About Marrickville Legal Centre:

Marrickville Legal Centre is a community legal centre that provides free and affordable legal advice and casework to people who live in the inner-west, south-west and southern Sydney. We are committed to social justice and equality, and we work to empower our community by providing them with the legal knowledge and skills they need to assert their rights and navigate the legal system. We also engage in community legal education and law reform activities to address systemic issues that affect our clients and the broader community.

About the Role:

We are seeking highly motivated and passionate individuals to join our team as volunteer Client Intake Officers (CIO). As a volunteer CIO, you will support MLC’s lawyers and caseworkers in the following ways:

Legal Information and Referrals

Volunteer CIOs, under supervision from the Client Intake Supervisor and MLC lawyers, are responsible for responding to initial enquiries from our community.

You will be a source of legal information and referrals to people who come into contact with MLC, either over the telephone or face-to-face. Volunteer CIOs will be required to ascertain the nature of the enquiry, provide information about available options to clients, and make appointments or referrals, as appropriate.

Other Duties

Volunteer CIOs will also be required to assist with general administrative and reception work – such as answering the telephones, delivering or collecting documents, photocopying and data entry. Volunteer CIOs can expect to build up skills in public contact, assisting people in crisis, and casework file maintenance, as well as increasing their knowledge of referral services, the practical application of the law, and its constraints.

At a minimum, MLC requires volunteer CIOs to commit to one daytime shift (either in the morning or afternoon) on a weekly basis. The shift times are Monday to Friday from 9.30am to 1.00pm, or 2.00pm to 5.00pm.

Successful applicants will also be asked to attend a small group training session that will cover:

• The services provided by Marrickville Legal Centre

• Office protocols and expectations of volunteers

• Using MLC resources, such as computer databases

You will then be added to a standby register and will begin at MLC on a rolling basis as vacancies arise. There will be more intensive training on some of our individual services in the future. Many volunteer CIOs will have already commenced their regular shifts before this training occurs.

Key Responsibilities:

• Conducting client intake interviews and providing legal information or referrals to clients.

• Providing administrative support to the MLC team.

• Maintaining accurate and up-to-date client records.

Qualifications and Experience (desirable):

• A qualification in administration, business, community services or similar.

• Demonstrated experience in administration and client services.

• Demonstrated experience within the community sector, including knowledge of referral pathways or the ability to quickly obtain and excel in this.

Benefits:

• Training and induction provided by MLC

• Gain skills in legal case management and triaging legal enquiries

• Build on existing customer service skills

• Increased understanding of legal processes

• Develop an introductory understanding of different areas of law such as tenancy, strata, crime, family and employment law.

• Opportunities to develop in the role and advance to more challenging volunteer roles in the legal centre

• Personal fulfillment and opportunity to meet new people