Job Description

Your Opportunity

Are you a skilled leader with a passion for empowering families and improving outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people? We’re seeking a culturally grounded and experienced Practice Lead to guide our Foster and Kinship Program. This role involves coordinating service delivery, ensuring compliance with legislative requirements, supporting carers, and achieving positive outcomes for children and young people under the custody or guardianship of the Chief Executive as per the Child Protection Act 1999.

The Practice Lead will work closely with non-government organizations (NGOs), carers, and community stakeholders to provide safe, nurturing, and culturally appropriate care arrangements.

If you're ready to make a meaningful difference and influence lasting change, we’d love to hear from you. This is a Full-time, fixed term position to June 2029.

Your Contribution

The Practice Lead is responsible for overseeing the delivery of family-based care programs, including

Kinship Care, Foster Care, Connecting Kin and Equipping Kin. The role involves coordinating service

delivery, ensuring compliance with legislative requirements, supporting carers, and achieving positive

outcomes for children and young people under the custody or guardianship of the Chief Executive as per the Child Protection Act 1999.

The Practice Lead will work closely with non-government organizations (NGOs), carers, and community stakeholders to provide safe, nurturing, and culturally appropriate care arrangements.

Duties & Responsibilities

• Coordinate the delivery of family-based care services in line with the Family-Based Care Services Investment Specifications.
• Facilitate safe, stable, and nurturing care arrangements for children and young people, ensuring their health, education, safety, and emotional well-being needs are met.
• Support permanency outcomes for children and young people, including reunification with families, long-term guardianship, or Permanent Care Orders.
• Promote and support cultural connection and identity for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people.
• Monitor and support carers to ensure they meet the needs of children and young people in their care and maintain compliance requirements including current Blue Cards.
• Collaborate with Placement Support Services, Child Safety Service Centres, TAIHS Community Services staff, and other relevant agencies to ensure alignment with case plans, placement agreements, and support needs.
• Actively participate in placement agreement meetings, case plan reviews, and safety and support network meetings.
• Manage the intake of young person referrals and coordinate placement responses in collaboration with relevant stakeholders.
• Manage brokerage funding to provide practical and financial support to carers and children.
• Contribute to allocation meetings to ensure fair and appropriate distribution of cases in line with staff capacity and capability.
• Oversee the delivery and maintenance of carer and client files, ensuring staff liaise appropriately with internal staff and external providers and that relevant information is reflected in case files.
• Ensure case note writing and documentation is completed to a high standard through regular case reviews and file audits, supporting staff to maintain accurate client records in accordance with case management guidelines.

Required Qualifications and Experience

• Tertiary Qualification in the relevant field of social work, psychology, education, allied health, or social sciences OR an appropriate certificate relevant to the work required to be performed; eg Diploma Level supported by extensive work experience
• Significant knowledge and understanding of the issues impacting on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families and individuals in contemporary society
• Previous experience in a relevant industry, service or an equivalent level of expertise required to support effective program outcomes
• Previous experience in supervising and supporting a team via supervision and mentoring
• Demonstrated ability to research and analyse complex material, summarise key issues and compile recommendations
• Knowledge of, or the ability to acquire knowledge of the Department of Child Safety, Youth Justice and Multicultural Affairs statutory processes and Out-of-Home Care Framework.
• Demonstrated ability to participate effectively as a member of a multi-disciplinary team within a compliant environment
• Knowledge of, or the ability to acquire knowledge of the relevant Government statutes governing statutory child protection work (eg Child Protection Act 1999) and the ability to keep current of the legislative, practice and procedural changes within this system
• Demonstrated ability to provide information and advice from a child’s family and community regarding protective and cultural matters that is culturally sound, accountable and accepted, including the ability to participate in statutory decision making that impacts significantly on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and their families
• Demonstrable highly developed communication skills with the ability to liaise, consult, problem solving to negotiate positive outcomes in collaboration with clients, internal and external stakeholders in crisis situations.
• Ability to work autonomously and display initiative, self-motivation, time management and solution focused skills.

How to Apply

Please submit your expression of interest and a Cover Letter outlining your suitability for this role to hr@taihs.net.au

For further information, please contact Shari Pedro on 0447 733 411