• Hours: 30 hours per week
• Award: Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry Award (SCAHDS)
• Classification: 5.1
• Location: Cairns – Greater North QLD service delivery (onsite, Telehealth, occasional travel required)

The Eating Disorder Practitioner provides therapeutic services to people with a range of eating disorders.

This position operates within a collaborative team environment that is responsive to the needs of service users and is committed to continuous improvement and best practice principles. The practitioner must also work within the Vision and Mission of Eating Disorders Queensland (EDQ) and contribute to organisational objectives.

People of diverse backgrounds, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, and/or with lived experiences of an eating disorder are encouraged to apply for this role.

Eating Disorders Queensland (EDQ)

EDQ is a state-wide, community-based not-for-profit organisation. We support individuals with an eating disorder, their carers, loved ones, and key support people.

Support options include therapeutic and psychosocial support for individuals, coaching, and community connection for carers. EDQ also provides early intervention opportunities with community education events focused on creating healthy relationships with food and our bodies. We are passionate about eradicating weight stigma and diet culture.

Our Values: Nurture, Empowerment, Integrity, Innovation, and Collaboration.

Our Vision: is a world free from eating disorders.

Our Mission is to facilitate hope and recovery for all people affected by eating disorders.

Working Principles

• Valuing relationships, self-care, care and connection through engagement and capacity building.
• Strong collaborative shared decision-making environment.
• Respectful recovery-orientated empowerment and strengths-based processes promote empowerment, self-determination, inclusion, and choice.
• Promoting individual and social change as well as prevention.
• Valuing each person and lived experience.
• Recognising the interactive impact of individual factors, family factors (including genetics), socio-cultural factors, and gender on developing, maintaining, and preventing eating disorders.
• We value the vital role of medical and psychiatric services in recovery from an eating disorder. Depending on client needs, we offer our services as a partner and an alternative to the medical model.
• Workplace health and safety (WHS) responsibilities: All employees must take reasonable care for their health and safety and that of other personnel affected by their conduct.

Key Responsibilities

• Work in line with EDQ’s policies and procedures.
• Deliver therapeutic services to people with eating disorders from a multi-disciplinary approach underpinned by a feminist/social justice practice framework with an evidence-based understanding of the impact of eating disorders in clinical work with adults, young people, and families, as well as working with related co-occurring mental health and social issues.
• Foster a collaborative culture committed to practising individual/team supervision, professional development, and professional ethics.
• Deliver therapeutic/ psychosocial group work and peer mentoring programs in consultation with service users.
• Modelling adequate/varied eating when required (e.g. during meal support and in groups) according to RAVES principles
• Provide initial phone assessments, information and referral services to clients, families, carers, professionals, and the broader community.
• Supervise and support students and volunteers, ensuring positive learning experiences and client outcomes.
• Represent EDQ at relevant networking meetings and events when required, comprehensively understand the human services sector, and build relationships with key stakeholders.
• Proactively communicate as a team member, contributing to shared work functions and team processes.
• Support the Lead Senior Eating Disorder Practitioner with reviewing, developing, and implementing policies and procedures and ensure new service models meet best practice standards and maximise available resources. Undertake data collection and analysis via client management systems to ensure continuous quality improvement, knowledge development and research, and regular reporting.
• Support innovative state-wide service delivery, including delivery of telehealth sessions for both individual and group work. Some travel may be required at times.
• Collaborate with the Care Navigator to manage client flow through the organisation.

Perks & Benefits

• Supportive, collaborative, and celebratory work culture
• Public health events and advocacy
• Ongoing training and supervision throughout the role, including an annual training budget
• A workplace that values the voice of lived experience
• Safe culture for those with a lived experience of eating disorders (if applicable)
• Salary packaging offered

Reporting Relationships:

• This position reports to the Lead Senior Eating Disorder Practitioner and the Cairns Hub Coordinator
• Supervise students and volunteers in line with university requirements and assigned projects.

Funding:

All positions offered by EDQ are conditional on recurrent funding from the Qld Government.

Therefore, EDQ offers fixed-term contracts in line with funding timelines.

This is a 12-month position, with the possibility of an extension depending on funding availability and negotiation.

Key Selection Criteria: Respond to Criteria in your application - Show TraNsFerable Skills 

• A tertiary qualification in Social Work, Psychology or Master of Counselling.
• Experience or training in the eating disorders field is highly valued but not required.
• Be in stable recovery for a minimum of two years from an eating disorder (if applicable)
• Be able to articulate and demonstrate their practice framework.
• Demonstrated experience in therapeutic interventions/counselling, with a comprehensive understanding of the impact of eating disorders in clinical work with adults, young people, and families and co-occurring presentations such as mental health and drug and alcohol concerns.
• A solid understanding of evidence-based psychological interventions, e.g., Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Narrative Therapy, Trauma Informed Practice, Expressive Therapy and Dialectic Behaviour Therapy, is also required.
• Demonstrated experience in group facilitation and developing and delivering Psychoeducation programs.
• Be comfortable working across multiple client management systems, e.g. Csnet; rediCASE and Cliniko.
• Be able and accountable for managing client caseload according to required KPIs, balancing individual work with group facilitation.
• Highly skilled in reflective practice and ethical decision-making processes in individual and team contexts.
• Highly developed interpersonal skills, emotional intelligence, and excellent engagement skills, especially in engaging people with eating disorders.
• A record of accomplishment of working collaboratively and the demonstrated capacity to liaise with internal and external stakeholders.
• Support innovative state-wide service delivery. Therefore, some interstate travel will be required at times.

The applicant must possess the following:

• Registration or membership with the relevant professional association or body (e.g. APS, AHPRA, PACFA, ACA, AASW)
• Valid and current Qld Driver’s Licence.
• Current (or be able to attain) Working with Children Check (Blue Card) and Disability Worker Screening (Yellow Card)

Applications are invited from Australian citizens or persons with full Australian residency status with relevant experience.

Click 'Apply Now' to submit your application by the closing date. We will be conducting interviews as we receive applications.

To apply:

• Please submit a resume (maximum three pages)
• Cover letter (maximum one page)
• Response to Key Selection Criteria (maximum two pages)
• Contact details for three referees