About Women’s Legal Service WA

Women’s Legal Service WA is an accredited and specialist gender-specific community legal centre, providing trauma-informed services to women around Western Australia who are financially disadvantaged, prioritising assisting women who have or are experiencing family, domestic and sexual violence.

In addition to poverty and violence, WLSWA clients live with multiple vulnerabilities and complex unmet social and legal needs that creates additional barriers to accessing justice. We support cis and trans women, and non-binary people comfortable in women’s spaces.

WLSWA has the experience and expertise to provide a continuum of support at the intersection of socio-legal issues that are mostly unique to women.

WLSWA works with the person, aiming to respond to women’s legal issues in context of their whole lives. Our tailored assistance includes an integrated and coordinated socio-legal response , aimed at ensuring continuity in support and mitigating re-traumatising clients.

WLSWA aims to empower WA women to make informed choices and participate fully in decisions that impact on their lives and the lives of their children.

WLSWA also promotes and advocates for women’s human rights to be upheld and fosters legal and social change through a range of strategic activities, including community education and policy reform.

WLSWA provides socio-legal assistance to women in collaboration with our sector partners.

Abut the role

Women’s financial wellbeing can be profoundly impacted by family and domestic violence, both during a relationship and afterwards. Women may stay in violent relationships due to financial insecurity and limited other options. Victim-survivors of FDV are more likely to rely on income support and suffer a range of negative impacts such as lack of access to joint accounts and assets, outstanding debt, unpaid utility accounts in her name, poor credit history making it difficult to borrow, and lack of experience or confidence in dealing with day-to-day finances.

This newly created role is an expansion of the WLSWA Health Justice Partnership program, extending our ability to deliver a continuum of coordinated gender-specific, trauma informed and culturally secure services that respond to their all their needs. The financial counsellor will provide financial counselling to women experiencing or at risk of family, domestic and sexual violence in outreach locations, in case management collaboration with other supports. This innovative strategy is part of a pilot project enabling women to access specialist women’s services in specialist women’s health centres.  

The financial counsellor is an integral member of the WLSWA Health Justice Partnership team, providing support to women through a combination of in-person and virtual outreach, delivered via a co-location model with the women’s health centre providers in Northbridge, Kalgoorlie and Geraldton.

About the candidate

We are looking for a qualified financial counsellor who is experienced in the provision person-centered and trauma informed financial counselling to women who live with, or have lived with, intimate partner violence.

The successful applicant will be highly professional, combining relevant experience with demonstrated empathy and understanding.

They will value effective teamwork and have a supportive and cooperative approach to working effectively with all team members. They will be able to work under pressure, multi task and be flexible in approaches.  

Above all they will be passionate about advancing the interests of women, reducing gender inequality, and empowering women through the provision of excellent services to address the financial hardships they have experienced, and information that ensures they understand their rights. 

About the conditions

In addition to the opportunity to join a great team, WLSWA offers flexible working arrangements, employee assistance program, targeted professional development, opportunity to salary sacrifice, additional paid leave between Christmas and new year, extra wellbeing leave and bonus payments.

This part-time position is funded for 3-4 days/week. Working hours and days, including WFH, will be negotiated with the successful applicant.

Substantively based in the Perth and Northbridge offices, the financial counsellor may be required to undertake occasional travel around WA.

Apply

For a confidential discussion about the position, please contact Dr Jennie Gray on 0427 017 467.

We encourage you to submit your application as soon as possible. If the suitable candidate is successful prior to this date the ad will close early. Apply via the "Apply Now" button.

All applications will be treated in strictest confidence. We look forward to hearing from you.

A position description is attached.