Operations Manager Circuit Breaker Youth Refuge, Frontyard

Exciting work is underway to refresh and enhance Frontyard Youth Service in 2024, including the ‘Circuit Breaker’ Youth Refuge.  This rare leadership opportunity requires a passionate experienced individual with strong leadership, managerial, and change management skills, including a passion for driving innovation, building networks, and strong advocacy skills. Frontyard Youth Services is a specialist youth service providing a range of multidisciplinary programs to meet the holistic needs of young people aged between 12 and 25 years who are at risk of or experiencing homelessness. Frontyard aims to support young people to meet their physical, emotional, and social needs and to develop pathways out of homelessness. Many of the services at Frontyard work with young people across greater Melbourne and throughout Victoria. The Frontyard Youth Refuge ‘Circuit Breaker’ is an innovative youth refuge program delivering an increased level of support in healing-oriented accommodation. The program offers both crisis and medium-term options to allow time and space for young people to engage and work towards their goals. The Operations Manager is responsible for ensuring best practice services and ensuring a positive and motivated team to deliver services, as well as the ongoing development of the ‘Circuit Breaker’ vision.

About you

We are looking for someone who can perform the below duties and be:

• Responsible for the provision of high-quality, best practice accommodation and support for young people who are experiencing homelessness and significant barriers to accessing the broader youth refuge system and mental health and addiction services.
• Drive a positive workplace culture that ensures employees are productive, and actively contribute to program goals. This includes working with direct reports to ensure all employees receive high quality leadership, coaching, supervision, and performance appraisals.
• Manage the human resource needs for Circuit Breaker including recruiting, managing, and developing employees in the portfolio.
• Create an environment that will disrupt disadvantage for young people through utilising a healing- oriented practice model that proactively responds to young people who have experienced adverse childhood and adolescent experiences.
• Exercise a high level of responsibility for the work undertaken by all employees, including undertaking the planning, direction, management, and evaluation of day to day and future program operations.
• Responsible for ensuring satisfactory program performance against targets, reporting, contracts, and quality compliance.
• Provide leadership and expert advice/secondary consult to employees, including 4 direct reports, working with young people experiencing multiple and complex needs, and support employees to develop comprehensive care plans and risk assessments for all young people.

Essential:

• A bachelor’s degree in Youth Work, Social Science, Social Work or related fields with extensive experience working with young people that have experienced adverse childhood experiences and at least 4 years in a leadership role.
• A demonstrated ability to lead, guide, supervise and support employees with a sound understanding of supervision guidelines and best practice principles, ideally in community services or related field.
• Extensive knowledge and understanding of current issues and trends in the youth homelessness and housing sectors and related fields.
• Sound theoretical practice in working with young people experiencing homelessness and intensive case management based on best practice and current theory.
• Ability to create and enhance program design within an accommodation service to create an innovative environment that disrupts disadvantage and leads to sustainable housing pathways for young people.
• Demonstrated experience, knowledge, and skills in the delivery of human services, preferably in an accommodation/ housing support program.

Desirable:

• A comprehensive understanding of current government reform and policy and demonstrated ability to participate effectively in sector reform and implement change.
• Sound, current knowledge of the Mental Health Act, relevant legislation, and current strategic directions of public mental health and primary health care services.

Screening Criteria

• National Police check
• Working with Children check 
• Valid Victorian Drivers license
• Right to Work in Australia