Senior Practitioner | Family Intervention, Pathways to Grow & Healing, Opportunity, Prevention, Education & Sexual Abuse Programs | Underwood
Employment Term: Maximum Term to end November 2026, Full-Time (76 hours per fortnight)
Location: Underwood / Southport
Remuneration: $55.72 p/hr + Super + NFP Salary Packaging (save tax and increase your take home pay)
Make a meaningful difference with UnitingCare Queensland
At UnitingCare we are leaders in crisis response, the protection of vulnerable people and 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.
As a Senior 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
The Senior Practitioner role is is the first level of team leadership providing guidance, professional development and mentoring for staff in the Family Intervention Service (FIS), Pathways to Grow (PTG) & Healing, Opportunity, Prevention, Education & Sexual Abuse (HOPES) Programs.
Our FIS Program works with families to help protect children and keep them living in the family home.
Our PTG Program provides counselling to children, young people and their families needing support to navigate challenging issues.
Our HOPES Program provides free counselling to children, young people and their non-offending family members or carers who are grappling with trauma and pain because of abuse. We also provide therapy to children who are displaying sexual behaviour problems.
Key Responsibilities:
Partner with families accessing the service, to identify needs and strengths and develop goals, which will address emotional, and practical concerns
Provide negotiated combinations of therapeutic interventions, educative and practical services to families and link families with services and resources in their communities.
Manage intake, referral pathways into programs, allocation of clients to counsellors, reporting and compliance
Provide practice supervision to the Counselling Services team through debriefing, mentoring, client case practice review and supervision sessions.
In consultation with team members, plan and monitor workloads to maintain a high standard of service and delivery
Provide professional practice oversight, performance planning and professional development for all staff within the programs
Produce performance reports
Preparation, organisation and meetings with auditors for the HOPES & PTC programs
What makes a difference for us?
A minimum of a degree in Social Work, Counselling, Psychology, Behavioural Science or a related field
A minimum of two years demonstrated experience working therapeutically with children and their families.
Experience in the area of child protection is essential
Be willing to undergo a personal history check under the provision of the Child Protection Act 1999 in relation to Licensing of Care Services
Current Queensland Driver’s Licence
“Working with Children” Blue Card (or willing to obtain)
Registration with a nationally recognised professional body is desirable
Applications will be reviewed as they are received and therefore may result in the role closing early if the right applicant is found.
What makes a difference for you?
Flexible work arrangements to support work-life balance
NFP Salary Packaging: 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. To learn more about this benefit watch the video via the following link: Salary Packaging Explained
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
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
A positive and inclusive team based on respect, shared standards, strong values and a commitment to serving others
We’d love you to be part of our UnitingCare family
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.
Child safe, Child friendly
UnitingCare is committed to being a Child Safe, Child Friendly organisation and will:
provide welcoming, safe and 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.