The Role

The Families and Young People Services currently have a vacancy for a permanent full time Team Manager in the Foster and Kinship Care team. This role will be responsible for delivering a consistently high-quality service across the Greater Ipswich region. The purpose of this role is to provide effective leadership, management and support in the development and implementation of high-quality services in the Foster and Kinship Care Program.

Key Selection Criteria:

To be eligible for this position you will require:

• Tertiary qualifications in Social Work, Behavioural Sciences, Psychology or relevant discipline.
• A demonstrated high-level understanding of statutory child protection processes including a sound knowledge of, and sensitivity to, the range of issues impacting upon vulnerable families and presentations likely to be encountered in children and young people who have experienced significant trauma both within their families and through extensive engagement with the child protection system.
• Experience in assessment and working closely and creatively with families, ensuring engagement between all stakeholders with a strengths-based focus to meet the social, emotional and psychological needs of the children and young people in their care.
• A well-developed professional therapeutic practice framework for working with families, children and young people subject to statutory involvement to be able to facilitate positive change within families to enhance the safety and wellbeing of children and young people, including highly developed evidenced-based risk assessment skills.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills with a demonstrated ability to use Microsoft Word to produce accurate written case notes and reports that are clear and structured, and evidence sound theoretical understandings within a structured management and accountability framework with strict confidentiality considerations.
• Demonstrated time management skills, with the ability to balance and prioritise various client engagement and administrative requirements.
• A demonstrated ability to both self-motivate and exercise creativity and initiative in your work, as well as providing supervision, mentoring, direction and feedback to team members in relation to their work performance and practice.
• Evidence of current vaccination against whooping cough or willingness to obtain prior to commencement, unless applicable of exemption is provided.
• You must hold a current Queensland Provisional Green or above Driver’s License.
• You must hold a positive notice in the Working with Children Check (Blue Card) and be able to obtain a positive Police Check and any other legislatively required personal history screening as required.

It is beneficial for candidates to have:

• An understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, cultures and societies and the issues which impact upon them in contemporary society together with a commitment to culturally appropriate engagement and practice.
• Experience in the recruitment, training, assessment, support and monitoring of foster and kinship carers.

What we offer

We understand that finding the right organisation and the right team is just as important as finding the right role. As a valued employee of the Mercy family, you will enjoy:

• Increased take home pay with our salary sacrificing benefits – up to $15,900 per annum and
• Up to $2,650 of your pre-tax income to pay for entertainment (meals, holiday accommodation etc).
• Access to novated leases for a motor-vehicle to reduce your taxable income.
• Employee Assistance Program.
• Additional training and education into our industry.
• A growing organisation with a strong reputation in the industry.

This position offers a competitive annual salary of $92,694 - $96,804 plus superannuation in line with level 6 of our Enterprise Agreement. You will also have the opportunity to increase your take-home pay by salary sacrificing and other benefits.

About Us

Mercy Community is a Catholic faith based not-for-profit organisation, focused on the provision of innovative and responsive services in the areas of child protection, multicultural community support, family mental health, community and residential based aged care and disability support services. We are a strongly committed team that works hard and truly lives our values – Mercy, Acceptance, Excellence, Dignity, Empowerment and Integrity.

We are committed to actively and positively contributing to the quality of life and wellbeing of the people we support and to embrace our community diversity in all its forms. We encourage you to visit our website to find out more about Mercy Community.

How to Apply

Applications must be completed online and include an updated resume and a response to the Key Selection Criteria above in your cover letter (maximum 2 pages).