Helpline Practitioner

Jesuit Social Services; Richmond (VA); On-site; USD 50,000 - 65,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Salary packaging benefits

Generous leave

Professional development

Job summary

Jesuit Social Services in Australia is launching What’s Ok? Australia and seeks a Helpline Practitioner to provide psychoeducation, support and guidance to young people and families, with a focus on safeguarding and development. The role is based at our Richmond office and is up to 0.6 FTE, with after-hours work included.

You will work within the What’s Ok? Australia team, apply trauma-informed approaches, document cases, participate in supervision, and contribute to continuous service

Qualifications

• Relevant tertiary qualification in social work, psychology or social sciences.
• Experience on helplines or with sensitive topics is preferred.
• Ability to assess risk and provide safety planning.

Responsibilities

• Provide evidence-informed psychoeducation, support and advice via helpline.
• Engage in supervision and reflective practice to maintain service quality.
• Contribute to shaping service delivery and resources for youth and families.
• Complete data entry and case notes and write professional reports.

Skills

Social work

Psychology

Communication skills

Education

Tertiary qualification

Job description

Job Category: Community Services and Development

About the organisation

Jesuit Social Services is a social change organisation working to build a just society where all people can live to their full potential. We reflect on the critical factors shaping our contemporary world; the social, political and economic contexts, and we adapt our practice to work with those most in need.

Since 1977, Jesuit Social Services has provided services to some of the most disadvantaged in our community.

We place a high priority on advocacy and are a leader in policy development and research.

About the program

What’s ok? Australia

What’s ok? Australiawill be launched in 2026 to provideanationalanonymoushelpline andonline early intervention service for young people who are concerned about their own orsomeone else’ssexual thoughts and behaviours,and, at a later date, parents, carers, and professionals who are concerned about a young person’s problematic and harmful sexual behaviour.

What’s ok? Australia is an evolution of the Worried About Sex and Pornography Project (WASAPP). Established in 2019, WASAPP was an action research initiative led by Jesuit Social Services in partnership with the University of Melbourne, developed as part of advocacy efforts associated with Stop It Now! Australia.

The program’s key feature is an anonymous phone and chat helpline. The service also includes a website offering evidence-informed educational content with advice, self-help materials and guidance to raise awareness aroundharmful sexual behaviour. The website will provide links to relevant specialist support and response services.

While the servicewillbe accessed anonymously, all mandatory reporting guidelines are complied with.

The What’s ok? Australia service sits within the Child Sexual Abuse Prevention team alongside programs such as Stop It Now! Australia, and is part of The Men’s Project at Jesuit Social Services.

The Men’s Project

The Men’s Project is an initiative of Jesuit Social Services launched in 2017. It provides leadership on the reduction of violence and other harmful behaviours prevalent among boys and men, and builds approaches to improve their wellbeing and keep families and communities safe.

Our vision is for good men, respectful relationships and safe communities.

We will achieve this by:

• research to understand the behaviours and underlying attitudes of men and boys including related to violence, child sexual abuse and the well-being of men and boys themselves.
• promoting positive change around gender norms related to what it means to be a man in the 21st century as well as building skills to intervene to prevent violence; and
• developing innovative ways to stop cycles of violence and harmful behaviour among boys and men.

Current priorities for The Men’s Project include:

• drawing on our Man Box research and child sexual abuse prevalence study, building a greater understanding of perpetration including opportunities for prevention and early intervention;
• supporting people who work with men and boys every day (e.g. teachers, sports coaches, social workers) to prevent violence and improve the well-being of men and boys;
• developing new early intervention approaches with adolescents at-risk of using violence;
• strengthening early intervention responses for adults and young people to prevent child sexual abuse; and
• drawing on our grounded practice experience, advocating for systemic changes that seek to prevent violence and child sexual abuse.

The Men’s Project builds on Jesuit Social Services’ over 45 year engagement with boys and men in trouble, but it also involves us leading new work to reduce violence, to improve the wellbeing of boys and men, and to keep families and communities safe.

Job Description

About the role

As a Helpline Practitioner you will use your specialist knowledge to provide evidence-informed psychoeducation, support and advice to individuals contacting What’s ok? Australia, a new harmful sexual behaviour prevention service.

This service will be launched in 2026 to provide a national anonymous helpline and onlineearly intervention service for young people who are concerned about their own orsomeone else’ssexual thoughts and behaviours, as well asparents, carers, and professionals who are concerned about a young person’s problematic and harmful sexualbehaviour. Through a compassionate, non-judgmental, and evidence-informed approach, the service aims to promote safety, responsibility, healthy development, and early intervention to prevent harm.

This is a unique opportunity to be part of the development and launch of an innovative national service. As the What’s Ok? Australia helpline is currently in its establishment phase and scheduled to launch in September 2026, successful applicants will have the opportunity to contribute to shaping service delivery, practice approaches, and resources that will support young people, families, carers, and professionals across Australia. This role will also maintain best practice and service quality by engaging in supervision, reflective practice, and professional development, while contributing to a supportive and collaborative team culture dedicated to innovation in offence prevention, and the protection of children.

The role will be based at our Richmond office and is flexible, up to 0.6 FTE (three days a week or equivalent), with some after-hours (after 5pm) work included.

Competitive remuneration, plus salary packaging benefit, is offered together with ongoing professional and career development as well as opportunities for personal growth.

What Jesuit Social Services can offer you

• An organisation that lives its values, through its day to day work
• A welcoming and supportive relational environment
• A comprehensive Induction and Orientation program
• Ongoing training and development related to your role
• Employee assistance program
• A competitive salary plus salary packaging benefits
• Generous leave

Desired Skills and Experience

About you

This role will suit a candidate with the following skills and experience:

• Tertiary qualification/s and/or relevant experience in field in social work, psychology or the social sciences is essential.
• Commitment to and demonstrated practice experience:
• With young people who are concerned about their own sexual thoughts and behaviours or have engaged in harmful sexual behaviours

AND/OR

• With children who are at risk of experiencing child sexual abuse and their families

AND/OR

• Working on a helpline managing difficult and challenging topics

AND/OR

• Other relevant fields (e.g., family violence).
• Proven ability to apply psychological, social work, or behaviour change knowledge, approaches and evidence-based frameworks (e.g., trauma-informed practice, Good Lives Model) when working with young people to prevent or disrupt harmful sexual behaviour and improve practice outcomes.
• Ability to assess and respond to risk, including safety planning and respond to questions and concerns related to relationships, consent, boundaries, and harmful sexual behaviour (HSB) in an age-appropriate and developmentally informed way
• Superior written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to fulfil administrative requirements, including data entry and case note writing; as well as writing professional reports.

Applications will be reviewed on an ongoing basis and the closing date may be subject to change without notice.

Jesuit Social Services is an Equal Opportunity Employer, committed to providing a working environment that embraces and values diversity and inclusion. We celebrate and welcome all people regardless of ethnicity, cultural background, age, gender, sexuality, disability or religious affiliation.

We strongly encourage applications from all community members including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, members of the LGBTIQA+ community, people with a disability, people of culturally diverse backgrounds and working parents.

Jesuit Social Services is a Child Safe organisation and is committed to protecting children and young people from harm. We require all applicants to undergo an extensive screening process prior to appointment.