Child and Family Practitioner

• Employment Term: Permanent full-time opportunity (76 hours per fortnight)
• Location: Cairns
• Remuneration: From $97k + 11.5 % Super + $15,900 Not for Profit Salary Packaging

Make a meaningful difference with UnitingCare

We’re looking for someone who wants to make the world a little better through small moments that leave big impacts. To build meaningful relationships and make a difference in the lives of others.

An integral part of our UnitingCare Family Intervention Service team as a Child and Family Practitioner you’ll be encouraged to grow, develop and feel empowered to make the everyday easier for the people we care so passionately about.

Let’s make a meaningful difference, together.

Your part in our UnitingCare team

We are currently seeking to appoint a Child and Family Practitioner to work as a part of our UnitingCare Family Intervention Service team based in Cairns on a permanent full-time basis (76 hours per fortnight) with service delivery between 8:30am- 4:36pm Monday to Friday.

UnitingCare Family Intervention Service team holds high value for maintaining a work-life balance as well as a strong focus on providing regular supervision and supporting professional skills through ongoing training and development opportunities. The Cairns Family Intervention Service team encourages shared learning, peer support and celebrates individuals’ differences to create a strong working and team culture.

This position provides a holistic and therapeutic response to the needs of families and individuals, that are involved in the child protection system. This includes intervention to support the reunification of children and/or young people to their biological family after spending time in out-of- home care placements or working with parents under and an Intervention with Parental Agreement case to work towards minimising the child protection worries so they can remain safe in the family home.

This role is a home-based intervention and includes case management requirements as well as therapeutic intervention skills.

What makes a difference for us?

You will need to be able to achieve results through personal proficiency and demonstrate high-quality technical or professional work. You will have demonstrated skills and sound knowledge gained through experience working with children and families. Experience in the area of child protection is preferred but not essential. In addition to the above you will also be required to have:

• A Tertiary qualification (minimum Bachelor Degree) in a relevant human services field with relevant experience in previous roles, and where relevant registration with a nationally recognised professional body is desirable.
• Qld Suitability Card for Child Related Employment (Blue Card).
• Current Drivers Licence

What makes a difference for you?

At UnitingCare we are leaders in crisis response, the protection of vulnerable children, financial resilience and family wellbeing. Our FaDS (Family and Disability Services) team work passionately across Queensland to make a meaningful difference in people’s lives.

• Flexible work arrangements to support work-life balance
• Save tax and increase your take home pay by salary packaging your everyday living expenses and bills (up to $15,900) and meal entertainment (up to $2,650) per annum
• A recognition and rewards platform, providing employee discounts at hundreds of retailers, including everyday expenses, holidays, health insurance, annual awards celebration, wellbeing and employee assistance programs
• A positive and inclusive team based on respect, shared standards, strong values and a commitment to serving others
• 12 weeks paid parental leave and 2 weeks paid partner leave, available after 6 months service, in addition to the government scheme
• Diversity and inclusive leave, offering paid gender affirmation leave and cultural leave options (paid and unpaid) for those who may celebrate Lunar New Year, Diwali, Ramadan, NAIDOC weeks and other significant cultural events
• Career development opportunities to challenge yourself, grow and make a meaningful difference

We’d love you to be part of our UnitingCare family

Our FaDS team are passionate about their work with parents to ensure children remain safe in the home and parents have the skills, resilience and capability to effectively parent and meet their children’s developmental, educational, health and well-being needs. We also provide targeted services to men who are seeking to change their behaviour.

Joining our FaDS team, you’ll also be welcomed as part of the UnitingCare family. The second-largest Queensland employer, we’re a proud not-for-profit with more than 16,500 staff and 9,000 volunteers across our brands of BlueCare, Lifeline, ARRCS, The Wesley Hospital, Buderim Private Hospital, St Stephen’s Hospital, and St Andrew’s War Memorial Hospital, and have been leading by example for more than 100 years. Our team are compassionate, inclusive and committed to the work we do, helping people live life in all its fullness.

Child safe, Child friendly

UnitingCare is committed to being a Child Safe, Child Friendly organisation and will:

• Provide welcoming, safe & nurturing services for children
• Implement measures to prevent child abuse and neglect within our services
• Appropriately and immediately address child abuse and neglect if it does occur

Diversity & Inclusion

Our approach is simple – everybody is welcome here. At UnitingCare, diversity is at the core of our who we are, our mission and our values. We are committed to providing equal opportunities to all employees no matter their sex, race, culture, sexual orientation, disability or gender identity. Demonstrating our commitment to reconciliation and building long-term employment opportunities for First Nations peoples, UnitingCare strongly encourages Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants for this position.

Safe workplace

We work hard to make our services welcoming and safe for every person. We are united in keeping children, young people and the elderly safe from harm, within our services, workplaces and the communities we support. We are committed to speaking up loudly for their safety.