Practice Lead, Care Services

Wellbeing, safety and respect for all children and families is the Cafs (Child and Family Services) vision. An independent, community owned and governed not-for-profit with no religious affiliations, Cafs provide services throughout the Ballarat, Hepburn, Moorabool, Ararat, Golden Plains and Pyrenees regions. Delivering a comprehensive range of programs to support children, families and individuals, their key services focus on early help and prevention, targeted support and ongoing assistance. Due to growth, the newly created position of Practice Lead, Care Services exists for a highly experienced individual to provide specific guidance and advice in relation to individual clients and their needs, alongside the development of procedures, processes and frameworks to underpin Cafs work with children and young people. This role will focus primarily on Out-of-home Care including; Home-based Care (Foster Care, Kinship Care, Permanent Care and Adoption) and Residential Care. You will also provide practice leadership to practitioners delivering programs to support young people transition from care services; either returning home to family or transitioning to independent living (Targeted Care Packages, Better Futures). Working collaboratively with the Managers of these areas and other Practice Leads you will ensure consistent practice advice and approaches across the Cafs Client Outcome teams by providing enhanced practice leadership with a strong strategic and coordinated focus. Your key areas of responsibility will include:

• Developing and implementing practice guidance and advice relating to best possible outcomes for this client group
• Providing case practice consultation and advice to practitioners, using reflective practice sessions, training programs and professional supervision
• Working alongside Cafs Team and Case Managers, to lead consultations with the Principal Practitioner Child Protection, Practice Leader Sexual Exploitation Child Protection and other Child Protection Practice Leaders
• Supporting and consulting with Case Managers and Practitioners regarding planning, development and implementation of case plans and case plan meetings
• Identifying evidence-based frameworks and professional development to support team members and enhance evidence based practice

As the Practice Lead, Care Services you will work collaboratively with other Practice Leads, Managers, Case Managers and Practitioners as well as external stakeholders. The ability to work alongside others, build trust, provide support, coaching and mentoring will be critical to your success in this role. You will have a strong background in Home-Based Care, Residential Care and/or youth services including knowledge and understanding of current issues and trends to help guide future planning, identify risks and opportunities. A high degree of accountability, the ability to consider activities, decisions and outcomes from the client perspective and the ability to provide leadership are essential skills. You will be an exceptional listener who can bring people along on the journey and will be able to bring new ways of thinking to the table to create change and achieve enhanced client outcomes. A bachelor level qualification in Social Work, Welfare, Psychology or relevant field is required as a minimum plus substantial work experience in the sector is essential. The role has been advertised as a full-time position however we are willing to consider part-time hours (minimum .8) for the right candidate. Cafs is proud to be an inclusive and equal opportunity organisation. We embrace it, value it, celebrate it and support it for the benefit of our employees, our volunteers, our service users and our community. We welcome applications from a range of people including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, People with disabilities, LGBTIQ+ people and people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.