Andrew Leigh

I'm looking for new electorate staff to join my team, working out of my electorate office in Gungahlin. There is one full time role and one ongoing part-time role (2.5 days a week or 5 days a fortnight). Women and people from racial or ethnic groups that are traditionally underrepresented in politics are especially encouraged to apply.

These positions will involve lots of community engagement and local problem solving. In a typical day, you might be helping someone at the front counter with a Centrelink problem, coordinating a 5000-letter mailout, planning a campaign on local issues, and arranging a community forum at the local football club. At the end of this ad, there’s some dot-points that will give you a better sense of what our office does.

One of the great things about Fenner is that constituents are passionate about issues big and small, from climate change to the local postbox. I share their desire to improve the quality of the democratic conversation. My office is guided by my ten ‘Principles of Politics’, which remind everyone of the need to serve the most vulnerable constituents, identify the issues where we can do most good, experiment and share our learnings, and recognise our role as part of the Labor team.

In an era when some people are turning to extreme parties of the right and left, the best way for mainstream parliamentarians to maintain the trust of our electors is to engage on big issues, be accessible in town hall meetings and mobile offices, and use conventional and new media channels. We send out a monthly email (‘The Leigh Report’), produce two podcasts (‘Andrew Leigh - Speeches and Conversations’ and ‘The Good Life - Andrew Leigh in Conversation’), and use Facebook, Instagram, Youtube and Twitter to expand the political conversation.

If you want to know more about Andrew’s values and the activities of the office, check out those social media channels or our website, www.andrewleigh.com.

My team consists of 4 full-timers, plus a handful of part-timers and volunteers. There's a strong sense of camaraderie, and it's a great way to help the community. 

If you're interested in grassroots politics and community organising, enjoy solving people’s problems and love Canberra, this job is likely to be a good fit.

Depending on experience, the salary range for the full-time position is $61,061 - $72,511 (and half that for the part-time position).

Applications close 26 July. If you're interested, please send a covering letter, a CV and a writing sample (100-800 words) to [email protected]. 

Duties of these positions will include:

• Help coordinate responses to incoming letters, telephone calls, and emails.
• Ensure the Electorate Office provides a timely service to constituents and community organisations.
• Maintain the diary and organise travel, responding to invitations after consultation with other staff members and other parliamentary offices.
• Keep the office informed of issues emerging from constituent inquiries, correspondence, community newsletters etc.
• Organise events, and ensure mail-outs of invitations occur in a timely manner:
• Arrange the annual Fenner Lecture (a public lecture to promote community understanding of maths and science - delivered last year by Eddie Wu),
• Where Andrew has multiple commitments at the same time, occasionally represent him at local events.
• Organise local park clean-up events, shopping centre stalls, town hall meetings, community barbecues, and other public forums;.
• Oversee office maintenance.
• Participate in training opportunities.
• Undertake other duties as required.