ELA’s support for Affirmative Action has contributed to Queensland, South Australia and Victoria meeting the 40% target ten years ahead of schedule. There are now 162 Labor women in Parliaments of which 119 (73%) are EMILY’s List members.
Page 2 of 7
2. ABOUT THE ROLE This position is a result of a re-structure as EMILY’s List moves into a consolidation phase and resources are put in place to most efficiently and logically service candidates, MPs, volunteers and our membership, and eventually position the organisation for further growth.
EL National Committee
Finance SubC’tee
Temporary Sub Committees, as the
need arises
National Co-ordinator
Finance Officer (0.4)
Admin & Memberships Assistant (0.6)
Events, Training & Communications Officer (0.4)
Nat’l ELAG Fundraising Ctee State/Terr Convenors
Nat’l PEN Committee State/Terr Convenors
ELAG Ctees
(Led by Volunteers in each state/terr)
PEN Ctees
Led by Volunteers in each state/terr)
The Finance Officer will report to the National Co-ordinator, and work closely with other staff members in ensuring the effective conduct of ELA’s financial operations. The key objectives of this position are to, in consultation with the National Co-ordinator: • Administer the organisation’s financial resources and systems, including financial support to candidates from members and donors, and monitoring the organisation’s budget; • Undertake all financial, regulatory and electoral requirements relating to financial support to candidates, income from fundraising, training and membership fees; • Develop, implement and analyse systems to enable efficient and accurate operation of these functions. In the next 6-12 months, after the implementation of some income-generation activities, it is envisaged that this role will increase to a 0.6 position. This may occur earlier, however, this will be at the discretion of the National Co-ordinator, based on income projections. As the organisation further evolves and takes shape it will be necessary to adjust the key responsibilities accordingly and thus a degree of flexibility, co-operation, and goodwill will be expected from the incumbent. 3. ABOUT THE PERSON WE’RE LOOKING FOR You will have a knack for numbers, budgeting with scarce resources and working within and meeting financial systems and requirements! You will have lots of initiative, strong organisational skills, aswell as excellent inter-personal, written and verbal communication skills. You will ideally have had experience within membership-based organisations, operating in a fundraising environment. This is a job for you if you get excited by finance but also want to be close to seeing the impact your workplace is
Page 3 of 7
having on people. You’ll get a high from seeing the collective impact for both the individual women, aswell as society as a whole, from the increased representation of progressive Labor women into our parliaments. In essence, this role requires someone who is a self-motivated all-rounder with a passion for being part of a unique organisation undertaking political and social change by adjusting some levers to even out the un-level political playing field. You will relish being part of an organisation making both micro and macro change – at a micro level, empowering prospective and current progressive Labor women to be effective parliamentary candidates and, at a macro level, these women then enacting political change which improves the lives of women and broader society. You will believe in the principles of equity, choice, diversity and the provision of equal pay and childcare and play a part in increasing the chances for progressive women to make a contribution to public office by facilitating a range of opportunities. If this sounds like you, read on! 4. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES The Finance Officer is an important part of the EMILY’s List National Office team. Accounting 1. Develop, forecast and maintain the organisation’s budget, with annual budget prepared for approval by the Finance and National Committee, inconjunction with the National Co-ordinator; 2. Maintain and update MYOB; 3. Jointly work with the Administration & Memberships Assistant to finalise acquisition of a membership database system to cope with sophisticated requests and synchronisation with ELA’s financial system; 4. Enter any purchases/bills (expenses) and arrange payment (either by EFT or cheques) to these suppliers after obtaining authorisation from the National Coordinator; 5. Enter any sales and banking (income) and send necessary receipts when requested and for all income of $200 or greater; 6. Reconcile the bank statement/s; 7. Record and keep track of petty cash; 8. Advise on and supervise investments; 9. In consultation with the National Co-ordinator and external accountant, prepare final annual accounts for audit. Payroll/HR & organisational support Maintain payroll and human resource systems for the organisation including: 1. Process the payroll and pay super and PAYG tax; 2. Ensure the organisation meets employment regulations; 3. Calculate staff entitlements (eg. leave etc) and award payments and implement increments arising from performance appraisals undertaken by the National Coordinator; 4. Maintain personnel procedures and forms, ensuring personnel files are updated; 5. Maintain adequate and appropriate insurance cover for the organisation; 6. Prepare an annual report with recommendations on the organisation’s compliance with occupational health and safety (OH&S) requirements.
Page 4 of 7
Adherence to financial regulations 1. Calculate the WorkCover remuneration and pay on quarterly statements; 2. Ensure all state and territory ELAGs maintain their business name registration; 3. Report to the AEC regarding donations expended and received, where required; 4. Report to the ATO regarding GST (and PAYG). Secretariat to Finance Committee 1. Organise, take minutes and distribute the action list from the monthly Finance Committee meeting; 2. Prepare Financial Reports as requested, analysing, producing and communicating financial performance information, including monthly budget variances a. Cashflow b. Profit & Loss c. ELAG levy report Fundraising – Members, ELAGs, Donors and Grants 1. In consultation with other relevant staff, prepare financial policies, procedures and other documents as required to support their work; 2. Liaise with the ELAGs regarding financial matters; 3. Record ELAG financial activity in ELAG levy report; 4. Record and Keep Track of any special Emily’s List donation drives eg. Emily’s Angels. 5. Send letters to members when their Angels or Foundation Membership part payments have been completed. 6. Under direction of the National Co-ordinator, review and monitor grant-related fundraising opportunities. 7. Under direction of the National Co-ordinator, develop, prepare and manage all financial aspects of grant applications. Fundraising – Candidates 8. In consultation with the National Co-ordinator, prepare Early Money and Directed Donations payments for EMILY’s List endorsed political candidates and record these actions on the candidate spreadsheet. Fundraising – Fee for Service Training 9. Under direction of the National Co-ordinator, develop, prepare and manage all financial aspects of fee for service training. General Administration 1. Maintain updated filing systems 2. Together with other staff, this role would assist with administrative tasks like reception, phone requests and mailouts when the Administration Assistant is not present and for significant National Office events (eg. AGM). 3. In consultation with the National Co-ordinator, undertake duties relating to building and property management, including but not limited to Fire Warden responsibilities. 4. Attend to ordering and maintaining all office supplies, all relevant purchasing of administration requirements in conjunction with the Administration and Memberships Officer.
Page 5 of 7
Organisational wide responsibilities 1. Maintain capacity to respond to changes in the job description as the role evolves; 2. Establish and maintain professional relationships in the workplace. Other duties as discussed and mutually agreed by the National Co-ordinator. 5. PERSON SPECIFICATIONS – KEY SELECTION CRITERIA To be successful in the role, it is anticipated that the ideal candidate should possess the following knowledge, experience and attributes. Applicants are required to address these specifications in their application. Qualifications 1. Tertiary accounting/bookkeeping qualifications or significant experience Experience 2. Well developed finance operations, bookkeeping and data entry experience, including accrual and cash accounting requirements, ideally in either a non-profit organisation or within a busy diverse small team; 3. High level skills and experience in budget preparation, financial reporting and associated accounting 4. Demonstrated proficiency in accounting software (MYOB), aswell as Excel and other MS Office programs, and the ability to present information in varying formats; 5. Experience in payroll and Human Resources 6. Proven ability to work independently and as a team member 7. Strong organisational, time management and attention to detail skills; 8. Well developed verbal and written communication skills, including experience working independently and as part of a team and contributing positively to team based decision making Personal Attributes 9. Commitment to the principles of EMILY’s List Australia; DESIRABLE 10. Interest in politics and current affairs an advantage 6. SPECIAL CONDITIONS 6.1. The role is offered as 0.4 (2 days/15 hours) position. Whilst EMILY’s List is a family friendly office for weekday work, attendance at after hours events may be needed, as will be availability for occasional interstate travel (every 2 years). 6.2. It is envisaged that the job will move to be 0.6 in the longer term. Post the 12 month period, “purchased leave” will be considered. Purchased Leave is intended to provide flexibility in employment for staff members with family responsibilities and for staff who wish to extend their leave options for personal reasons. Under this scheme, within a twelve (12) month period, a staff member is entitled to a minimum of two weeks paid absence in addition to an annual leave entitlement, with a commensurate reduction in total salary for the twelve (12) months. 6.3. The successful applicant will be subject to an initial 3 month probationary period review and then an 11 month position review, as part of the broader organisational structure review that will be held.
Page 6 of 7
7. APPLICATION PROCESS TBC
Page 7 of 7