About us:

The Law and Advocacy Centre for Women Ltd (LACW) is a not-for-profit, Community Legal Centre that assists women who are in or at risk of entering the criminal justice system.

LACW provides a wrap-around service to clients, addressing the underlying issues that have brought them into contact with the justice system, as well as providing legal advice and representation. The Social Work Team Leader is required to provide integrated Social Work support to clients of LACW’s legal service, and to lead a small but dedicated team of case managers in providing ongoing case-management and referral services to our clients and thereby effectively address these underlying issues. These issues may include homelessness, drug and alcohol use, mental health issues and the experience of family violence.

LACW is located at 147-155 Pelham Street, Carlton, Victoria. It is housed within RMIT University and is co-located with the Centre for Innovative Justice (CIJ) and Youthlaw.

About the position

The Social Work Team Leader will provide personalised and planned case managed support and advocacy for clients of LACW’s legal service. Through a client-centred approach, the Social Worker will support clients in areas such as housing, health (including alcohol and drug use and mental health), family violence, family reunification, linking with culturally appropriate services, community integration, NDIS, and financial issues. In addition, as Team Leader, the Social Worker will coordinate the work of LACW’s case management team by triaging client intakes and allocating work to case management team members.

This is a full-time role (5 days per week, 7.6 hours per day) for a term of 12 months. Part time hours and requests for flexible working arrangements will be considered. Salary and conditions are in accordance with the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry Award 2010 (SCHCADS Award), the National Employment Standards (NES) and LACW’s policies and procedures.

About you

We are looking for an experienced Social Worker with:

• A relevant tertiary qualification in social work, registered with or eligible to be registered with the AASW.
• At least 5 years relevant professional experience as a social worker or equivalent experience.
• Demonstrated experience in the delivery of support services to women who are currently in or at risk of entering the criminal justice system.
• A commitment to the principles of social justice.
• An understanding of the legal system, in particular as it governs criminal proceedings, and how it affects vulnerable women. A particular understanding of the impact of family violence is desirable.
• Knowledge of support services and linkages available in the community for women and the ability to maintain and further develop networks with a variety of support and community services, particularly for women who identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.
• A demonstrated understanding of the issues that relate to women from diverse backgrounds and with multiple and complex needs.
• Strong administrative skills, including good time management, excellent written and oral skills and confidence with the MS Office applications and MS Excel.
• Experience in supervising social work or human services students.

Please refer to the attached Position Description for more information.

Aboriginal and/or a Torres Strait Islander applicants are strongly encouraged to apply.

Queries should be emailed to the CEO, via [email protected], using the subject line: Social Work Team Leader enquiry via EthicalJobs.