- June 26, 2018
- Posted by: Chris McDonnell
- Category: Uncategorised
Specialist Family Violence Advisor
- Work with TaskForce – a leader in the AOD sector
- Make a difference in the AOD sector in responding to family violence
- Full time fixed-term position until June 2021
- Bentleigh 3 days per week, Frankston 2 days per week
About the Host Organisations
TaskForce will work in partnership with Family Life to host, resource and manage a Specialist Family Violence Advisor for the Bayside Peninsula region, operating out of TaskForce’s Bentleigh and Frankston premises. TaskForce and Family Life aim to foster cross sector collaboration to provide a holistic multidisciplinary approach to client care. Each partner has a long history of providing high-level specialist family and AOD services in the catchment and has extensive experience with the client group, including those with co-occurring mental and physical health issues and complex social and forensic needs.
TaskForce, established in 1973, is a not-for-profit organisation providing community programs and services to those most in need. We focus on social issues of addiction, youth disengagement, unemployment, mental health and high risk taking behaviours.
TaskForce delivers its services and programs through three connected areas of activity:
- Specialist alcohol and drug & family services: working with people and their families to get the help they need and rebuild their lives.
- Youth engagement: programs helping at-risk young people stay in school, get training, and find employment.
- Specialist training: Building marginalised community members as well as professionals’ skills as a Learn Local and Registered Training Organisation.
Family Life is a leading provider of family services throughout Melbourne. The organisation is renowned for its innovation, impact and whole-of-community approach. With strong local networks, and extensive experience in supporting complex, vulnerable families through therapeutic practices, Family Life is able to support the rapid and effective implementation of the project. Family Life have run Family Violence services for over 20 years and continue to deliver Men’s Behaviour Change, Women’s and Children’s Counselling and other therapeutic and case management responses for people impacted upon by Family Violence. Family Life are part of the Bayside Peninsula Support and Safety Hub which reflects reform to Family Violence response and intake services. Family Life was recognised for innovation as one of the top ten Australian not-for-profits (2016).
About the Specialist Family Violence Advisor Program
The Royal Commission into Family Violence (Victoria) found that health services, including Alcohol and Other Drugs (AOD) and Mental Health (MH) services are in a unique position to be able to identify and respond to family violence experienced by their clients. Building the capacity of these two sectors with specialist family violence expertise has the potential to enable earlier recognition and intervention, and a more consistent service response to victims/survivors of family violence and perpetrators at whatever point they enter the health and human services systems.
The Royal Commission therefore made recommendations to improve collaboration between the family violence sector and the AOD and mental health sectors to enhance the capacity of practitioners to recognise and respond to family violence victims/survivors and perpetrators.
This Specialist AOD Family Violence Advisor Program has been developed to contribute towards recommendations 98 and 99 of the Royal Commission into Family Violence. These recommendations require the establishment of specialist family violence advisors to provide expertise to major MH and AOD services and to ultimately encourage all three sectors to collaborate through the promotion of shared casework models.
About the position
This full time position will provide expertise and support for workers in the AOD sector within their catchment, to identify and respond to family violence with their clients, whether they are victim/survivors of family violence or perpetrators. The Advisor will assist AOD workers to understand and navigate the specialist family violence system.
The Advisor will facilitate client information sharing (where appropriate) and support joint work between AOD services and specialist family violence services to achieve better engagement with services for victim/survivors and perpetrators of family violence. The Advisor will also provide secondary consultations for clients experiencing family violence to clarify relevant issues and to provide advice about the clients’ ongoing management.
About you
To be successful in this role, you will have:
- The ability to articulate and apply a practice framework focused on engagement and assessment, including extensive knowledge and experience of risk assessment frameworks and the Best Interests Case Practice Model, in the context of family violence.
- Ability to quickly acquire in depth knowledge and understanding of Family Violence Risk Assessment and Risk Management (CRAF and it’s successor)
- A significant understanding of:
- the gendered nature of family violence and the social and systemic issues affecting women and children
- the dynamics of family violence, including perpetrators’ pattern of coercive control and behaviours.
- the impact on children and the ability of the protective parent to safely parent.
- the structure and nature of the specialist family violence service system, with a focus on local specialist family violence support services and approaches in the local area, and the mechanisms they employ to restore and enhance safe, child-centred parenting.
- the interface between specialist family violence services and other service systems, particularly child protection.
- the relationship between family violence and substance misuse in the context of AOD treatment services, and its implications for AOD service delivery.
- Demonstrated experience in interagency liaison, consultation and the building of partnerships with key stakeholders and relevant service sectors, particularly effective negotiation and problem solving in a multi-disciplinary environment.
- Extensive experience and knowledge of working with diverse individuals and communities.
- Willingness and ability to engage with services working with perpetrators of family violence for the purpose of service linkage and referral.
- Demonstrated ability to manage confidential information, to keep accurate and complete records of work activities in accordance with organisational requirements, information security and privacy policies and requirements.
- Highly developed written and oral communication skills including; accurately recording data, correspondence, reporting and providing written and oral evidence as required.
- Demonstrated ability to flexibly manage competing priorities and stressful situations, monitoring own stress levels and practicing and promoting self-care strategies.
- A tertiary qualification in the discipline of health or welfare, psychology, social, community services or behavioural science plus four AOD Core induction competencies which can be gained on-the-job.
What TaskForce offers
In exchange, we will offer you flexible work arrangements and salary packaging. We also offer an Employee Assistance Program, training and professional development opportunities and the chance to be part of a supportive, flexible and inclusive team.
How to Apply
Applications should include a cover letter and CV and can be forwarded to HR at Jobs@Taskforce.org.au. Applications close on Monday 2 July, 2018.
Please visit our website at www.Taskforce.org.au in the careers section for a position description.
All appointments with TaskForce are subject to the satisfactory completion of a police check and reference checks. Police checks will be undertaken for the selected candidate prior to any job offer being confirmed. Police checks are also undertaken on a periodic basis during the period of employment