Therapeutic Specialist

About Stepping Stone House

Stepping Stone House is a not for profit charity that provides accommodation and personal development for children and young people aged 12-24 years old who through no fault of their own find themselves homeless, at risk of homelessness or unable to live at home.  It is an accredited out of home care residential service providing medium to long term accommodation across three homes in Sydney. Furthermore, it provides after care support to graduates up to 30 years of age. At Stepping Stone House we encourage personal growth and development of children and young people with the aim of empowering the individual to achieve responsible independence.

About the Role:

The part time Therapeutic Specialist is responsible for guiding and supporting staff interactions with children and young people, conducting assessments, developing therapeutic plans and leading reflective practice to support staff to develop their therapeutic skills.

The Therapeutic Specialist works closely with internal and external stakeholders, including government and non government agencies, in the management of complex cases and practice quality issues. This includes the provision of specialist expertise and assistance, case consultancy and review, and the promotion of reflective and evidence based practice.

Work with us and you will enjoy:  

• Salary Packaging benefits  
• Parental leave
• Incentive scheme
• Employee Assistance Program 
• Time off in lieu  
• Flexible work arrangements 
• Training, development and succession planning  

What you will be doing – Key responsibilities

• Develop, implement and oversee the delivery of effective strengths based therapeutic behaviour support plans
• Mentor and advise client facing staff in their therapeutic practice through group and 1:1 supervisions 
• Oversight of restrictive practice utilized in the organization through membership on the restrictive practice panel
• Review and oversight of high and critical incidents with an aim to monitor trends and provide feedback and support to the staff teams
• Develop rapport and meaningful relationships with the young people
• Attendance and therapeutic guidance given at staff meetings

And a great deal more – remember this is an exciting and challenging role.

Essential Criteria (The first 3 are an absolute requirement under DCJ):

• A tertiary qualification in Psychology, Social Work, Occupational Therapy, Mental Health Nursing or related discipline. (candidates that also hold a relevant Postgraduate Qualification will be highly regarded)
• Minimum of five years of experience in a therapeutic care setting or working in a clinical environment with Children and Young People in OOHC.
• Current registration with the professional body relevant to their qualification.
• Knowledge of legislative, governance and accreditation requirements for residential services
• In depth understanding of trauma based issues impacting young people in the Out of Home Care
• Experience creating and delivering effective behavior support plans
• Knowledge of therapeutic interventions for young people with a trauma background
• Experience in training teams
• Working with Children certification and criminal history check

Desirable criteria

• TCI (Therapeutic crisis intervention) training/ facilitator
• Experience working with disadvantaged young people 12 to 25 years, preferably in a residential or community support setting or similar field
• Knowledge of the ARC (Attachment, Regulation and Competency) model of care 
• Knowledge of legislative, governance and accreditation requirements for residential services
• Experience with staff supervision, coaching and reflective practice 

Stepping Stone House is an Equal Opportunities Employer and welcomes applicants who have an Indigenous and / or culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) background.

Stepping Stone House provides regular supervision and support for all staff and opportunities for professional development.

Salary and Conditions of employment are based on the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Level 6.

Stepping Stone House is a Child Safe Organisation and puts the safety and welfare of our young people first in all the work we do.

For more details. please reach out to Ciara.Brennan@steppingstonehouse.com.au