About Belconnen Community Service (BCS):

At BCS, we believe in an inclusive connected community. Since its incorporation in 1976, BCS has had a wonderful reputation for strengthening the capacity of the community to care for all individuals, no matter what their needs. BCS has earned this reputation because of the people who work for us, both paid and unpaid.

Our commitment to our people is a high priority. We offer above award wages, attractive salary packaging benefits and discounted child care rates.

About the job:

We are looking for Practitioners to join the Family Foundations and Children's Programs team. Family Foundations and Ginninderra Early Childhood Centre are collaborating to provide vulnerable families with an integrated wrap around service. This is a new and exciting progression for families in the ACT.

The focus of the work is to provide therapeutic support and education to families in the Centre and wider community. The families will have a child or children aged 0-5 years who are experiencing social and emotional difficulties. Where there are older children, the service will include the whole family. The program will provide families with flexible options to access support that meets their individual needs and also work with other professionals and services to enhance participant outcomes; this can include access to group work programs.

This service is based on an outreach model and is used by our Practitioners, Educators and Teachers alike. It is a new model for BCS and the ACT. Given this, hours of work will be negotiable.

About you:

The successful candidate will have:

• Experience in using a range of models and strategies to observe, assess, plan, implement and evaluate interventions that support the social and emotional learning and development of young children (e.g. Attachment Theory, Trauma-Informed Practice, Neurobehavioural development, etc.)
• Experience in interventions using a family and person centred approach in providing individual and group therapy to children, young people and their families
• Demonstrated knowledge and ability to engage and work collaboratively with vulnerable parents and families, including those with high and complex needs and those who are disconnected from their community
• Sound understanding of child development from birth to five years
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills and the ability to build rapport, and work as part of a team
• Excellent organisational skills and the ability to operate effectively in an engaging and evolving environment
• Experience planning, facilitating and delivering group programs
• Knowledge and understanding of mental health and developmental issues and their relationship to child development
• Microsoft Office proficiency

Essential qualifications:

• Tertiary qualifications in Psychology, Occupational Therapy or Social Work are essential
• If you are a psychologist, current registration or eligibility for registration with the Psychology Board of Australia to practice as a psychologist is also essential
• If you are a Social Worker, you need to be eligible for AASW Qualified Social Worker membership

Desirable qualifications:

• Certification in delivering evidence based group parenting programs (eg Circle of Security, Tuning into Kids)

BCS requirements:

• Employees are required to hold a satisfactory Working with Vulnerable People registration and have this with them at all times whilst employed by BCS
• Employees are required to undertake a National Criminal History Clearance by BCS prior to commencing and every three years thereafter as a condition of employment. Employees are required to advise BCS of any convictions that may affect their eligibility to work or performing the inherent requirements of their position
• BCS may require the incumbent to undertake employment screening such as a medical assessment, functional assessment or psychological profile prior to an offer of employment and/or as determined by BCS during employment

Other requirements:

• Holds a current Driver’s Licence and has access to a roadworthy, registered and comprehensively insured vehicle for work purposes