Tuesday, 3 October 2023
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Opportunities for Work Experience and Work Placement exist within a diverse range of programs at the Swan Hill Rural City Council.

Which department would you like to work in?

Opportunities for Work Experience and Work Placement exist within a diverse range of programs at the Swan Hill Rural City Council.

Community and Cultural Services

Aged and Disability Services

The Aged and Disability Program is a quality service that assists the frail, aged and people with disabilities to maintain their well-being, independence and quality of life while living in the comfort and security of their own home.
Duties might include:

  • Participating in social support activities
  • Meals on wheels
  • Administrative tasks
  • Community visits
  • Attending agency meetings

Cultural and Library Services

The Swan Hill Regional Library has a static library in Swan Hill and a Mobile Library that visits nine towns in the Swan Hill municipality and seven towns in neighbouring council regions. The library service provides free access to information and recreational resources, online resources through the Library’s website, access to computers and the internet, meeting room and space for use by the community, baby rhyme times, story times and a local history collection.
Duties might include:

  • Assisting with preparation of story time activities
  • Creating flyers to promote library events
  • Spending a day on the Mobile Library
  • Home delivery service
  • Purchasing and processing new items for the Library’s collection
  • Cataloguing library items and collections
  • Serving customers

Youth

The Youth Support Officer is responsible for planning, developing, coordinating and documenting a range of youth projects and programs for young people aged 12 to 25 who live in the municipality.
Duties might include:

  • Attending and participating in Youth Council
  • Organising Freeza events
  • Attending field visits to schools
  • Helping with various event management tasks
  • Holiday programs

Performing Arts

The program seeks out performances, exhibitions and artistic events, promotes local individuals and groups to perform, and promotes events to broaden the cultural perspective of everyone within the municipality.
Duties might include:

  • Administrative tasks
  • Ushering for shows, poster and flyer distribution, design and printing
  • Opportunity for financial/data work on reports and grant applications
  • Help prepare and coordinate performing arts events

Town Hall

The Swan Hill Town Hall Performing Arts and Conference Centre (PACC) is a very versatile, multipurpose venue. It is used for a wide variety of events including meetings, conferences, seminars, trade fairs, concerts, weddings, debutante balls, dinners, birthday parties, Council meetings, schools performances, training and theatrical performances.
Duties might include:

  • Lighting requirements like patching lights, gelling lights and rigging lights.
  • Set up audio equipment
  • Assisting for set up of events and presentations

Corporate Services

Commercial Services

The Commercial Services Department is responsible for ensuring Council’s procurement practices achieve best value for money, risk management, management of insurance policies, claims and incident handling. The department also manages the Tower Hill residential development, Council-owned caravan parks and the acquisition and disposal of Council properties.
Duties might include:

  • Contract administration
  • Insurance claims handling/incident analysis
  • Purchasing
  • Stock control principles
  • General administration
  • Purchase and sale of Council property
  • Data entry and database administration
  • Participate in risk analysis

Customer Services and Revenue

Customer Service is the face of Swan Hill Rural City Council. The Customer Service Department might be addressed with anything from a query or a proposal to improve Council services, to an expression of satisfaction or dissatisfaction. The Customer Service staff quickly direct residents to the most appropriate staff member to answer individual enquiries.
Duties might include:

  • Property valuations management
  • Annual rates and charges raising/amendment
  • Pension concessions administration
  • Private sheet schemes administration
  • Garbage services charges
  • Receipting/daily cashiering
  • Debt collection management
  • Administration of Council’s booking procedures
  • Centrelink and VicRoads agency management (Robinvale)

Human Resources/Organisational Support

This department is responsible for staff recruitment, training, industrial relations, co-ordination of staff performance reviews, provision of uniforms, involvement in occupational health and safety, WorkCover administration and general administrative functions including management of Council’s Scholarship Program and placement of Work Experience and VET students.
Duties might include:

  • Organising training sessions
  • Assisting with job interviews
  • Hazard reporting and gaining an overview of WorkCover
  • HR newsletter
  • Recruitment follow-ups

Information and Technology

Information Technology Services (ITS) provides a range of services directly to Council staff and Councillors as well as indirectly to the Swan Hill community. The services are broad and cover the support of the desktop computing environment, application servers, telephone systems and computer network.
Duties might include:

  • Desktop, service, network support
  • Problem solving
  • Wireless configuration
  • Software installation
  • PC rollouts
  • Operating system integration techniques

Media

The Media Unit provides public relations support across Swan Hill Rural City Council, ensuring messages about Council activities are communicated to the public through the media, social media, newsletters, advertising and the Council website.The Media Unit also assists people throughout the organisation with speech writing, document creation and editing and event planning.
Duties might include:

  • Writing media releases
  • Taking photos and creating videos
  • Helping with speech writing
  • Attending Mayor/CEO meetings
  • Proofreading documents

Records

The records management section of Council is responsible for the capture, registration and maintenance of the bulk of Council’s records. The section processes more than 65,000 documents annually, and is responsible for managing about 6,900 boxes of archived records.
Duties might include:

  • Mail opening and preparation
  • Correspondence scanning
  • Correspondence registration
  • Filing
  • Internal courier
  • File maintenance

Development and Planning

Building Services

The Building Department provides a statutory building control service to ensure the structural efficiency, health, amenity and energy efficiency of buildings. They work with developers, home owners, builders and the general public.
Duties might include:

  • Attending building inspections
  • Examining building designs
  • General administrative tasks

Community Planning/Recreation/Grants

The program liaises with community, sports and recreational clubs, other organisations and residents to ensure that community facilities are developed and managed in the best interests of residents.
Duties might include:

  • Administration of Community Grants program including basic clerical and word processing duties
  • Assisting with Project Management including client liaison, phone answering, attending meetings
  • Arranging recreation reserves users meetings, minute taking
  • General word processing including typing of minutes, letters etc.

Economic Development

Economic Development is a key function of Council and aims to expand the size of the local economy and create wealth for the whole community. Council’s Economic Development Unit plays an important role in assisting with this economic growth. The Economic Development Unit undertakes a range of projects to boost employment and stimulate the local economy, it is based at the Swan Hill Region Information Centre, which provides services to both visitors and local residents.
Duties might include:

  • Serving patrons/visitors
  • Developing promotional material
  • Database management
  • Developing marketing material
  • Promoting events
  • Selling tickets to shows

Environment

The Environment Unit protects and enhances the natural and living landscape. Objectives of the Environment Unit include educating and encouraging the community and officers to embrace sustainable living practices, protect native vegetation and restore and rehabilitate the landscape, implement sustainable water practices and much more.
Duties might include:

  • Landscape / revegetation / weed control projects
  • Participate in community education programs on sustainable living
  • Research actions to improve Council’s ecological footprint and implement initiatives
  • Energy reduction projects
  • Work with schools/youth to implement environment projects locally

Pioneer Settlement

The Pioneer Settlement was Australia’s first outdoor museum and heritage park, established in 1963. It aims to tell the story of the Mallee and its people through a range of interactive experiences. The Pioneer Settlement attracts about 40,000 visitors per year and also provides a venue for functions and community programs.
Duties might include:

  • Helping deliver the primary school education program
  • Attending event meetings
  • Assisting with bookings
  • Helping to establish a holiday program
  • Visitor numbers analysis

Planning Services

The Planning Unit is responsible for administering the Planning and Environment Act 1987 through the Swan Hill Planning Scheme, as well as other related legislation such as the Subdivision Act 1988. Services include offering planning advice and property information, processing subdivision plans, assessing planning permit applications, representing Council at VCAT hearings, and enforcing planning permit conditions and Planning Scheme provisions.
Duties might include:

  • Issuing planning permits
  • Field work – overview of planning scheme
  • Assessment of planning permits
  • Site inspections – permission to develop land
  • Various administrative tasks

Regulatory Services

Regulatory Services staff, known as Authorised Officers, ensure public adherence to local laws, animal and stock control, parking meter maintenance and disabled parking permits. They are also responsible for Arbovirus control and managing the recreational waters of Lake Boga.
Duties might include:

  • General filing and clerical duties
  • Animal management including assisting with pet adoption
  • Pound duties
  • Assisting Authorised officers in local law compliance

Infrastructure

Asset Management

Asset management guides the planning, acquisition, maintenance, renewal and disposal of assets and aims to maximise asset service delivery potential while minimising related risks and costs over their entire lives. Assets managed by Council include roads, bridges, footpaths, parks and playgrounds, buildings and land – just to name a few.
Duties might include:

  • General administration
  • Field work – assessing the condition of assets
  • Data entry – working with excel programs

Corporate Operations

Fleet is responsible for the effective operation of Council’s fleet of motor vehicles and plant. Its responsibilities include the selection, purchase, maintenance and operation of the Council fleet, as well as the operation of the mechanical workshop where service and repair works are carried out, metal fabrication for Council amenities, as well as the responsibility for the maintenance and operation of flood and drainage pumping units throughout the city. Within Fleet, the experience will largely relate to the workshop.
Duties might include:

  • Servicing and repairs to plant, vehicles and equipment, from cars and utes, Graders, trucks, tractors and mowers as well as small plant like pumps and chainsaws
  • Welding and metal fabrication

Depot

Works maintains Council’s various assets and services such as roads, drains, parklands, recreational reserves, tip operations and aerodrome maintenance. They also carry out minor works for the private sector. Works operations are located at two depots, the southern area with 38 staff in Karinie Street, Swan Hill and the northern area with six staff in Moore Street, Robinvale. Administration and Management are located at the Karinie Street depot.
Duties might include:

  • Work with various minor plant (mower)
  • Maintenance on irrigation systems
  • Work on Council’s garden beds

Engineering Services

The Engineering Department arrange tenders and quotes for physical infrastructure, capital and major works projects for example, roads, drains, parks and some buildings.Staff issue Road Opening Permits, manage the Swan Hill and Robinvale aerodromes, check engineering components of planning and building applications and oversee the technical aspects of Council-owned swimming pools in Swan Hill, Robinvale, Manangatang and Nyah.
Duties might include:

  • Drafting
  • Investigation
  • Design work
  • Construction supervision
  • Customer service
  • Looking at day to day service contracts
  • Regulation of traffic for large vehicles

Major Projects and Waste

The objectives of Council’s Waste Management services are to:Provide Council with a safe, efficient and effective domestic garbage collection service,Collect garbage from any approved residential premises or place located in the ‘garbage collection’ district on a weekly basis,Collect recyclable material from approved residential premises or place located in the ‘garbage collection’ district on a fortnightly basis.Council’s waste services also include education campaigns and projects to assist and support residents’ practice of efficient waste disposal by using the Reduce, Reuse and Recycle process.
Duties might include:

  • Daily kerbside audit
  • Lids open/bins toppled audit
  • Customer request information – waste
  • Purchase orders and invoices
  • Contract Payments
  • Swan Hill landfill monthly data

The Executive Team

The Executive Team

The Executive Team provides administrative support for the Chief Executive Officer, Directors, Swan Hill Rural City Council Mayor and Councillors.
Duties might include:

  • General administrative support to Chief Executive Officer, Directors, Mayor and Councillors
  • Diary management and the preparation of correspondence, reports etc
  • Collating and distributing Council meeting minutes and Councillor agendas
  • Liaising with Council Officers from other departments
  • Assisting Executive reception
  • Arranging conference, travel and catering requirements
  • Preparing and attending Council meetings (if in third week of the month)

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