Senior Practitioner - Lead Foster Care Support Program

Flourish Community Solutions Pty Ltd; Ipswich City; On-site; AUD 100,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Flourish Community Solutions Pty Ltd in Queensland seeks a Senior Practitioner / Project Lead to drive a nine-month foster carer support pilot across the Ipswich region. You will lead a team, coordinate carers and family services, and collaborate with Child Safety to tailor practical supports for families in need.

Ideal candidates will have strong trauma-informed, attachment-informed practice and experience in program development or team leadership, with a current Blue Card and driver's licence

Qualifications

• Relevant tertiary qualification in Social Work, Human Services or related discipline.
• Experience with children, young people and families in child protection or kinship care.
• Senior-practice / leadership, program development or team leadership experience.
• Trauma-informed, attachment-informed and strengths-based practice knowledge.

Responsibilities

• Lead the establishment and implementation of the nine-month pilot.
• Build strong relationships with foster and kinship carers.
• Coordinate referrals, assessments and household support plans.
• Coordinate after-hours supports and the after-hours team.
• Guide a multidisciplinary youth/family team and allocate resources.
• Collaborate with Child Safety and family-based care providers.
• Provide senior-practice guidance and project supervision.
• Monitor safeguarding, risk, quality and professional practice.
• Gather feedback and monitor outcomes and trends.

Skills

Leadership

Stakeholder engagement

Team management

Risk management

Assessment & planning

Trauma-informed practice

Attachment-informed practice

Communication skills

Education

Tertiary qualification in Social Work or related

Job description

As Senior Practitioner / Project Lead, you will take responsibility for the day-to-day implementation and leadership of a nine-month foster carer support pilot across the Ipswich region. You will work closely with foster and kinship carers, Child Safety, family-based care services and the Flourish team to understand what families actually need and coordinate practical, flexible responses around them. The pilot will provide supports including youth mentoring, transport, practical in-home assistance, carer wellbeing support, community participation and assistance during pressure points that can make caring challenging. Support will be tailored to the needs of individual households.

Key responsibilities

Lead the establishment and implementation of the nine-month pilot

Build strong, respectful relationships with foster and kinship carers

Coordinate referrals, assessments and individualised household support plans

Coordinate after-hours supports and coordination of the after-hours team.

Lead and guide a team of Youth Workers and Family/Practical Support Workers

Allocate resources and respond flexibly as household needs change

Work collaboratively with Child Safety and family-based care providers

Provide senior-practice guidance, oversight and support to the project team

Monitor safeguarding, risk, quality and professional practice

Gather carer and child/young person feedback throughout the pilot

Monitor service utilisation, outcomes and emerging trends

About you

You may currently be working as a Senior Practitioner, Team Leader, Senior Case Manager, Program Coordinator or experienced child and family practitioner ready to take the next step into project leadership.

We are looking for someone who brings both strong practice knowledge and the ability to make things happen.

You will ideally have:

A relevant tertiary qualification in Social Work, Human Services, Psychology, Behavioural Science or a related discipline.

Demonstrated experience working with children, young people and families within child protection, foster/kinship care, family intervention or a related sector.

Experience in a senior-practice, leadership, program development, coordination or team-lead role.

Strong knowledge of trauma-informed, attachment-informed and strengths-based practice.

Confidence working alongside carers experiencing complex or changing circumstances.

Strong assessment, planning, risk-management and decision-making skills.

The ability to guide and support a multidisciplinary team.

Excellent stakeholder engagement and relationship-building skills.

Strong written communication, documentation and reporting capability.

Confidence working with data, outcomes and continuous improvement.

The ability to balance warmth and relationship-based practice with accountability and professional boundaries.

A current Blue Card and driver's licence, or the ability to meet the position's mandatory screening requirements.

Experience in foster or kinship care, program implementation, service development, pilot projects or evaluation will be highly regarded.

About us

Flourish Community Solutions works with children, young people and families across Queensland, providing practical, therapeutic and trauma-informed support designed to strengthen families and build sustainable change. Our work is grounded in relationships, strengths, accountability and the belief that meaningful intervention should build capacity rather than create dependency. This is one of the many programs offered through Flourish Community Solutions and Flourish Academy; this is an opportunity to be part of something from early development, with room for creativity and influence over servcie delivery and implementation.

This project provides a unique opportunity to:

Lead a new service from implementation through to evaluation.

Influence how practical support for foster and kinship carers is delivered.

Work collaboratively with government and sector partners.

Build and mentor a new project team, whilst working alongside senior leaders.

Contribute to an innovative model with potential for future expansion.

See the direct impact of your leadership on carers, children and young people.

Our work is guided by our values of Balance, Integrity, Flourish, Elevate through Influence, Respect, Clarity and Deliver.

The details

Location: Brisbane / Ipswich, with regular travel throughout the pilot catchment
Contract: Full-time, nine-month fixed-term contract
Commencement: October 2026
Award: SCHADS Award – classification dependent on qualifications and experience
Flexibility: Some early morning, evening or occasional weekend availability may be required to support the nature of the pilot.

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