About the Organisation

Barnardos Australia is one of Australia’s leading children’s social care agencies, focused on building relationships between children, young people, their families and the community. Over the next 5 years, Barnardos commits to supporting more vulnerable children to thrive through effective evidence-informed and research-based programs.

About the Role

Barnardos are looking for a full-time permanent Program Manager for the Temporary Family Care (TFC) Program based at the Barnardos Centre in Penrith, Western Sydney.

Reporting to the Manager – the Program Manager will be responsible for;

• Coordinate team meetings to create a structured learning and information sharing environment for caseworkers
• Coordinate professional development workshops and forums to maintain and expand the knowledge base in child wellbeing/safety and service system needs. Maintain records relating to professional development.
• Participate effectively in community development and awareness raising activities which will benefit children and families
• Undertake supervision/field education role of Social Work students on placement, where appropriate.
• Work in collaboration and partnership with Senior Manager and other program managers to ensure that resources are maximized and that program needs are met with effectiveness and efficiency.
• Process, assess and allocate referrals from Community Services and other sources
• Ensure implementation of appropriate Care Plans for each child in care in which reflects principles of permanency planning and children participation with a focus on the individual needs of the children.

About You

To be successful in the Program Manager role, you will ideally have;

• Degree in Social Work, Social Science, Psychology or related discipline
• High level knowledge of current legislation and practices in NSW child protection and the Permanency Support Program (Out of Home Care)
• Minimum of 5 years casework and assessment experience in child and family services, including child protection and out of home care
• Demonstrated experience in leading and supervising staff specifically within a welfare/child protection context
• Proven experience in working effectively and empathically with children who have experienced significant trauma.
• A strong understanding and demonstrated practice working with children, young people and families who are from a CALD, refuge or cultural background that has experienced significant displacement and trauma.
• Current NSW unrestricted Class C driver’s license
• Be willing to participate in a system of rostered on-call service.

Applicants from an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander background are strongly encouraged to apply. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff are further supported by the Aboriginal Cultural Unit (ACU) and Barnardos Indigenous Group (BIG) to meet their cultural needs within the organisation. For more information on how Barnardos support Aboriginal staff wanting to work for Barnardos please get in touch.

Benefits of Working for Barnardos

At Barnardos, we provide opportunities for development through individual and group mentoring, secondments, acting up and project work. Our benefits include flexible working arrangements, cultural leave, a day off during NAIDOC week, additional annual leave during Christmas/New Year break, volunteer opportunities at community events and many more.

Salary: Base $88,189 to $94,552 plus leave loading plus superannuation. Packaging available to receive $15,860 of your salary tax free. Motor vehicle packaging available on selected roles.

To be considered for roles with Barnardos you will need to have (or be willing to have conducted) a National Police Clearance and current Working with Children check Clearance (or APP number) and for the ACT a Drivers History Check, Working with Vulnerable People Card and CYPS Check.

Expressions of interest

To register your interest hit APPLY NOW and submit your Resume. Please note adverts will expire once we receive enough suitable applications. For a confidential discussion please call Zoe Banbury on 02 9218 2346