Family Services Support Worker

Honesty      Trust      Respect      Concern      Love

Family Services Support Worker (2 positions available)

• Casual
• Based at Lower Plenty
• $41.07 - $44.80 per hour (inclusive of 25% casual loading), plus super
• Generous salary packaging options

About Odyssey House Victoria:

Odyssey House Victoria (OHV) is a place of hope and positive change for individuals working towards breaking their pattern of addiction. At Odyssey House we believe that every person should have the opportunity to change and grow. Our diverse teams work with individuals, families, and communities to reduce alcohol and other drug (AOD) use, improve mental health, and reconnect people to their family and the community. OHV is a dynamic and fast-growing organisation committed to excellence in service provision and innovation in responding to alcohol and other drugs use problems.

About our Therapeutic Community’s Children’s Centre:

Part of the Therapeutic Community (TC), a long-term residential program, the onsite Children’s Centre forms part of the specialized Family Services Program, offering a unique play and learning environment for the development of children aged 0-5 years and providing additional programs for children aged 6-12 after school and on school holidays, working closely in supporting resident families. The Centre provides childcare experiences tailored to meet the needs of individual children. The Centre is open Monday to Friday, and assists in providing an environment that is secure, and nurturing, and will support the safety, social and emotional wellbeing and developmental needs, and protection of all children.

About this opportunity:

We are seeking 2 passionate Support Workers to join our Family Services Team us on a Casual basis! You will support the needs of individual children in residence at our Therapeutic Community as well as their parents in developing and maintaining daily routines for their children.
 

Key areas of focus:

• Family Support
• Children’s Centre
• Quality

Duties include but are not limited to…

• Utilise strength-based techniques for supporting parents in assisting children to manage their emotions and behaviour’s, assisting parents with daily living routines.
• Assist families in setting boundaries, and establishing priorities and modelling positive parenting skills, showing sensitivity to individual needs and backgrounds.
• Assist families to build community connections, and access appropriate support.
• Alongside Lead and Childhood Educators, incorporate tasks of assisting children in their daily activities and routines (e.g., meals, sleeping, cleaning up) within Childhood Education activities.
• Ensure child safety standards are met, which include being able to identify and respond to possible attachment issues and trauma signs within children.
• Participate in and support reviews of standards in the Therapeutic Community.

A week in the role:

If you were here last week, you would have:

• Participated in our Family Services team meeting.
• Enjoyed daily lunches prepared by our onsite kitchen.
• Visited the local parks with the resident volunteers and children.

Key Selection Criteria:

We are looking for a compassionate individual to support the children in our Therapeutic Community as well as assist the Team Leader in maintaining a trauma-informed approach.

To be successful in this role, you must meet the following:  

1. Working towards a Certificate 4 in Community Services or AOD (or equivalent).
2. Work experience in Children’s Services (or equivalent).
3. Ability to meet deadlines, balance competing demands, prioritise work and respond effectively to change.
4. Ability to work as part of a multi-disciplinary team, and a willingness to give and receive feedback and recognise and resolve interpersonal conflict.
5. Ability to maintain confidentiality, professionalism, and discretion at all times.
6. Demonstrated understanding and acceptance of different social and cultural values and attitudes to raising children.
7. Ability to effectively liaise and communicate with a wide variety of people in a non-judgemental manner.
8. Ability to show initiative and capacity to work independently and adaptively to meet changing organisational needs.

What we can give YOU!

In return we are committed to offering you an inclusive and transparent workplace culture where our people can develop to be their very best by:  

• Providing work that is meaningful and challenging.
• Access to 24/7 counselling through our Employee Assistance Provider (EAP).

In addition to the above, staff will also be provided monthly Clinical Supervision sessions for professional development and personal wellbeing.

Application information

Please apply directly via our ELMO careers website (applications via email will not be considered).

Applications should be addressed to Stacee Tilley and include your CV and a cover letter addressing the key selection criteria. 

We will be assessing applications on a rolling basis and suitable candidates will be shortlisted immediately. This role will close once a suitable candidate has been selected which may be prior to the application deadline, so please don’t wait to apply! 

Our commitment to diversity

At OHV we value diversity and believe that a range of backgrounds brings a variety of ideas, perspectives and experiences that will enhance our effectiveness. We promote a workplace that actively seeks to include, welcome and value unique contributions by encouraging people with disability, Aboriginal Australians, LGBTQIA, young people and people from culturally diverse backgrounds to apply for this position.

Safety screening

OHV is committed to child safety and is a child safe organisation. All OHV employees must undergo Police Records and Working with Children Checks. Any person issued with a negative notice on their Working with Children Check will not be eligible for employment with us.

Mandatory COVID vaccinations

In line with OHV's Mandatory Vaccination Policy, all Odyssey House Victoria staff are required to hold Fully Vaccinated (Boosted) status, having also received the Booster Vaccination. Evidence of this minimum of three (3) COVID-19 vaccinations will be requested during the onboarding process and offers will be rescinded where such evidence cannot be provided.

All Odyssey House Victoria sites are smoke free for all employees.