The existing committee actively supports incoming committee members as they take on their new roles. This support includes a full handover meeting and a comprehensive handover document, detailing the specific roles and providing helpful information. Training is also available (and highly recommended) with organisations such as the Early Learning Association Australia (ELAA) to support new committee members.
A summary of the committee roles is below. You do not require previous work experience to undertake one of the below roles and we welcome any families who have other skills that might also benefit the management of the kinder. If you want to find about more about these roles or how you can become a member, please email secretary@maribyrnongkinder.com.au.
Non-elected roles
General members
General members are vital to the effective operations of the committee and may take on a variety of tasks throughout the year. There is always plenty of work to be done and general members can take on projects depending on their interests, skills and time available. They can shape the direction of service priorities and projects and influence how the kinder is run and managed.
OH&S/Risk officer
The OH&S officer/risk officer works in collaboration with staff and committee to manage risks concerning the wellbeing and safety of all staff, volunteers, children and families at Maribyrnong Kindergarten. This includes identifying and mitigating risks and ensuring a risk management framework is applied across all activities undertaken at the kinder.
Child safety officer
The child safety officer role is a specialist role that requires mandatory training, which can be arranged by the kinder. The purpose of the role is to ensure the kinder complies with the Child Safe Standards, fulfils obligations to protect children under national law and regulations, and drive continuous improvement in accordance with the Child Safe Standards, to create a child safe organisation.
Quality officer
The quality officer provides support to the kinder by understanding and ensuring their Quality Improvement Plan (QIP) coexists and complies with the National Quality Standards. The role looks at continuous improvement and may assist to develop operational policies or flag areas for improvement, to ensure high quality work practices and collaborative planning occurs between the committee and the staff.
Policy officer
The policy officer is responsible for the review and development of service policies. This involves liaising with a number of stakeholders and may include policy research and administrative tasks.
Grants officer
The grants officer is responsible for identifying funding opportunities, preparing grant submissions and acquitting funding grants. Whilst experience in grant writing is a bonus, the role would suit someone who enjoys writing and communicating and is willing to learn about the grant writing process.
Fundraising coordinator
The fundraising coordinator coordinates the kindergarten’s fundraising activities throughout the year with the assistance of the fundraising subcommittee. Regular events on the kindergarten’s fundraising calendar include movie night, disco, family day, as well other activities such as a honey drive and picture plates. The funds raised go towards enhancing the kindergarten’s learning environment and extra-curricular activities such as incursions.
Fundraising subcommittee member
Assists the fundraising coordinator to organise fundraising activities.
IT Officer
The IT Officer supports the IT infrastructure of Maribyrnong Kindergarten which includes overseeing and advising on information technology hardware, systems, processes and infrastructure in use Maribyrnong Kinder.
Marketing & Communications officer
Promotes Maribyrnong Kinder to the wider community including the committee of management newsletter, website updates and blogs and other kinder communications as they arise.
Elected roles (executive committee)
President
The president has a wide-ranging area of responsibilities, including chairing committee meetings, coordinating the work of the committee drawing upon the skills of each member, liaising with council and other government departments, and signing off on documentation and policies. The role of the president also involves providing support and practical assistance to the staff, volunteers and other committee members and driving the recruitment and employment process, amongst other duties.
Vice president
The key role for the vice president is to assist and support the president. The role of the president is a large and responsible one, with many aspects of the workload that can be shared. Thus, the role of the vice president is largely the same as has been described for the president. At times, the vice president may take on the role of the staff liaison officer to support the president manage staffing support, due to the confidential nature of the role.
Secretary/public officer
The secretary/public officer is responsible for administrative duties including all outgoing/incoming correspondence within the committee, preparing material for meetings, writing/distributing/filing of minutes. The secretary also manages other tasks such as communication with the kinder families, ensuring general and executive members submit the required paperwork as per their role requirement and notifying regulatory bodies including DET, QARD and council of any changes to service provision.
Treasurer
The treasurer has responsibility for oversight of the kinder’s financials and may liaise with the kindergarten’s accountant. The treasurer presents a monthly report (prepared by the admin staff) at committee meetings and an annual financial report at the AGM. The responsibilities of the treasurer include preparation and understanding of budgets, oversight of expenses, oversight and secondary approver of banking tasks, signing off on payroll runs, signing off on monthly expenses, preparation of the annual report, and compliance with taxation requirements. It is important that all processes for financial management are clear and transparent. The treasurer does not make decisions solely, but ensures the committee is provided with accurate information to enable it to make informed financial decisions.