• Love Trust Honesty Respect Concern
• Part-time (Up to 30 hours per week), mostly sleepovers with evening and morning shifts either side. Must be available for weeknights, sleepovers and weekend shifts.
• Based at Lower Plenty, our original residential treatment community in a beautiful countryside setting
• Salary negotiable based on experience/certification (from $32.04 per hour/ $63,306 FTE per annum), plus super, plus shift penalties, plus salary packaging (up to $15,900 per annum)
• 17.5% annual leave loading
• Progressive Workplace Flexibility options that enable genuine work life balance

About Odyssey House Victoria:

Odyssey House Victoria (OHV) is a place of hope and positive change for individuals working towards breaking their pattern of addiction. At Odyssey House we believe that every person should have the opportunity to change and grow. Our diverse teams work with individuals, families, and communities to reduce alcohol and other drug (AOD) use, improve mental health, and reconnect people to their family and the community. OHV is a dynamic and fast-growing organisation committed to excellence in service provision and innovation in responding to alcohol and other drugs use problems.

Therapeutic Community Lower Plenty

OHV’s adult residential rehabilitation program at Lower Plenty provides live-in treatment for individuals, couples and parents with their children (aged 0-12 years old). Operating as a therapeutic community, the values-based program provides a structured environment where up to 143 residents and 30 staff work together to help people make changes and choices on their pathway to recovery.

About this role:

The Duty Worker contributes to the life of the Therapeutic Community (TC) by liaising closely with residents and other staff to foster safe, therapeutic relationships within an atmosphere of mutual acceptance and harmony. The Duty Worker ensures the operations of the TC are adhered to with regards to both staff and resident activities, as well as providing a supportive structure for the TC. A significant part of this is to role model the TC values and behaviour by using the social environment to maximise peer influence. When necessary, the Duty Worker will liaise with the Senior staff on-call to support TC process.

Key areas of focus:

• Facilitating the functioning of the residential facility after hours in consultation with the Treatment House Supervisor and Team Leader, and other relevant on-call staff.
• Holding the staff keys and being the first point of contact for resident issues.
• Communicating relevant information to residents and effectively managing a variety of emotional responses through the application of TC interaction techniques (e.g. Offering support, grounding techniques, assisting conflict resolution).
• Keeping accurate administrative records as required.
• Performing a variety of operational tasks related to day-to-day TC life such as handling petty cash, assisting senior residents to manage the schedule, and supporting residents to self-administer medication as prescribed.
• Facilitating group sessions, including managing conflict through the communique process.

A week in this role:

If you were here last week, you would have:

• Dined with the residents
• Dispensed medication during wash-up and before “House to bed”
• Checked in with senior residents to ensure schedule is on track
• Co-facilitated the evening meeting with senior residents
• Welcomed new residents and celebrated successes
• Supported residents wishing to exit treatment

Who WE are looking for?

We are looking for a passionate Duty Worker to provide support and structure to our residents in their recovery journey at the Therapeutic Community.

To be successful in this role, you must…

• Hold a Cert IV in Alcohol or Other Drugs and/or a degree in Health, Mental Health, or Allied Health with a minimum of the AOD Skill Set for Health Professionals (refer to Appendix A)
• Posses a current Victorian Driver’s License
• Hold a First Aid Certificate
• Demonstrate the ability to engage residents in dialogue and develop a therapeutic relationship to facilitate a meaningful TC experience
• Be able to resolve conflict and work with difficult and demanding clients
• Strong organisational and highly developed interpersonal and communication skills (both verbal and written) with a consultative approach to addressing issues
• Have a comprehensive understanding of alcohol and drug substance abuse and an understanding of residential rehabilitation services
• Demonstrate empathy for those whose lives have been affected by problematic alcohol and other drug use/and or mental health disorders
• Be able to self-regulate and self-monitor own behaviours, practice self-reflection at all times, display a commitment to realistically assess own personal strengths, limitations, biases, and effectiveness, and remain open to feedback and constructive criticism
• Demonstrate understanding of the importance and application of inclusive practice when working with people from diverse communities, such as cultures, genders, sexualities, bodies, abilities, spiritualities, ages and backgrounds
• Demonstrate understanding of the importance and application of intersectionality when working with people from all cultures, genders, sexualities, bodies, abilities, spiritualities, ages and backgrounds

Appendix A (AOD Competencies)

OHV requires people in clinical positions to have the following competencies (or their equivalent). Where people do not already have these competencies, OHV will invest in the person’s professional development by providing them through its RTO.

The competencies required in the first 12 months of employment are:

• CHCAOD001 - Work in an alcohol and other drugs context
• CHCAOD004 - Assess needs of clients with alcohol and other drugs issues
• CHCAOD006 - Provide interventions for people with alcohol and other drugs issues
• CHCAOD009 - Develop and review individual alcohol and other drugs treatment plans

What we can give YOU!

In return we are committed to offering you an inclusive and transparent workplace culture where our people can develop to be their very best by:

• Ongoing learning and development opportunities
• Providing work that is meaningful and challenging, with career development opportunities through project and secondment opportunities and succession planning
• Providing career pathways across diverse OHV programs
• Access to 24/7 counselling through our Employee Assistance Provider (EAP)
• Generous leave options such as 48/52 Purchase Leave, Study Leave and Sabbaticals
• Flexible working arrangements such as school-orientated part-year hours and monthly RDO’s for full-timers (arrangements will vary based on role requirements).

Our commitment to diversity:

At OHV we value diversity and believe that a range of backgrounds brings a variety of ideas, perspectives and experiences that will enhance our effectiveness. We promote a workplace that actively seeks to include, welcome and value unique contributions by encouraging people with disability, Aboriginal Australians, LGBTQIA, young people and people from culturally diverse backgrounds to apply for this position.

Application information:

Please apply directly via our careers website (applications via external recruitment websites or via email will not be considered)

Applications should be addressed to Olivia Kozar, Treatment House Team Leader and include your CV and a cover letter addressing the key selection criteria.

If you have any questions relating to the position, please contact Olivia Kozar on 0478 496 906 or [email protected] using the subject line: Duty Worker enquiry via EthicalJobs.

We will be assessing applications on a rolling basis and suitable candidates will be shortlisted immediately. This role will close once a suitable candidate has been selected, so please don’t wait to apply!

Our commitment to diversity

At OHV we value diversity and believe that a range of backgrounds brings a variety of ideas, perspectives and experiences that will enhance our effectiveness. We promote a workplace that actively seeks to include, welcome and value unique contributions by encouraging people with disability, Aboriginal Australians, LGBTQIA, young people and people from culturally diverse backgrounds to apply for this position.

Safety screening

OHV is committed to child safety and is a child safe organisation. All OHV employees must undergo Police Records and Working with Children Checks. Any person issued with a negative notice on their Working with Children Check will not be eligible for employment with us.

Mandatory COVID vaccinations

In line with recent Victorian Government mandatory vaccination requirements for the health industry, and OHV's Mandatory Vaccination Policy, all Odyssey House Victoria staff are required to hold full vaccination status, and effective as of 1 March 2022 also have received the Booster Vaccination. Evidence of such vaccination status will be requested during the onboarding process and offers will be rescinded where such evidence cannot be provided.

All Odyssey House Victoria sites are smoke free for all employees.