ORganisation Description

SWOP NSW is Australia’s largest and longest established community-based peer education sex worker organisation, with a mission to provide NSW sex workers with the same access to health, safety, human rights and workplace protections as other Australian workers.

SWOP NSW was established in 1983 as the Australia Prostitutes Collective and in 1990 as Sex Workers Outreach Project, SWOP became the first sex worker organisation in the world to receive government funding.
See SWOP NSW’s 2022-2025 Strategic Plan for further information.

POSITION OVERVIEW

Position Title: SWOP NSW Counsellor and Support Worker Casual  

This position is responsible for providing education, counselling and referrals to sex workers in NSW. Health education will focus on increasing awareness around HIV, Hepatitis C, STI and BBV prevention.

The position supports sex workers in meeting their psychosocial needs and works to improve and promote sex workers' access and equity to relevant support services in NSW. The primary focus of this role is to positively impact sex workers to achieve greater wellbeing and safety in their lives.

This position requires experience in counselling and workshop development, as well as high level organisational and communication skills. Candidates will demonstrate solid experience in individual needs assessments & counselling and referral linkages in NSW. Supervision will be available to complement your own resilience and self-care skills.

POSITION DETAIL

Hours per week: 7 hrs/week, progressing to 14-21 hrs/week

Classification: SCHADS Award Level 5.1 (salary packaging available)

Probation: 6 months

Rate of Pay: (5.1) $61.60 hourly rate

Position Reports To: Outreach Manager

Direct Reports: none

Location: Suite 7/110 Botany Road, Alexandria NSW 2015

MAIN DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Provide information, short-term counselling and support to individual sex workers relating to their general wellbeing, sexual health including HIV, STIs and BBVs, and workplace safety.
• Provide short-term counselling and crisis counselling via telephone, online and face-to-face format for individuals and couples in the sex industry.
• Build and maintain referral networks with public, community-based organisations, and other health and legal services in NSW. Provide individual advocacy for sex workers, where necessary and appropriate.
• Provide details to SWOP NSW referral database of sex worker-friendly health and support services (e.g. mental health, drug & alcohol, sexual assault, legal services)
• Liaise with agencies and service providers to foster effective responses to sex worker issues.
• Provide case consultancy to SWOP NSW Outreach workers relating to the psychosocial needs of sex workers.
• Be available for SWOP Outreach staff to transfer SWOPConnect callers with complex and immediate needs.
• Actively participate in and contribute to processes at SWOP NSW of supervision, outreach team meetings, staff meetings, policy development, and professional development and accreditation requirements (e.g. receiving a minimum amount of clinical supervision)
• Provide timely service provision statistics for SWOP NSW funding requirements.
• Maintain confidential records of counselling and support and individual advocacy reports.
• Perform relevant duties in consultation with the team manager, aligning with SWOP NSW's strategic and business plans.

SELECTION CRITERIA

Essential:

• Knowledge of and experience in the NSW sex industry and a good understanding of and commitment to sex worker issues.
• Professional qualifications in health, welfare, human services, social work or a related field.
• Demonstrated experience or strong understanding of health and welfare services, peer education and AOD harm reduction approaches.
• Experience in undertaking trauma-informed psychosocial assessments, goal setting, care planning, referral pathways, individual advocacy, and using short-term evidence-based therapeutic interventions.
• A commitment to working in partnership with other organisations and service providers to deliver quality services to sex workers in NSW.
• Well-developed organisational and time management skills, high level written and oral communication skills and experience in the use of Microsoft Office and web-based applications or similar.
• An ability to analyse and act upon complex situations in an appropriate and effective manner.
• Demonstrated abilities to work with minimal supervision as well as part of a team.

Desirable:

• Current driver's license.
• Availability and willingness to travel nationally if required (not regularly).

Please click Apply Now to submit your application.

Note; If you are interested in the position, but unsure whether you meet the selection criteria, please contact the SWOP NSW Outreach Manager via [email protected] with any questions, using the subject line: Counsellor and Support Worker enquiry via EthicalJobs.