Operations Coordinator - Part Time

About the organisation

Established 1985, in a beautiful heritage building in the heart of Melbourne's Chinatown, the Museum of Chinese Australian History or "Chinese Museum's" five floors showcase the heritage and culture of Australia's Chinese community. 

In addition, the Museum maintains engaging and fast-growing online platforms, reaching audiences locally, interstate and internationally. 

The Museum's mission is to enrich the understanding of Chinese Australians through the presentation and celebration of our history, heritage, and culture. 

The Museum's visitation is made up of interstate and international tourists, local visitors, school children (over 25,000 per year), and of course, the Chinese community.

The Museum's activities include exhibitions, events and educational programs about Chinese Australian history and heritage, Chinese culture, and contemporary and traditional arts.  

As the Operations Coordinator, you will be a pivotal member of a small and committed management team who are passionate about inspiring cross-cultural connectedness and understanding. 

About the role

The Chinese Museum is looking for an Operations Coordinator with a wide range of skills to provide inputs and expertise across business functions to drive the smooth running of day-to-day operations.

22.8 hours per week, may be done over 3 days or 4 days per week, both options must include a Thursday.  Due to the nature of the role, a commitment to work onsite is required the vast majority of the time.  Work from home is occasionally possible, to be discussed during the interview.

Reporting the Chief Executive Officer, as Operations Coordinator you will be directly responsible for managing all aspects of the Museum’s physical building so that it functions effectively as a public venue and workplace and delivers excellent visitor and team member experiences. You will also take responsibility for the effective day to day running of the back-office and make recommendations to management on optimising internal procedures and implementing outcomes as required. You will carry out important administrative duties including HR administration, volunteer program administration, and provide general administrative support the CEO.  You will also oversee critical aspects of the Museum’s Risk Management framework.

You will to be a confident collaborator and problem solver as this role is diverse, no one day is the same. You will need to have very strong communication and administrative skills and the ability to multi-task and prioritise to be successful in this role.  Mandarin language skills would be of benefit but are not essential. 

Key areas of responsibility are: 

• Building & Facilities Management: Management of all aspects of the Museum’s physical building so it functions effectively as a public venue and workplace.  Managing suppliers and contractors, overseeing the back-office IT environment, supplies procurement, overseeing the smooth and coordinated use of Museum spaces and equipment by various internal departments.
• Office Management: Back-office management, business process improvement, general administration in support of the management team. 
• HR Administration: organise and execute HR administrative duties relating to recruitment and training, employment contracts and conditions, payroll, policy development, implementation, and review, staff rostering to ensure the building has adequate staff during opening hours.
• Risk Management: Upkeep, review, and improve the Museum’s ongoing compliance to internal policies and critical external regulations e.g statutory, funding, government requirements. Oversee effective implementation of and adherence to Museum’s Safety procedures including Incident Management, OH&S, Safety Training, Child Safety.  Maintain the Museum’s Risk Register. 
• Volunteer Management: Be the Museum’s internal point of contact for and assist in the Museum’s volunteer management function.
• CEO Support: Ad-hoc administrative support to the CEO. May include tasks such as: Diary management, Meeting organisation, Email communication on behalf of the CEO. 

A full position description will be provided to short listed candidates, ahead of the interview. 

Key selection criteria:

Skills required

• Advanced personal organisation, administration, and documentation skills 
• Very strong written and verbal communication skills
• Very high attention to detail
• Excellent Stakeholder engagement skills
• Very high ability to multitask and prioritise accordingly.
• IT literacy to oversee the effective running of the back-office IT environment, in partnership with the Museum’s external IT support provider.
• Excellent Microsoft office and email management skills and with the willingness and ability to adopt new software systems rapidly and as required to get the job done.
• Project management skills, including forward planning, ability to establish tasks and timelines, provide status updates, draft and manage budgets
• Financial understanding, comfortable with numbers and spreadsheets 

Experience required

• Tertiary level qualification in business related discipline, museum studies, cultural heritage management, arts administration, or related course.
• Minimum 3 years’ experience in a management, administrative or facilities management role 
• Demonstrated experience in identifying areas for improvement in business process, across multiple business functions, and implementing these improvements for greater efficiency and effectiveness. 
• Demonstrated experience in maintaining high documentation standards.
• Prior experience in or strong understanding of Risk Management procedures (OH&S, incident management, child safety)
• Prior experience in or strong understanding of HR principles (recruitment, training, reward, and recognition) 

Desired behaviors

• Open and collaborative to accommodate the diverse needs of the Museum’s internal and external stakeholders.
• Confident and creative in your approach to problem solving. 
• Comfortable with designing and delivering “fit for purpose” solutions, where 80% is good enough – we are not looking for a perfectionist! 
• Strong interpersonal skills. Comfortable dealing with diverse stakeholders including multiple cultural and linguistic backgrounds, children and the general public. 
• Maturity and utmost professionalism when dealing with confidential and sensitive information.  
• Willingness to learn from others at the Museum who have vast operational knowledge and experience. 
• You will not be “above” any task.  You’ll be happy to roll the sleeves up to get things done! 

This is a part-time position, over 3 or 4 days per week including a Thursday. 

The advertised salary is for 22.8 hours per week. Superannuation paid at government mandated rate is additional. 

Due to the nature of the role, a commitment to work onsite is required the vast majority of the time.  Work from home is occasionally possible, to be discussed during the interview.

The Chinese Museum is a Child Safe Organisation with a Child Safety Code of Conduct. Proof of identity and a valid Working with Children check is mandatory.

All applicants must be an Australian citizen, have permanent residency status or a visa permitting you to work in Australia.  

HOW TO APPLY

Applications only through seek.com.au by 11.59pm Tues 21st May.  Please submit your CV along with a cover letter that is one page maximum about why you are attracted to this role. We will be reviewing and shortlisting applications as they arrive, so don't delay!