Practitioner (After Hours Service). Full-time - WFH

• $41.52 per hour ($82,000 - $86,000 per annum ) + 11% Super + after hours penalties 
• Work for a leading social purpose organisation
• Full-time contract available
• After hours service - must be available to work a variety of evenings, overnight shifts and early mornings
• Completely remote position working from home

About the Organisation

Every day, Life Without Barriers provides support and care to children and young people, as we work collaboratively with families, carers, and communities, to ensure they have the environment they deserve to grow. With a focus on ensuring safety and respect, this is an opportunity to make a positive and meaningful difference in these young lives and help pave a brighter future.

Life Without Barriers is a leading social purpose organisation of 8,000 employees working in more than 500 communities across Australia. We support children, young people and families, people with disability, older people and people with mental illness. We work with people who are homeless and refugees and asylum seekers. Join a community of people dedicated to breaking down barriers.

We want to employ people who reflect the diversity of our clients to ensure we can support each client's individual needs and wants. We encourage people of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander background and people with disability to apply.

About the Role

We are seeking Practitioners to play a critical role in the delivery of the After-Hours Service (AHS) where you will provide support to clients, staff, and external stakeholders outside of business hours.

In this role you will work in partnership with Foster Carers, children, and young people, LWB and relevant government agencies and stakeholders to respond and provide guidance to emergent issues arising afterhours, ensuring direction provided meets relevant standards of care and legislative frameworks required by the State / Territory Governments whilst giving priority to the protection and well-being of children and young people.

Reporting to a Team Manager for After Hours Service, you will use key practice framework (training provided) to provide respond and guide callers with emergent critical situations arising after-hours, such as responding to trauma-based behaviours. The objective is to assist callers with any concerns or incidents which cannot wait until the next business day, to ensure clients, carers and staff are adequately supported.

To be successful in this role you will demonstrate strong communication skills and will provide guidance and direction to staff working outside of business hours in response to emergent issues in relation to children, young people, and carers jurisdictions.

About the Roster

We are seeking a full-time practitioner (76 hours per fortnight).

The service was created to provide on-call support to our staff and carers who support young people and children in our Out of Home Care Services nationally. As part of this support, we will also provide an after-hours support between the hours of 4:00pm and 1:00am QLD Time Monday - Friday and 6:00am - 1:00am Saturday - Sunday. You will be working from home on a rotating roster. Shift times may vary due to national coverage and time differences.

Key Responsibilities

• Respond to all incoming after-hours enquiries in a professional and efficient manner, displaying effective communication and underpinned by key practice models including CARE and TCI (training provided)
• Apply understanding of key policies and procedures to emergent and critical after-hours responses, as relevant to each state’s legislative and regulatory requirements
• Respond to child related enquiries afterhours from a child centred approach. This includes undertaking a range of activities such as:
• Understanding a child’s plans and assessments and providing direction and guidance to staff and carers in line with these
• Undertaking risks assessment and planning in lieu of the above
• Problem solving alongside a young person to emergent issues outside of business hours ensuring their safety and well-being
• In a CARE informed way, building a relationship with carers in an effective and timely manner, to work in partnership with carers to support after hours calls:
• When responding to carer’s concerns, reiterate the pervasive damage of trauma, loss, neglect and abuse and the impact for a child or young person
• Encourage responses to promote high quality, safe care for children and young people that is focused on supporting positive life outcomes
• Plan and manage any emergency placements including a child or young person’s transition into a placement afterhours, facilitating introductory visits and ensuring the carers have all relevant information prior to the child/young person being placed
• Being a point of escalation and reporting mechanism for critical incidents
• Provide direction and advice underpinned by client’s plans and assessments to ensure safety and wellbeing for both staff and children and young people
• Provide staff working outside of business hours guidance and direction to emergent issues in line with pragmatic and legislative requirements across multiple jurisdictions
• Ensure all necessary documentation and information such as call logs, incident reports, assessments, plans, file notes and other records are accurately recorded and inputted into relevant databases

Skills & Experience

• Certificate IV in Child, Youth and Family Intervention (Residential Care) or a recognised relevant qualification with relevant experience.
• Experience in delivering services within the child protection and out of home care sector including an understanding of the impact of trauma on children and young people, and complex behaviours.
• Experience working with individuals, families and communities from a strength-based, culturally appropriate perspective that are part of the out of home care sector.
• Demonstrated experience working in position that requires a calm, clear and measured approach to handling queries / customer support.
• Experience working in a dynamic, high volume work environment.
• Ability to provide clear and concise guidance and advice to customer queries, drawing upon established policies, procedures, and other resources.
• Demonstrated problem solving, conflict management and peer support skills.
• High level communication, influencing, liaison, negotiation, and mediation skills.
• Demonstrated experience working flexibly as part of a team to meet the changing business and operational needs.

Benefits

• Opportunity to build a high performing division within one of Australia’s leading Not for Profit’s.
• Salary packaging tax benefits, meal entertainment benefit, novated leasing and more
• Growing organisation with great career opportunities.
• Thorough training provided in CARE & TCI to ensure you are set up for success.
• Rare flexible working arrangements allowing you to spend more time with friends and family. This role truly offers work life balance!

Successful candidates will be required to clear probity checks including National Criminal History Record Check, Working with Children Check and relevant checks for each state.

How to Apply

Include your resume and covering letter in one document, click ‘Apply’ and follow the prompts. For any enquiries including persons with disability that require adjustments, contact recruitment@lwb.org.au.  

Applicants are encouraged to apply as soon as possible as applications are continuously reviewed prior to the closing date; and as such the closing date is subject to change without notice. Current application closing date is midnight 29th April 2024. Please note successful candidates will be contact after the application closing date.  

Please note: To be considered for and appointed to a position at Life Without Barriers, you must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 with a minimum of two (2) doses or hold a valid medical exemption certificate, in accordance with Life Without Barriers Employee COVID-19 Vaccination Policy. You will be required to provide evidence of your vaccination status during the recruitment process.

We are dedicated to playing our part to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and bring continuity of care and support to our clients. With this in mind, if you are successful, we will discuss with you an alternative to a face-to-face interview. 
  
Life Without Barriers supports the Royal Commission into violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation of people with disability. We believe people with disability need to be heard and for these experiences to influence how support services like ours are delivered. View our statement here https://bit.ly/2GzZGWA