About the Organisation

Barnardos Australia is one of Australia’s leading children’s social care agencies, focused on building relationships between children, young people, their families and the community. Over the next 5 years, Barnardos commits to supporting more vulnerable children to thrive through effective evidence-informed and research-based programs.

About the Role

Barnardos are looking for a full-time permanent Foster/Kinship Carer Advocate for the Carer Support and Recruitment Program based at the Barnardos Centre in Bruce, ACT.

Reporting to the Manager –the Foster/Kinship Carer Advocate will be responsible for;

• Assisting Carer families by increasing their skills through one on one mentoring and training while providing emotional and practical support as needed
• Ensuring carers and Barnardos staff are working collaboratively in meeting the needs of the child/young person
• Identifying indicators of trauma in the children and provide support to carers on how to manage this effectively and implement therapeutic practices
• Enabling carers to expand and develop their knowledge of trauma and how it effects children and young people
• Developing and maintaining positive relationships with Foster/Kin Carers and maintain regular contact with carers via face-to-face and other communications (email, phone etc.)

About You

To be successful in the Foster/Kinship Carer Advocate role, you will ideally have;

• A qualification in Social Work, Community Welfare, Psychology or related discipline
• Varied professional experience in report writing
• Professional experience within the out of home care sector and/or related fields
• Knowledge of Trauma Informed Practice
• Knowledge of Child Protection and Out of Home Care structures and their roles in ACT
• Experience in working with children and families from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) background
• A current driver’s license and the ability to work in a flexible manner, including after hours, when required.

Applicants from an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander background are strongly encouraged to apply. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff are further supported by the Aboriginal Cultural Unit (ACU) and Barnardos Indigenous Group (BIG) to meet their cultural needs within the organisation. For more information on how Barnardos support Aboriginal staff wanting to work for Barnardos please get in touch.

Benefits of Working for Barnardos

At Barnardos, we provide opportunities for development through individual and group mentoring, secondments, acting up and project work. Our benefits include flexible working arrangements, cultural leave, a day off during NAIDOC week, additional annual leave during Christmas/New Year break, volunteer opportunities at community events and many more.

Salary: Base $63,829 to $66,393 plus leave loading plus superannuation. Packaging available to receive $15,860 of your salary tax free. Motor vehicle packaging available on selected roles.

To be considered for roles with Barnardos you will need to have (or be willing to have conducted) a National Police Clearance and current Working with Children check Clearance (or APP number) and for the ACT a Drivers History Check, Working with Vulnerable People Card and CYPS Check.

Expressions of interest

To register your interest hit APPLY NOW and submit your Resume. Please note adverts will expire once we receive enough suitable applications. For a confidential discussion please call Gemma Haworth on 02 9218 2354.