Student Opportunities
Volunteer Research Placement
The Centre for Innovative is offering two JD students a volunteer online placement with Law and Advocacy Centre for Women.
Law and Advocacy Centre for Women
Law and Advocacy Centre for Women (LACW) is an integrated service legal practice that provides a comprehensive, wrap-around service which includes preventative case management and engagement with therapeutic services for women who are in or at risk of entering the criminal justice system.
The Project
The aim of the project is to increase access to holistic, gender-informed, wrap-around legal and support services to criminalised women in regional areas by identifying and mapping existing services available to these women, including identifying any service gaps, to address the underlying causes of offending and criminalisation for women in regional areas who are at risk of criminalisation.
What you will do
You will be responsible for working with the solicitor in charge of the project to research and map the current support services available to women in the criminal justice system in regional Victoria, assess the appropriateness, accessibility and effectiveness of these services for criminalised women, and to assist with identifying service gaps.
Placement Structure
A time commitment of at least 1 working day a week is required for a total of 12 days.
The placement will be conducted online, with remote supervision. The work undertaken will be research based, self-directed and on a volunteer basis.
Key Selection Criteria
Students interested in this placement would ideally have the following capabilities:
- Excellent written and oral communication skills.
- The ability to work autonomously with a high degree of initiative and a positive attitude and the ability to be flexible.
- Confidence to take on new tasks and to seek clarification if needed.
- Experience with literature reviews and formulating project plans.
- The ability to accept guidance and direction in a busy environment.
- A collaborative approach in working with colleagues, particularly within a small team and a small organisation.
- An interest in social justice and the justice system and innovative ways of supporting vulnerable women.
How to Apply
To apply, please send a cover letter and a copy of your CV by Monday, 26 October 2020 to-
Mi-Lin Chen Yi Mei, Student Program Manager, Centre of Innovative Justice
mi-lin.chen.yi.mei@rmit.edu.au
Students will be shortlisted and interviewed before selected for this placement.
See Your Change - Justice Mapping Project
See Your Change is a boutique strategy, communications and impact evaluation consulting firm.
The Project
See Your Change is leading a major research project focused on analysing and mapping criminal justice advocacy in Australia. The research has been commissioned by the Victorian Legal Services Board, and supported by a range of community organisations and philanthropic foundations.
The purpose of the project is to provide critical baseline information which is urgently needed to inform strategic decision-making –both so that current efforts and resources can be maximised, and so that future investment in criminal justice advocacy work is well-informed and effectively targeted. The report will be the most comprehensive landscape analysis of justice advocacy in Australia that has been produced to date.
What you will do
You will be supported by members of the See Your Change team, who will take you through the methodologies for data collection and analysis and will provide guidance undertaking the following tasks:
- Completing a literature review examining the economic and social drivers of incarceration and criminalisation in Australia;
- Completing interviews with leading advocates, lawyers, professors, people with lived experience of prison, Aboriginal leaders, cultural influencers and other relevant individuals;
- Collating and analysing data from sources such as the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission, annual reports of relevant organisations and other relevant sources;
- Evaluating survey data;
- Supporting investigative research into for-profit companies with financial interests in the prison industry and related areas.
Availability requirements:
- Availability of 8-12 hours per week between 26 October to 14 December 2020: There is flexibility as to how this time is organised – hours can be condensed into specific days or alternating weeks, or split evenly;
- Ideally, some additional availability during February and March 2021. This is not essential, but will mean that you are able to be involved in the shaping of final recommendations, delivery of the report and associated workshops.
Key Selection Criteria
Demonstrated research or evaluation skills:
- Experience in research, and an understanding of evaluation methods or data collection
- Strong conceptual and analytical skills
- The ability to synthesise academic texts
- The ability to discern and summarise key information for inclusion in reports
Strong communication skills:
- Advanced writing skills and demonstrated experience producing plain-English reports conveying quantitative and qualitative data for diverse audiences
- Clear and concise verbal communication skills for diverse audiences
Personal attributes:
- An ability to work under pressure and meet project requirements and deadlines
- A sense of shared responsibility for projects and teamwork
- A passion for justice reform, particularly for championing alternatives to incarceration
- Strong initiative and capacity to work autonomously.
Desirable (but not necessary)
- Strong visual communication skills, including ability to graphically articulate complex messages and data simply;
- Experience with coding qualitative data.
How to Apply
Please email your resume and a cover letter (no more than 2 pages) to melanie@seeyourchange.org with the subject line “Mapping Project Application” by 5pm on Monday, 19 October 2020.
Students will be shortlisted and interviewed before selected for this placement.
You can find more details here.
|
|
|
|
