At Stepping Stone House we truly believe in inspiring youth to build their future and be the very best they can be!

We are currently seeking a passionate and enthusiastic Coordinator to support our Independent Living Program & Aftercare services. This is an exciting and challenging role where YOU can make a difference. The position is located in Alexandria.

About Stepping Stone House

Stepping Stone House is a not for profit charity that provides accommodation and personal development for children and young people aged 12-24 years old who through no fault of their own find themselves homeless, at risk of homelessness or unable to live at home. It is an accredited Out-of-Home Care (OOHC) residential service providing medium to long term accommodation across four homes in Sydney and also provides Semi-Independent, Independent and After Care support to young people up to 30 years of age.

To be successful in this challenging role – you will need to be hard working, have a sense of humour, be flexible in your approach, be enthusiastic, resilient and show empathy and respect for the people you work with. You will need to be a self- starter, be honest in your approach and have passion for working with adolescents and their families.

A few other gems for you:

• Our team love working at SSH. We have enjoyed a 94% staff retention rate over the last 3 years and 100% said they are motivated to see Stepping Stone House succeed.
• Cultural Diversity – 48% of SSH team members are Aboriginal or were born overseas/have parents who were born overseas.

• Gender Leadership Diversity – females make up 80% of the SSH operational leadership team and 66% of the SSH Board of directors.
• Motivation – 96% of our staff team strongly believe in the Vision, Mission and Values of Stepping Stone House.
• Family – 96% of our staff team strongly agree that Stepping Stone House support and respect that they have family responsibilities outside of work.
• Career Opportunities – 36% of our SSH staff team have been promoted internally.

About the Role

This exciting new position involves directing the effective operations of the Independent living program. This program supports young people at risk of homelessness maintain their accommodation in the community. The coordinator will provide leadership, support and supervision to the case work team and will ensure that all services provided are consistent with SSH’s philosophies, values, policies and procedure, adhering to relevant legislations, funding bodies requirements and benchmarks set by internal and external stakeholders.

What you will be doing — Key responsibilities:

• Provide clear leadership to all case work staff supporting the Independent Living & Aftercare programs. Establish clear communication processes between management, staff, residents and families
• Carry out monthly staff supervisions and identify areas of staff development. Where appropriate liaise with the Residential Services Manager on staffing issues.
• Service improvement and development
• Stakeholder management
• Cost effective staff rostering and resourcing of service delivery
• Monitor the expenditures and manage to work within budget including petty cash, payroll

And a great deal more – remember this is an exciting and challenging role.

Essential Criteria

• Tertiary qualifications in youth work, family work or a related field.
• Minimum 3 years’ experience as a coordinator or manager of a residential care service or related field
• Working with Children Certification and National Criminal History Check
• A current driver’s license
• In depth understanding of homelessness, the impacts and trauma of being removed from the family and the experiences of young people in a residential setting
• Demonstrated experience and/or understanding of Trauma Informed Care. Willingness to work within a therapeutic framework
• Demonstrated ability to effectively plan and undertake staff supervision and appraisals.
• Demonstrated negotiation, problem solving, conflict resolution and decision making skills
• Experienced in developing and managing budgets, recruitment and training, supervising and assessing personnel
• Knowledge and experience of the Office of Children’s Guardian standards

Desirable criteria

• First aid Certificate or willingness to obtain.
• High level of computer literacy including Microsoft products
• Creative and analytical thinker with the ability to manage multiple projects.
• High level of written and verbal communication skills with sound administrative and organisational qualities
• Knowledge of legislative, governance and accreditation requirements for OOHC

Personal Traits

• Professionalism and a passion for working with young people
• Proven leadership and problem solving skills
• Highly developed organisational and time management skills
• Ability to work efficiently and effectively under pressure with minimal supervision
• Emotional intelligence and maturity
• Honest and trustworthy
• Evidence of collaborative working style and ability to build good working relationships in team
• Adaptable
• A willingness to align with SSH mission and values.
• Must be highly organised and able to work well with others

Stepping Stone House is a Child Safe organisation and puts the safety and welfare of our young people first in all the work we do. All safety checks will be prioritised through the recruitment process.

If you are interested in this exciting opportunity, submit your application via the Apply Now link. 

Please note: If your application is successful, you will be required to obtain a Working with Children Check and a Criminal History Check.