Senior Family Practitioner – The Zone

Honesty Trust Respect Concern Love

• Full-time, Maximum term until December 2024.
• Primarily based at Melton (with travel)
• $102,040.76 per annum, plus super
• 17.5% annual leave loading and generous salary packaging options
• Progressive Workplace Flexibility options that enable genuine work life balance
• Will be provided with an OHV Laptop, OHV Mobile Phone & OHV Maintained Vehicle.

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 The Zone

Odyssey House is working in partnership with Drummond Street and YSAS to deliver the Care Coordination Platform across the northwest region of Melbourne, funded by the Northwestern Melbourne Primary Health Network (NWMPHN). The Platform is based on evidence informed therapeutic process and intersectional practice aimed at increasing the engagement and improving AOD treatment outcomes for specific young people and families from diverse backgrounds and identities. The Intersectional Care Coordination Platform recognises the need to privilege cultural and intersectional knowledge and competence within therapeutic service and practice decision making. It also puts at the centre the primacy of family as a setting for both risk and protective factors for problematic patterns of AOD use, but also its importance as fundamental to support recovery.

Role Purpose

The Senior Family Practitioner The Zone is a member of the Intersectional Care Coordination Platform working closely and collaboratively with the Family Practice Lead from Drummond Street, YSAS as well as other Practitioners across the Outer North and Outer West catchments.

The role will also undertake direct service activities including providing evidence informed family AOD treatment and collaborative care to young people, using brief interventions, care planning, AOD counselling, harm reduction and trauma informed frameworks, and providing treatment and collaborative care that is both safe and effective for young people and families with intersectional needs.

The role will also plan and facilitate intensive group therapy sessions.

Key areas of focus

• Supporting the Manager;

• To implement change and promote a culture of best practice;
• To develop, implement, monitor, and review client-focused treatment support and clinical practice.
• In ensuring that all team members are appropriately supported, professionally supervised, and provided with regular feedback regarding their performance.
• In managing any team member performance or practice issues.
• In supporting staff while fostering a positive team culture, consistent with work plans, organisational expectations, policies and procedures.
• In supporting the student placement program and supervising students as requested.

• Provide a range of evidence informed AOD treatment, groups and collaborative care to young people and families, using brief interventions, care planning, AOD counselling, harm reduction, community engagement and trauma responsive frameworks relating to their use of alcohol and other drugs.
• Build connections with priority families and communities to deliver safer and more effective AOD service responses.
• Provide secondary consultations on specific risk issues such as family violence, mental health etc.
• Develop and deliver whole family practice training to community members, partners, and the broader sector.
• Establish local Youth and Family AOD Intersectional “Communities of Practice” (external to the Alliance but including Alliance practitioners).
• Provide expert advice to a range of clinical and other family services.
• Liaise and advocate (i.e., Juvenile Justice, Protective Services, Department of Health and Human Services and others involved with the client).
• Participate in team planning, steering groups, reference groups and working parties inside and outside the agency as appropriate.
• Monitor compliance with legislative requirements and risk management strategies within the catchment, reporting incidents to the ICCP Manager
• Maintain a high standard of documentation which complies with accountability structures according to professional, legislative, service contractual obligations and organisational standards.

A week in the role

If you were here last week, you would have:

• Attended allocation review meeting.
• Attended network meetings.
• Conducted family therapy sessions with clients.
• Attended the Zone operational meeting.

Key Selection Criteria

We are looking for an experienced and passionate individual to provide treatment and collaborative care that is both safe and effective for young people and families with intersectional needs.

To be successful in this role, you must…

• Hold a Tertiary qualification in Social Work, Youth Work, or an Associate Diploma with substantial experience or an AOD or equivalent.
• Hold a Certificate IV in AOD (or commitment to obtain one of these within 12 months of employment). *(Refer Appendix A)
• Demonstrate experience and expertise in alcohol and other drugs assessment and treatment.
• Demonstrate knowledge and application of a range of therapeutic approaches for individuals, couples, families, and specifically young people impacted by AOD use and those with multiple and complex needs such as mental health, family violence and substance abuse issues.
• Specialist knowledge in family systems.
• Demonstrate experience in delivery of group programs.
• Demonstrate understanding of the needs, issues, and sensitivities of people from diverse backgrounds including Aboriginal, LGBTIQA+ and culturally and linguistically diverse people and communities.
• Demonstrate highly developed organisational skills.
• Possess excellent written and verbal interpersonal and communication skills.
• Be able to effectively liaise and communicate with a wide variety of agencies and individuals at many levels.
• Demonstrate capacity to manage multiple partner and stakeholder relationships.

For a copy of the position description which outlines the full list of responsibilities and key selection criteria, please click HERE.

*Appendix A (AOD Competencies)

OHV requires staff in clinical positions to have the following competencies (or their equivalent). Where people do not already have these competencies, OHV will invest in the staff’s professional development by providing them through our registered training organisation (RTO).
The competencies required in the first 12 months of employment are:

• CHCAOD001 – Work in an alcohol and other drugs context
• CHCAOD004 – Assess needs of clients with alcohol and other drugs issues
• CHCAOD006 – Provide interventions for people with alcohol and other drugs issues
• CHCAOD009 – Develop and review individual alcohol and other drugs treatment plans

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:

• Ongoing learning and development opportunities
• Providing work that is meaningful and challenging, with career development opportunities through project and secondment opportunities and succession planning.
• Providing career pathways across diverse OHV programs.
• Access to 24/7 counselling through our Employee Assistance Provider (EAP).
• Generous leave options such as 48/52 Purchase Leave, Study Leave and Sabbaticals.
• Flexible working arrangements (arrangements will vary based on role requirements).

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. Click the “Apply Now” button.

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

If you have any questions relating to the position, please contact George Hatzimanolis – Manager Youth & Family Services on, 0438 229 458 or at [email protected]  using the subject line: Senior Family Practitioner – The Zone enquiry via EthicalJobs.

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, 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.