POSITION SUMMARY

The Aboriginal Practice Leader is located at The Orange Door in the Inner Eastern Metropolitan Region (Box Hill, VIC). The Aboriginal Practice Leader will work in close partnership with the Hub Manager, Practice Leaders, the Hub Practitioner and Team Leaders to lead high-quality, culturally safe and effective responses to Aboriginal people seeking support and safety through The Orange Door.

The Aboriginal Practice Leader will provide support and consultation to the Orange Door Team Leader and Practitioner in completing intake, assessment and planning for Aboriginal community members seeking support around family violence and child well-being.

The Aboriginal Practice Leader will be responsible for providing practice leadership and expert advice to The Orange Door workforce on culturally safe and inclusive specialist family violence services, child and family services and perpetrator interventions. The Aboriginal Practice Leader will provide secondary consultation to internal and external stakeholders and proactively build cultural safety and competence in The Orange Door.

In addition, the Aboriginal Practice Leader will work with the Hub Manager and the Service System Navigator to build and maintain effective partnerships with Aboriginal services and communities within The Orange Door network to support informed choices for Aboriginal people.

ROLE OF THE ORANGE DOOR

The Orange Door delivers fundamental alternatives to the way we work with women, children and families, men and perpetrators.

The role of The Orange Door is to provide:

• A more visible and accessible contact point so that people know where to go for specialist support.
• Assistance for people in identifying family violence, risks around child and family safety and overall wellbeing issues.
• Advice and guidance based on contemporary risk assessment tools and any relevant information available.

• Specialist support and tailored advice for victims, families, children and perpetrators.
• A strong focus on perpetrator accountability.
• The connection to and coordination of available support.
• A cross-spectrum approach to prevention, early intervention and response outcomes.
• A system-wide view of service capacity, client experience and support outcomes.

The Orange Door supports the agency of women, children and families to ensure that the services they receive meet their needs and goals.

THE ORANGE DOOR TEAM

The Orange Door brings bring together different community agencies and practices to create an integrated Orange Door team and a consolidated intake point to support:

• Women, children, young people and families who are experiencing family violence.
• Perpetrators of family violence.
• Families requiring support with the care, development and well-being of children.

This will be achieved by drawing on the expertise of Community Service Organisations (CSOs), Aboriginal services and DHHS to bring together practitioners from organisations that currently:

• Receive police referrals for women who are victims of family violence.
• Receive police referrals for perpetrators of family violence (known as ‘Enhanced Intake Services’).
• Receive child wellbeing referrals.
• Provide the ‘Child First’ service.
• Deliver other relevant services as appropriate, such as those delivered by Aboriginal services.

The Orange Door team will include a mix of staff employed by Family Services Victoria (FSV) and staff employed by CSOs, Aboriginal services and DHHS.

KEY AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY

Practice Leadership

• Lead, mentor and develop Hub Practitioners and Team Leaders in their work with Aboriginal children, families and perpetrators by:
• Building practitioners' capacity to deliver culturally competent, client-centered responses for victim survivors, children, families and perpetrators.
• Aligning practice with the Integrated Practice Framework and relevant legislation (such as the Children, Youth and Families Act 2005 and Child Wellbeing and Safety Act 2005).
• Supervising BWAHS staff within the Inner East Orange Door, providing oversight on both practice standards and daily operations.
• Supporting professional development in partnership with other Practice Leaders, Family Safety Victoria, Aboriginal services, CSOs, DHHS and local training initiatives to strengthen team skills and knowledge.
• Conducting regular team meetings and debrief sessions to foster a cohesive and supportive environment, ensuring practitioners have opportunities for reflection and growth.
• Modeling integrated, ethical practice approaches, essential for effective work with Aboriginal children and families, and setting high standards for clinical practice.
• Performing risk assessments, utilising strong professional judgment to identify, articulate and mitigate potential risks in cases, and providing practitioners with strategies for safe and effective practice.
• Engaging in reflective practice sessions with The Orange Door team to refine and improve approaches, particularly around effective work with Aboriginal people.
• Ensuring practitioners have access to critical information and systems needed to support an integrated, safe response for Aboriginal children and families

Culturally Informed Practice

• Lead and support culturally safe and responsive practices within The Orange Door by:
  • Providing specialised secondary consultation and technical input on complex family violence, child and family cases and perpetrator interventions.
  • Co-working and supporting the Aboriginal Hub Practitioner and when required, Team Leaders with practice guidance.
  • Managing a small caseload of complex or sensitive cases, where appropriate.
  • Collaborating with The Orange Door Leaders, Aboriginal services and community leaders to address clinical and practice challenges as they arise.
  • Operating with accountability and autonomy in providing culturally responsive support to Aboriginal children, families and perpetrators.

Service and Program Development

• Integrate internal insights with best practices and research to address service issues and promote continuous improvement.
• Oversee, monitor and deliver local projects that meet the community's cultural needs, ensuring services are delivered in a way that is consistent with self-determination principles and relevant legislation.

Training and Professional Development/Capability Development

• Actively train and mentor practitioners in the application of practice theories, risk assessment, relevant program knowledge and project planning.
• Maintain and enhance professional competencies through ongoing development and training opportunities.

Engagement of Key Stakeholders

• Provide specialist or secondary consultation to organisations and services within The Orange Door network to address direct service issues for Aboriginal clients.
• Share critical information internally and externally to promote a shared understanding of family violence systems, Aboriginal cultural norms and timely responses for clients.
• Engage with local Aboriginal governance groups to connect The Orange Door with Aboriginal services and communities.
• Collaborate with the Hub Manager, Team Leaders and partner agency managers to ensure high-quality services for Aboriginal people.
• Offer sound judgment and authoritative advice on risks, priorities and practice issues to The Orange Door team, the Hub Manager and relevant governance committees.
• Participate in Communities of Practice with Aboriginal Practice Leaders across the Victorian Orange Door network.
• Work with the Hub Manager and Service System Navigator to build and maintain partnerships with Aboriginal services to support client choice.
• Manage stakeholder relationships through effective negotiation and influence to support Aboriginal clients and ensure effective operations within The Orange Door.

Program Support

• Collaborate with staff, program teams, colleagues and stakeholders to evaluate programs, identify opportunities and develop solutions to remove barriers and improve program outcomes.
• Ensure projects are culturally safe and effectively meet local needs while adhering to self-determination principles, legislation and government guidelines.

Administration

• Maintain accurate and comprehensive records of work activities in accordance with legislative requirements and Victoria Government information security policies.
• Keep electronic client data current and precise to support effective service delivery.
• Ensure reporting meets BWAHS contractual and stakeholder obligations.
• Manage budgets, expenditures and brokerage allocations related to team activities and program areas.
• Conduct recruitment in alignment with BWAHS recruitment policies and procedures, ensuring culturally responsive hiring practices.

Policies Procedures and Systems

• Adhere to workplace health and safety requirements by complying with legislative and OHS policies, ensuring a safe environment for oneself and others.
• Follow all organisational policies and procedures, proactively identifying and reporting workplace health and safety risks and hazards.
• Demonstrate commitment to achieving high standards and organisational goals, striving for quality and continuous improvement across personal and team responsibilities.
• Identify, support, and implement new initiatives and quality improvement activities as part of ongoing program development and continuous improvement efforts.

Key selection Criteria:

Cultural Leadership and Competency

• Experience providing culturally safe services for Aboriginal families in family violence and child welfare contexts.
• Ability to lead and mentor in culturally competent, trauma-informed practices.
• Strong knowledge of Aboriginal culture, community dynamics and relevant legislation, including Recommendation 209 of the Royal Commission into Family Violence.

Practice Leadership and Development

• Proven ability to guide and develop practitioners in risk assessment and client-centred, culturally competent practices.
• Experience in Leadership or practice leadership.
• Experience in co-working and secondary consultations on complex cases.

Stakeholder Engagement and Partnerships

• Skilled in engaging and collaborating with Aboriginal services, community leader, and government bodies.
• Proven ability to build partnerships that enhance service integration and support self-determination.

Service and Program Development

• Experience in creating and evaluating culturally safe programs for Aboriginal clients.
• Ability to apply practice insights for continuous service improvement.

Administrative and Operational Skills

• Strong organisational skills in record-keeping, reporting and budget management.
• Ability to manage client data and oversee recruitment with cultural responsiveness.

Commitment to BWAHS Values and Ethics

• Alignment with BWAHS vision and principles, and commitment to ethical, client-centered practice.
• Self-awareness, resilience and integrity in maintaining a supportive organisational culture.

Communication and Collaboration

• Strong communication and teamwork skills for effective engagement with clients, colleagues, and community members.

CONDITION OF EMPLOYMENT

It is a condition of employment that BWAHS be provided with the following:

• Current Victorian Driver’s License
• Current Working with Children’s Check
• Undertake National Police Check
• This position is designated under the Multiagency Risk Assessment and Management framework (MARAM) Comprehensive (Tier 1) level which requires mandated MARAM Family Violence Comprehensive Risk Assessment training and responsibilities.
• A degree in social work (or equivalent) or willingness to work toward the qualification in line with the mandatory minimum qualifications policy.

next steps

Please contact Georgia Hooper at [email protected], using the subject line: Aboriginal Practice Leader - The Orange Door - Inner East enquiry via EthicalJobs, for further information or a copy of the position description.