Senior Counsellor Advocate

Austin Health; Melbourne; On-site; AUD 110,000 - 140,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Salary packaging

Wellness program

Onsite childcare

Mentoring and career development

Job summary

Austin Health's Northern Centre Against Sexual Assault (NCASA) in Melbourne is seeking a Senior Counsellor Advocate to deliver advanced assessment, counselling, advocacy and psychoeducation to victim survivors and their networks. You will provide clinical supervision, lead a designated portfolio, contribute to governance and quality improvement, and participate in intake and after-hours crisis care.

This part-time role (30.4 hours per week) offers a rewarding, trauma-informed environment and

Qualifications

• An AASW-accredited social work qualification and eligibility for AASW membership, or a Masters or Doctorate in psychology with full registration.
• A minimum of seven years' post-qualifying or post-registration professional experience, including advanced clinical practice.
• Advanced clinical skills and experience working with trauma and/or sexual assault, including assessment, counselling, advocacy, risk assessment and management.
• Advanced knowledge of trauma-informed, evidence-informed and person-centred practice, with feminist and intersectional approaches.
• Experience providing supervision, consultation and practice leadership to clinicians and/or students.
• Demonstrated leadership capability and ability to support staff during complexity.
• Experience in quality improvement, service or program development and/or evaluation.
• Strong communication, consultation, negotiation and stakeholder-engagement skills.

Responsibilities

• Provide advanced counselling, advocacy, assessment and psychoeducation to people impacted by recent and past sexual assault.
• Provide clinical supervision, consultation and practice leadership to Counsellor Advocates and other staff.
• Support clinical decision-making and escalation in complex situations.
• Lead and coordinate activities within a designated portfolio.
• Participate in intake and crisis care responses, including the after-hours crisis care roster.
• Provide specialist secondary consultation to health, welfare, education and other professionals and services.
• Contribute senior clinical expertise to quality improvement, clinical governance, risk management and accreditation activities.
• Develop practice guidance, policies and resources and contribute to staff development, education, research and evaluation.
• Build effective relationships across Austin Health and with external health, community, legal, statutory and specialist services.

Skills

Advanced clinical skills

Leadership capability

Communication skills

Stakeholder engagement

Education

AASW-accredited social work qualification

Masters or Doctorate in psychology with full registration

Job description

• 1 x permanent, ongoing position. 1 x fixed term (long service leave cover) until August 2027
• Part time - 30.4 hours per week
• Austin Hospital location, close to public transport

Austin Health is the major provider of tertiary health services, health professional education and research across three campuses in the north-east of Melbourne and statewide. We have a highly engaged, diverse and collaborative workforce that is unified by our goal to help people live healthy and fulfilled lives.

About the Department: Psychology, Northern Centre Against Sexual Assault

The Northern Centre Against Sexual Assault (NCASA) is the specialist sexual assault support service for Melbourne's northern metropolitan region and is a department of Austin Health. Austin Health is a major provider of tertiary health services, health professional education and research across three campuses in Melbourne's north-east and statewide.

NCASA provides specialist support to adults and young people over 12 who have experienced sexual assault, as well as family members and other significant people in their lives. Services include 24-hour crisis care following recent sexual assault, counselling and advocacy, group programs, secondary consultation, professional training and community education.

Our work is trauma-informed, person-centred and grounded in intersectionality and an understanding of the social and structural factors that shape people's experiences of sexual violence, access to support and recovery. We recognise the strengths, dignity and autonomy of victim survivors and support each person to make their own choices about what recovery and support look like for them.

About the role

As a Senior Counsellor Advocate, you will provide advanced assessment, counselling, advocacy and psychoeducation to victim survivors and their support networks. You will also provide clinical supervision, consultation and practice leadership to Counsellor Advocates and other staff, including support with complex clinical presentations and periods of increased service complexity.

You will lead a designated portfolio aligned with NCASA's priorities. Portfolios may include crisis care, intake and access, practice development, prevention and community education, or another area of service development. You will help plan, coordinate, implement and evaluate activities within your portfolio and contribute to clinical governance, quality improvement and the ongoing development of the service.

The role also participates in NCASA's intake and crisis care services, including the after-hours crisis care roster.

A regular day will see you:

• Provide advanced counselling, advocacy, assessment and psychoeducation to people impacted by recent and past sexual assault.
• Provide clinical supervision, consultation and practice leadership to Counsellor Advocates and other staff.
• Support clinical decision-making and appropriate escalation in complex situations.
• Lead and coordinate activities within a designated portfolio.
• Participate in intake and crisis care responses, including the after-hours crisis care roster.
• Provide specialist secondary consultation to health, welfare, education and other professionals and services.
• Contribute senior clinical expertise to quality improvement, clinical governance, risk management and accreditation activities.
• Develop practice guidance, policies and resources and contribute to staff development, education, research and evaluation.
• Build effective relationships across Austin Health and with external health, community, legal, statutory and specialist services.

About you

You are an experienced clinician with advanced knowledge of sexual violence, trauma and recovery. You bring sound clinical judgement, reflective practice and the ability to work confidently with complex presentations while recognising when consultation or escalation is needed.

You are an approachable and collaborative leader who can support staff, provide thoughtful supervision and contribute to a positive and psychologically safe team culture. You can balance clinical work with portfolio and service-development responsibilities and are comfortable taking initiative within the scope of your role.

To be successful in this role you'll bring with you:

• An AASW-accredited social work qualification and eligibility for AASW membership, or a Masters or Doctorate degree in psychology and current full registration with the Psychology Board of Australia.
• A minimum of seven years' post-qualifying or post-registration professional experience, including advanced clinical practice relevant to the role.
• Advanced clinical skills and experience working with people impacted by trauma and/or sexual assault, including assessment, counselling, advocacy, risk assessment and management, and complex presentations.
• Advanced knowledge of trauma-informed, evidence-informed and person-centred practice, together with feminist, intersectional and empowerment-based approaches to sexual assault practice.
• Experience providing high-quality clinical supervision, consultation and practice leadership to clinicians and/or students.
• Demonstrated leadership capability, including the ability to support staff, promote effective team functioning and respond effectively during periods of complexity.
• Experience in quality improvement, service or program development and/or evaluation.
• Highly developed communication, consultation, negotiation and stakeholder-engagement skills.

Working at Austin Health means enjoying a strong sense of purpose, engaging in meaningful work every day. Our people also receive a variety of rewarding benefits, including:

• Greater take-home pay through generous salary packaging, for living expenses, meals, and holiday accommodation.
• A suite of wellness initiatives designed to support you, including discounted fitness memberships and special offers on health insurance, and a comprehensive wellbeing program.
• Onsite childcare at Austin Hospital, easy access via public transport and car parking options.
• Mentoring and career development opportunities.

Work with us!

We are committed to cultural safety and health equity for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander People. We celebrate, value, and include people of all backgrounds, genders, identities, cultures, bodies, and abilities. We welcome and support applications from talented people identifying as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander, people with disability, neurodiverse people, LGBTQIA+ and people of all ages and cultures.

All appointments are made subject to a satisfactory National Police Check and if required, a Working with Children Check. Austin Health is a child safe organisation, committed to upholding the rights, safety, and wellbeing of children and young people in line with Child Safe Standards. If you require any reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process, you are welcome to reach out to the hiring manager: Caroline Whitehouse, Manager NCASA at ***************@austin.org.au