• Come join our team in our new Very Special Kids House
• Fixed Term - 2 years, 3 days per week
• Work in Victoria’s only Children’s Hospice

Are you a Child Life Therapist looking to work in an exciting environment with a passionate child and young person-centred team? We have a part time position available at Very Special Kids in Malvern. Our Child Life Therapist will join a dedicated allied health team working within our hospice.

At Very Special Kids, we nurture and foster a culture where our team is empowered, supported and safe through the process of caring for children, young people, and families. As part of our diverse, professional team you will have access to education and training to enhance your personal and professional development; expert specialist resources; and the well-being support you need to make a bigger impact in the lives of children, young people, and their families.

Our new state-of-the-art, purpose-built Sister Margaret Noone Hospice (including hydro-therapy pool) is a world class facility to support the complex needs of the children and young people in our care. You will enjoy one of Melbourne’s most unique purpose-built workplaces, while you work side by side with our favourite team member - Jaffa our Therapy Dog.

About Very Special Kids:

At Very Special Kids, we believe that all children and young people have the right to a quality of life, no matter how long or short their life may be. We are a highly respected organisation with circa 100 employees and over 600 volunteers who provide essential, free-of-charge, palliative care services for children and young people living with a life-liming condition. Very Special Kids provides specialist services for the whole family, including counselling, peer support, bereavement support and respite or end of life care at Victoria’s only hospice for children and young people.

About the role:

We have an opportunity for a new Child Life Therapist to join our Allied Health Hospice team for up to three days a week on a fixed term 2 year contract. As our Child Life Therapist, you will be responsible for developing and implementing developmentally appropriate therapeutic and medical play in the Hospice for children with complex health needs, their siblings and to support the holistic needs of the family.

The Child Life Therapist utilises specialist knowledge to reduce stress and anxiety through teaching coping strategies and distraction and to assist with pain management through a variety of age-appropriate play activities and therapeutic diversions.

Key requirements:

To be successful you will be a qualified Child Life Therapist with current membership or evidence of eligibility for membership of the ACLTA or have a relevant postgraduate qualification in child development/play therapy with provisional or full registration with either APTA (Australian Play Therapists Association or APPTA (Australasia Pacific Play Therapy Association).

A minimum of 3 years demonstrable experience of working in a paediatric palliative care, health or disability sector and/or setting with children and young adults who have complex health needs.

Very Special Kids offers its employees a unique and rewarding environment including a supportive team, beautiful setting conveniently located in Malvern close to Glenferrie Road shops, parking and transport in Malvern, salary packaging, health & wellbeing initiatives, and targeted individual development plans.

At Very Special Kids, our goal is for our workforce to reflect the diverse community we serve. We continually seek to employ people of any gender, age, religion, sexual orientation, with a disability, Aboriginal Australians and varied cultural backgrounds. If this sounds like you, please take a look at the position description below.

Next steps

Click Apply Now to submit your application.

Very Special Kids is committed to providing a child-safe environment and requires all staff to have a Working with Children Check, Police Record Check and evidence to demonstrate vaccination against COVID-19.

A position description is attached.