Youth Worker (Rockhampton)

• Casual role with consistent hours.
• Competitive pay and flexible work hours.

About Us:

At Yalga Connect, our employees are what set us apart. We're a young company, but we're making a big difference in the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people in care! We are committed to enhancing the living arrangements of children and young people in care and aim to make a positive difference in their lives by providing the children and young people with a sense of family, community, cultural connection, and the ability to heal and reconnect with their families by providing culturally appropriate care, outreach support and placement support.

Our staff predominately work in residential type environments including Outreach Support, Youth Residential Out of Home Care as well as supporting emergency placements in crisis accommodation, supervised family contact and placement support arrangements. 

About the role

The Youth Workers deliver the day-to-day care to young people in the Residential Care house. You will provide direct support, care and mentorship to Children and Young People. The Children & Young People you will support will likely have experienced childhood trauma, abuse and/or neglect and may also have a mental health, physical or psychosocial disability.

A day in the role of a Youth Worker may include teaching them practical and social skills, supporting young people to manage challenging behaviours, planning or attending activities and following daily routines to promote life-skills development whilst providing a nurturing, safe and clean home environment. No two days will be the same!

• Mixture of day shifts (AM/PM), sleepovers, awake duties and weekends are available - something to suit everyone's availability.

About you

The ideal person for this role would be flexible, adaptable, and open to learning. You will have the ability and skills to work with young people who display highly complex and challenging behaviours. You will need to connect with the young person and have resilience and good professional boundaries. 

Key responsibilities

• Complete case notes, administration tasks and daily activity plans
• Encourage independent living skills including but not limited to, cooking, meal planning, budgeting, shopping, and cleaning Demonstrated ability to openly engage and build trust with young people from diverse backgrounds.
• Act as an appropriate adult role model, seeking to engage children and young people in purposeful activities aimed at developing life skills and self-worth.
• Engage with stakeholders within the community to support the development of children and young people and support the involvement of family and significant others and promote positive relationships.

Desired skills and abilities

• Exceptional communication and conflict resolution skills.
• Demonstrate high levels of resilience, patience and unconditional positive regard whilst confidently working with challenging behaviours. 
• Ability to work under pressure and deliver results and maintain a level of grit and resilience to overcome challenges that are confronting.
• Have sound knowledge or the ability to rapidly acquire knowledge of child protection including relevant legislation.

Mandatory requirements:

• A QLD Working with Children (Blue Card) or the ability to apply for one
• Hold and maintain a full Australian Driver’s License
• Hold, or be working towards, a Certificate IV or higher in Youth and Community Services or related field.
• Licensed Care Suitability check (LCS2) or willing to obtain.
• Ability to travel within Queensland to support activities.

Further Information and Application Process

If you are interested in applying for this role or would like further information, please email **@yalgaconnect.com.au. 

Please note, we reserve the right to appoint to the position before the published closing date. Interested applicants are encouraged to submit their application as early as possible.