About Us

Our shared vision at Burdekin is that we believe every young person has the right to a life that offers opportunities to fulfil their potential. We are a community-based not-for-profit organisation. We use innovative and industry-leading support practices to help guide young people aged 9-24 to fully functional adulthood. Our priority is to prevent youth homelessness and family breakdown by providing a range of accommodation, care and support services to young people and their families across Greater Sydney.

The Role

This role is based in our Inner West Office, located in Marrickville and is responsible for ensuring Burdekin authorised Foster Carers can provide a safe, supportive, and caring environment to young people placed in our care. This role will be responsible for overall Foster Care support, training, assessment, panel and authorisation, and matching of young people with foster carers. They will also work alongside the Regional Manager to recruit and retain foster carers.

The Duties

• Collaborating on recruitment and retention strategy for foster carers
• Driving foster carer recruitment campaigns, including facilitation of information nights, one on one info sessions, and training sessions for prospective foster carers
• Conducting foster carer assessments
• Providing regular individual and group support to foster carers
• Supporting delivery of ongoing foster carer specific training around managing challenging behaviours and trauma informed care

Essential Requirements

• Relevant qualification in social work, welfare, or related discipline
• Minimum 2 years experience working with & supporting foster carers
• Previous experience working with children and families in Child Protection and Out of Home Care (OOHC)
• Shared Lives training and assessment experience or willing to obtain certification (Step by Step)
• Excellent communication skills including written, verbal and an ability to engage with a wide range of people, including caregivers, professional staff, and community organisations
• Demonstrated assessment, analytical and report writing skills
• Working with Children Check & National Police Check or willing to obtain
• Current drivers licence, access to a vehicle and comprehensive motor vehicle insurance
• Demonstrated experience being able to provide coaching and one-to-one training to carers
• Demonstrated ability to work under pressure, manage competing demands and respond/support Foster Carer day-to-day issues and crisis situations
• Exceptional organisational and time management skills and capacity to work independently and cooperatively within a team structure
• Knowledge of the issues faced by children and young people in the Out of Home Care and wider Child Protection sectors.

Work with us and you will enjoy:

• Working from home 1 day per week
• Additional day of wellbeing leave
• Salary packaging with pre-tax benefits
• Free independent counselling service
• Diverse and inclusive workplace of dedicated, passionate and fun team members

If you are looking to join a supportive and passionate team, wanting to support young people to reach their full potential and are looking to build a career within a not-for-profit organisation, this is the role for you!

*The Burdekin Association is an Equal Opportunity Employer that celebrates diversity and is committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We encourage applications from Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander backgrounds and individuals with culturally & linguistically diverse backgrounds.