Linguist

Cape York Institute for Policy and Leadership (CYIPL) is a non-profit Indigenous organisation empowering the people of Cape York to choose a life they have reason to value. For over 20 years, we've partnered with communities to deliver initiatives across policy, education, employment, health, language and culture - all under the Pama Futures Agenda, a reform framework designed by and for the people of Cape York.

The Pama Language Centre (PLC) supports the recording, revival, revitalisation and maintenance of the First Nations languages of Cape York Peninsula. PLC works hand‑in‑hand with speech communities to ensure every child in Cape York has the right to their ancestral language.

What's on Offer

• Opportunity to contribute to language justice and large‑scale language revival
• Supportive, purpose‑driven team culture working across Cape York communities
• Salary range of $104,683.25 to $112,337.41
• Primary employment location: Cairns, Queensland
• Employment status: Full-time

The Role

As a Linguist, you will work closely with Ancestral Language Action Teams (ALATs), Ancestral Language Champions, Ancestral Language Experts, and the Pama Language Centre team to support the recording, revitalisation, revival and maintenance of ancestral languages across Cape York Peninsula.

This role is ideal for someone who is collaborative, culturally respectful and committed to community‑led language revival, with strong linguistic research and documentation skills and a willingness to work on‑site in Cairns, with travel to remote communities as required.

Key responsibilities include:

• Support and advance Reverse Language Shift (RLS) strategies and initiatives
• Collaborate with speech communities to develop, implement and review Ancestral Language Plans
• Conduct linguistic research including dictionary development, grammatical descriptions and language corpora
• Record and document oral literature, oral culture and living language in context
• Develop teaching, learning and immersion resources for children, adults and community use
• Retrieve and make accessible existing language legacy materials from archives and collections.
• Work with communities to identify priorities, funding needs and opportunities for language revival
• Support the formation and strengthening of Ancestral Language Action Teams
• Build connections between schools, early learning services and informal community learning spaces
• Support language revival and maintenance for diaspora communities
• Provide training in language documentation, recording and interview techniques

What You'll Need

• Tertiary qualifications in Linguistics or a related field
• Experience in linguistic fieldwork and language documentation
• Strong commitment to ancestral language revitalisation and language justice
• Understanding of revivalistics
• Knowledge of, or experience working with, Northern Paman languages
• Strong research, communication and organisational skills
• Familiarity with language databases and a willingness to learn new software
• Ability and willingness to travel to remote Cape York locations
• Ability to obtain/hold a Working with Children Blue Card and National Police Check

Key Attributes

• Collaborative, respectful and community‑centred approach
• Self‑motivated with strong initiative and problem‑solving skills
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to build trusted relationships
• Adaptable and resilient in remote and cross‑cultural work environments

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are strongly encouraged to apply.

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