Fostering Connections provides a critical service point for the recruitment of foster carers in Victoria, supporting foster care agencies by maintaining a website and 24/7 enquiry line, as well as through campaign and branding to attract qualified carers into the system. The role is based at the Centre for Excellence in Child & family Welfare (the Centre) in Melbourne’s CBD.

Key Accountabilities

Enquiry Line:

• Responsible for managing all incoming enquiries through enquiry line and website;
• Manage Fostering Connections enquiries so qualified, warm leads are passed to agencies;
• Provide feedback on enquiries to the Fostering Connections team and inform future campaigns, community engagement and sector agency strategies;
• Document and lodge calls with Child Protection where appropriate;
• Collect and document caller information, explain the foster care referral and accreditation process and appropriately and equitably allocate leads to agencies and;
• Recognise, document and alert the PM to trends in caller enquiries and recommend process improvements.

Foster Care Agency Support

• Spend a minimum of 50% of the week participating in grassroots events and community building, as well as leading, with support from the Project Coordinator and Communications team, targeted community events and engagement activities;
• Working collaboratively with the Project Coordinator and;
• Other duties as assigned by the Project Manager.

Key Selection Criteria

The successful applicant will have:

Knowledge

• Knowledge and understanding of the issues facing community service organisations in the delivery of foster care services.
• A thorough understanding of the issues facing foster care families in Victoria.
• End-to-end understanding of the foster care recruitment and accreditation process.

Experience

• Demonstrated experience in the social services and/or community services sector, including foster care.
• Demonstrated skills working directly with clients in a community service and/or foster care environment.
• Demonstrated experience building relationships with stakeholders in a complex environment.

Skills

• Demonstrated problem solving skills and well-developed time management and organisational skills
• Ability to undertake preliminary, real time review of foster care enquiries and identify qualified leads for progression, and unsuitable candidates for redirection
• Ability to develop and lead community events designed to provide education and grassroots, targeted community engagement
• Ability to engage in public speaking and networking events
• Ability to use a range of software and applications including MS Office suite and customer databases
• Ability to work independently without regular supervision and as part of a team
• Ability to identify sensitive information and maintain appropriate levels of privacy and confidentiality

Qualifications

• Relevant tertiary qualification such as Social Work; Youth Work; Psychology; Behavioural Sciences; Early Childhood Development

Conditional Employment Requirements

1. Satisfactory police check
2. Satisfactory Working with Children check
3. Proof of the right to work in Australia

The Centre is a not-for-profit peak body for child and family service organisations in Victoria. We advocate for children, young people and families and provide training, research and networking opportunities to the sector. We focus on the voices of young people in foster, kinship and residential care in Victoria.

The Centre is committed to being a diverse and inclusive workplace, and to the health, wellbeing and cultural safety of our staff. We encourage applicants of any background, culture, gender, and experience to apply – we don’t discriminate. We strongly encourage applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.