We have some exciting opportunities to join the youth and community team! 

• First Nations People, LGBTIQ+ people, people with disability, and people of colour and/or public housing residents are encouraged to apply. Applicants who have a lived experience are encouraged to apply. 
• DSS is committed to prioritising child safety and we adhere to the Reportable Conduct Scheme for organisations.

The Youth and Communities team are recruiting 2 x Senior Youth Development Practitioner roles (0.8EFT) to support the delivery of programs and activities for young people aged 8-21 who live on Carlton, North Melbourne, Collingwood and Richmond Public Housing Estates.

The hours of work for this role are 11am – 7pm (7.6 hours per day plus a break), based primarily in our North Melbourne and Collingwood offices and with requirements to work from other inner Melbourne sites. The role is a 12-month role contracted until 30 June 2022, with the possibility of extension dependent on funding. 

The Senior Youth Development Practitioner role involves: 

Staff Support

• Supervising staff and leading a small team.
• Providing regular supervision, feedback and performance management to team members as required.
• Recruitment and onboarding employees, as necessary.

Service Delivery

• Supporting the co-design, planning, delivery and evaluation of intentional and evidence-based programs and school holiday activities.
• Coordinating the design and delivery of annual events for young people and their families.
• Monitoring Key Performance indicators of programs and activities to ensure they are planned, promoted, evaluated, and meet legislative requirements.
• Overseeing reporting requirements, seeking timely contributions from staff.
• Ensuring the safety of young people and staff during programs and school holiday activities and responding to incidents.
• Proactively building therapeutic relationships with young people through engagement activities with the intention of identifying ‘vulnerable’ and ‘at risk’ young people and to build pathways into support by increasing their confidence and willingness to access services, including case management.

Service Quality

• Actively seeking feedback from staff, participants, and other stakeholders.
• Overseeing the quality of services provided and ensuring services are delivered in line with company policies, procedures, Practice Standards and Codes of Conduct.
• Ensuring Child Safety and cultural safety is a focus within the Youth and Communities team
• Accountability for complying with government funding requirements including reporting and contractual obligations.
• Relationship building with young people and supporting their participation and positive development.
• Supporting the implementation of evaluation across all operations including process and outcomes for young people.

Collaboration

• Initiating, engaging and building networks with a range of external health, social services and educational providers to market and promote agency programs.
• Proactively participating in networking opportunities and cultivating partnership opportunities that respond to identified community needs.
• Collaborating with internal staff to information share and build relationships and consistency across the organisation.

Community Development & Youth Participation

• Supporting practices of the team that assertively engage smaller and emerging populations with specific needs, including those considered socially marginalised or resource poor to lessen the impact of social exclusion.
• Leading and delivering best practice in youth participation across the public health spectrum, including health promotion and prevention, early intervention, as well as tertiary services and programs and activities that support recovery and connection.

To discuss the Senior Youth Development Practitioner role confidentially, please contact Bec Smith, the Coordinator of Youth Services on [email protected], using the subject line: Senior Youth Development Practitioners enquiry via EthicalJobs, or 0429 537 682.