Child & Family Practitioner - Behaviour and Wellbeing

CatholicCare Sydney Ltd; Sydney; Hybrid; AUD 106,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Salary packaging

Flexible hybrid work

Professional growth opportunities

Job summary

CatholicCare Sydney’s SPARK Child and Family Wellbeing Program in Sydney’s Inner West seeks a Child & Family Practitioner - Behaviour and Wellbeing to assess and intervene with children aged 5–11, within a multidisciplinary team. You will work closely with families, schools and professionals to promote emotional regulation and resilience.

The role offers a full-time opportunity with hybrid work arrangements, ongoing supervision, and professional development within a leading not-for-profit

Qualifications

• Tertiary qualifications in Psychology, Social Work, Occupational Therapy, Counselling or another relevant allied health or mental health discipline.
• Demonstrated experience providing mental health assessment and therapeutic intervention to children and families.
• Strong knowledge of behavioural assessment, formulation and intervention for children.
• Ability to engage parents and carers through coaching and psychoeducation.

Responsibilities

• Conduct developmentally appropriate, trauma-informed mental health assessments for children aged 5–11.
• Deliver evidence-based interventions including CBT, emotional regulation and social skills.
• Develop functional behaviour assessments and evidence-based intervention plans.
• Coach and provide psychoeducation to parents and carers to strengthen parenting capacity.

Skills

Child mental health

Behavioural assessment

Parent coaching

Documentation

Education

Bachelor-level qualification in Psychology

Bachelor-level qualification in Social Work

Bachelor-level qualification in Occupational Therapy

Bachelor-level qualification in Counselling

Job description

Join CatholicCare Sydney’s SPARK Child and Family Wellbeing Program in Sydney’s Inner West. As our Child & Family Practitioner - Behaviour and Wellbeing, you’ll provide therapeutic assessment and intervention for children aged 5–11 experiencing emerging mental health, emotional and behavioural concerns, while working closely with their families and a supportive multidisciplinary team.

• Full-time opportunity based in Sydney's Inner West
• SCHADS Award Level 5 ($105,577 to $110,359) plus Superannuation and Salary Packaging
• Ongoing professional supervision and development opportunities
• Being part of an innovative multidisciplinary early intervention program
• The opportunity to undertake meaningful therapeutic work with children and families

About the Service

The SPARK Child and Family Wellbeing Program is a Primary Health Network (PHN) funded initiative providing early intervention mental health and wellbeing support to children aged 5–11 years and their families in Canterbury.

The program delivers child-centred and family-focused support that promotes positive mental health, strengthens family relationships, builds parenting capacity and improves outcomes for children experiencing vulnerability or emerging mental health and wellbeing concerns.

Working as part of a multidisciplinary team, the program provides coordinated and accessible support through community-based, home-based, school-based and office-based service delivery.

About the Role

As the Child & Family Practitioner - Behaviour and Wellbeing, you will work therapeutically with children aged 5–11 and their families where emotional wellbeing, behaviour and family functioning are impacting a child’s development and day-to-day life.

We are looking for a skilled child and family clinician who brings particular expertise in understanding and responding to behaviour. You will draw on your mental health and behavioural practice experience to understand what sits beneath a child’s behaviour and develop practical, evidence-informed interventions that support lasting change.

You will undertake assessment and therapeutic intervention with children, alongside coaching and psychoeducation with parents and carers. Working from a strengths-based, trauma-informed and family-centred perspective, you will support children to build emotional regulation, resilience and social skills, while helping parents and carers better understand and respond to their child’s needs.

You will also work closely with SPARK’s multidisciplinary team and collaborate with schools and other professionals involved in the child’s life, creating consistent and coordinated approaches across home, school and community settings.

Services will be delivered from our Lakemba hub and within school and community settings where appropriate.

Key Responsibilities

• Conduct developmentally appropriate, and trauma-informed mental health assessments using a biopsychosocial framework for children aged 5-11 experiencing emerging psychological, emotional, social or other wellbeing concerns
• Deliver evidence-based, developmentally appropriate, and trauma-informed therapeutic interventions, including approaches such as CBT, emotional regulation interventions, social skills interventions, and psychoeducation
• Conduct developmentally appropriate behavioural assessments, including functional assessment and formulation of behavioural concerns, and develop evidence-based interventions such as positive behaviour support, and behaviour support plans
• Work therapeutically with parents and carers, providing coaching, psychoeducation and practical strategies that strengthen understanding, confidence and parenting capacity.
• Collaborate with schools and other professionals to support consistent approaches across home, school and community settings.
• Contribute to multidisciplinary assessment, formulation, care planning and review, monitoring outcomes and adapting interventions as needed.
• Maintain high-quality clinical documentation and practice in accordance with professional and organisational standards.

About You

We are looking for an experienced practitioner who combines strong child mental health capability with expertise in behavioural assessment and intervention.

To be successful in this role, you will have:

• Tertiary qualifications in Psychology, Social Work, Occupational Therapy, Counselling or another relevant allied health or mental health discipline.
• Demonstrated experience providing mental health assessment and therapeutic intervention to children and families.
• Strong knowledge and practical experience in behavioural assessment, formulation and intervention, particularly with children experiencing emotional or behavioural difficulties.
• The ability to look beyond presenting behaviour to understand the developmental, emotional, relational, environmental and behavioural factors influencing a child.
• Sound knowledge of child development, attachment, emotional regulation, trauma-informed practice and family-centred approaches.
• Experience working directly with parents and carers using coaching, psychoeducation and practical therapeutic strategies to strengthen parenting capacity.
• Demonstrated ability to engage children and families and develop strong and effective therapeutic relationships.
• Experience collaborating with multidisciplinary teams, schools and other services involved in supporting children and families.
• Strong clinical judgement, communication, documentation and report-writing skills.
• Current NSW Driver Licence and own vehicle are essential

Highly Regarded

• Postgraduate qualifications or additional training in Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA), Positive Behaviour Support or another evidence-based behavioural intervention approach.
• Experience integrating behavioural approaches within broader child mental health or therapeutic practice.
• Experience providing services across home, school and community settings.

The Benefits

• Professional Growth: Access ongoing learning and development opportunities, reflective supervision and a supportive multidisciplinary team environment.
• Work-Life Balance: Enjoy flexible and hybrid working arrangements with a Family Inclusive accredited employer.
• Salary Packaging: Increase your take-home pay through generous not-for-profit salary packaging benefits.
• Generous Leave Entitlements: Access above-award leave provisions and a range of wellbeing supports.
• Purpose-Driven Work: Make a meaningful difference in the lives of children and families through an innovative early intervention mental health and wellbeing program.

Applications will be reviewed as received and may close prior to the advertised closing date.

Need More Information?

Emma Larkins
Director - Child and Family Safety Services
Email: [e-mail]

About CatholicCare Sydney

People are at the core of everything we do, from supporting children, young people and families to nurturing the growth and development of our staff.

CatholicCare Sydney is a leading not-for-profit organisation and the social services agency of the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney. We support people from all walks of life and are committed to fostering an inclusive, diverse and supportive workplace where our staff can make a meaningful difference.

We welcome applications from individuals of all ages, cultures, identities and abilities, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, members of the LGBTQIA+ community and people living with disability.

CatholicCare requires the preferred applicant to undertake a National Criminal History Record Check prior to employment. A Working with Children Check will be required for this position.