Communications Manager

Location
Box Hill VIC•Hybrid work
 
Benefits
Pulled from the full job description
Salary packaging
 
Full job description
Join one of Victoria's leading not for profits and be a part of something big!

Competitive Salary + Tax reducing salary package

Full time | Ongoing Role | Location: Box Hill | Monday to Friday


About St Vincent de Paul Society

For more than 170 years we have been providing practical and compassionate support to people across Victoria whose daily struggles can include putting food on the table, paying essential utilities and ensuring their children remain at school to obtain an education.

Our organisation provides many services and programs, including soup vans, education programs, home visitation programs and VincentCare Victoria (VCV), which assist some of Victoria’s most vulnerable communities, such as people experiencing homelessness, the housing crisis and family violence and the elderly.


Little bit about the role

The Communications Manager is responsible for shaping the voice, reputation and public positioning of the St Vincent de Paul Society Victoria Group. The role builds awareness, advocacy, trust and support for our mission, while amplifying the impact of our programs and services. It operates at both a strategic and operational level, delivering clear, consistent messaging across the organisation. The role works across multiple sectors and closely with the Government Relations Manager to drive our advocacy program.

Your responsibilities

Lead the development and delivery of organisation-wide communications strategies to support service delivery, advocacy, fundraising, retail and community engagement, while providing strategic advice to senior leaders and tracking team performance.
Lead crisis communications and issues management by proactively monitoring risks, developing mitigation strategies, overseeing communications during critical events and collaborating with senior leaders to deliver timely, accurate and compassionate messaging that protects the organisation’s reputation.
Drive proactive media engagement and manage reactive media enquiries by working closely with external agencies to prepare media materials, build strong relationships with journalists and key partners and support senior leadership with media training and preparation.
Lead communications for major fundraising appeals, public campaigns and community events that support people experiencing homelessness, food insecurity and educational barriers.
Oversee the organisation’s storytelling approach by leading the team to source and develop authentic, respectful content that shares stories of resilience, community, care and impact, ensuring the voices of people with lived experience are represented ethically and authentically.
Lead targeted communication strategies that engage diverse audiences, build strong stakeholder relationships, support internal communications and collaborate across teams to deliver aligned, audience-specific messaging.
Provide leadership, guidance and support to team members to build capability, foster collaboration and deliver high-quality communications outcomes.

About you

You are an experienced communications professional with strong expertise in strategic communications, media relations and crisis management, ideally within the not-for-profit, community or social impact sectors. You bring exceptional storytelling skills, project management capabilities and a strong alignment with the values of compassion, dignity and social justice.

You will have:

7–8+ years of experience in communications, public relations or a related field, ideally within the not-for-profit, community or social impact sectors.
Demonstrated expertise in developing and implementing integrated communications strategies.
Proven experience managing crisis communications, particularly during natural disasters or issues impacting vulnerable communities.
Strong track record in media relations, including experience working with PR agencies and managing sensitive media issues.
Exceptional storytelling skills with a focus on ethical, human-centred narratives and outstanding written and verbal communication skills.
Bachelor Degree in Communications, Public Relations or Marketing.

Why work for us? We offer

Salary packaging, sometimes called salary sacrificing is a huge attraction here! It is a popular way of providing employees in the community sector with tax benefits over and above their salary. It means the real value of a salary package can be significantly higher than the nominal value.
We make an incredible difference in the lives of over 300,000 people every year.
We believe in families, so we like to provide a family-friendly environment in which to work.
We offer a place where you know you are contributing to a firm committed to helping others. We are passionate about #SocialJustice.
Hybrid working model.

Where good happens #Goodworks

If this opportunity sounds perfect to you and you meet our essential requirements, we can’t wait to hear from you! Please send us your updated CV and a cover letter that tells us a little more about you and your suitability for the role.


Applications close: 22nd August 2025 at 12.00 am.

Please note: Candidates may be reviewed and progressed as applications are received, rather than after the advertised closing date. SVDP reserves the right to close the advertisement at any time. We encourage you to submit your application as soon as possible to ensure due consideration is given to your suitability.

Prior to any commencement to employment, pre-employment checks must be completed. This will include reference checking, a national criminal history and right to work check and a working with children check.

St Vincent de Paul Society Victoria is proactive in supporting child safety; we value diversity and aim to build an inclusive environment that champions, embraces and respects differences; we encourage applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and people of all abilities, cultures, sexual orientations, and gender identities and expressions.

No agencies please. Read more