The opportunity

IFYS Cairns Foster and Kinship Care has an exciting opportunity for a Family Connection Worker to join the team.

As a Family Connection Worker, you will be responsible for delivering early intervention support to individuals and families that are at risk of entering the child protection system, through the Assessment and Service Connect (ASC) program.

You will also work alongside the Child Safety Services Investigation & Assessment team, providing specialised early intervention strategies to a caseload of families.

What's on offer?

• Permanent full-time employment
• Salary starting $100,700 per annum + superannuation – IFYS is committed to gender pay equity
• Work located in the Cairns region
• Use of IFYS company vehicles
• Excellent not for profit salary packaging options (package up to $15,900 per FBT year)
• Unique in-house training opportunities including Therapeutic Crisis Intervention, Preventing Child Sexual Exploitation and Sanctuary training
• Free access to the CALM Premium App for you and immediate family + Flight Centre personal travel discounts
• Access to the Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

Key responsibilities:

• Engage with individuals and families where a co-response with Child Safety Services is considered appropriate to assess and respond to current child protection concerns.
• Support the assessment of safety, risk and needs of children in the home and work collaboratively with Child Safety Services to gather sufficient information to assess the best response
• Provide information, advice and in some cases brief casework responses to families with a view to linking them in a timely fashion to relevant and accessible supports
• Maintain accurate client and service records
• Maintain a current awareness of local and broader community services, referral pathways and resources to support vulnerable families

To be successful in this role you will have:

• Tertiary undergraduate degree or higher qualifications in Child Protection, Human Services, Social Work, Psychology or related discipline required
• Demonstrated experience in engaging and working with vulnerable families
• A comprehensive and up to date understanding of child protection legislation and practices
• Knowledge base of local services and referral pathways to effectively link families into required support systems
• A working knowledge of child development and the impacts of trauma and adverse childhood experiences, including practices such as Circle of Security
• Experience in contemporary practice frameworks and tools used to identify and assess risk and safety
• Working knowledge of indicators and the impacts to families of domestic and family violence

Must hold or be willing to obtain if successful:

• QLD Working with Children Check (Blue Card)
• QLD Yellow Card or NDIS Worker Screening Check
• Valid Queensland open driver's license with no restrictions
• Licensed Care Suitability Check (LCS2)
• National Criminal History Check (a new check will be requested through IFYS systems)
• Ability to provide two recent line manager references including your current employer

Why IFYS?

At IFYS, our overarching goal is to foster an environment that nurtures the growth and development of all individuals who access our services. We strive to ensure that those who engage with our services feel valued, supported, and inspired. Equally vital is our commitment to cultivate the same sense of well-being among our dedicated staff members.

We firmly believe that our most valuable asset is our people, and as such, we continuously assess and enhance our framework of support. We readily implement new practices and procedures, such as the Sanctuary Model of Care, which actively promotes emotional, social, moral, and physical well-being for both our staff and clients.

If you would like further information on this role, please call (07) 5438 3000 and ask to speak to Tamara in the Recruitment Team.

Applications Close: 5pm Wednesday 3rd of September 2025

Applications received after this date will be accepted but may not become part of the initial candidate pool.