• Position : Full time, 12 month Fixed term Contract
• Salary : $64,543 to $77,858, plus super (based on skills & experience)
• Location : Dandenong

The Organisation

Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency (VACCA) is the largest organisation of its kind in Australia, employing more than 600 employees and delivering more than 70 programs across Victoria. VACCA is an Aboriginal community-controlled organisation that supports and advocates for the Aboriginal community. Our strength lies with our people. Our team is committed to the organisation's vision and values; advocates for our children and other vulnerable community members; and shows respect for, observance and compliance with Aboriginal cultural protocols, practice and ceremony. Our Aboriginality is what distinguishes us from mainstream services and what enables us to deliver the positive outcomes we achieve for

About the role

The Aboriginal Kinship Care Program has been developed in response to a Department of Health and Human Services policy to formally contract the case management of children in kinship care placements to agencies.

The program aims to support the family members of Aboriginal children who are caring for their family’s children and to ensure that the children’s needs are being met. The program provides information and advice over the phone, casework support and case management support to kinship carers, where a child is placed with a non-Aboriginal family member, the aim is to assist the carer to provide a culturally safe, nurturing and healing home environment for the children, culturally therapeutic approach.

The objectives of the new kinship care model are to:

• Identify kinship networks early;
• Strengthen reunification, where appropriate;
• Promote placement quality and support children and young people living with kinship families to thrive; and
• Promote placement stability, including reducing the likelihood of entry into residential care.

In this role the worker will complete the Part B assessment whilst offering support to the family to ensure children settle into their new placement and that carer have the support and equipment they require

About You

• Demonstrated experience in working and engaging with Aboriginal families and children.
• Ability to advocate for Aboriginal children and communicate in a clear, culturally appropriate and respectful way with a range of stakeholders including staff and external parties.
• Ability to identify the training and support needs of kinship carers, particularly non-Aboriginal kinship carers in terms of their cultural competence and connection to the Aboriginal community.
• Excellent conceptual and writing skills, with the ability to write reports, including Part B Assessment Reports.

What we can offer you!!

• Professional support and training via in-house learning and development training modules.
• Attractive salary packaging to increase your take home pay.
• Great career development opportunities.
• Access to Employee support and wellbeing program(s).
• Opportunity to work and build connection with the Aboriginal Community and culture.

We strongly encourage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders people to apply.

Applications should include a cover letter addressing the key selection criteria and current resume.

We encourage applicants to view the Position Description prior to applying. Please click here to view the position description.

We are committed to Aboriginal self-determination and supporting strong, safe, thriving Aboriginal communities and aim to ensure every individual is treated with dignity, honouring all cultural backgrounds, abilities, ethnicities, sexual orientations, gender identities and spiritual beliefs.

VACCA is a child-safe organisation and is committed to ensuring the safety and wellbeing of children and young people with zero tolerance for child abuse. All successful applicants will be required to undertake a National Police Record Check and Working with Children Check prior to commencement of employment and periodically following commencement.

VACCA is an equal opportunity employer and has a smoke-free workplace policy.