Position overview

Women, Youth and Children Community Health Programs delivers a range of health care community-based services to women, children, young people and families. These services include support, education and information; counselling, assessment and screening; early identification and referral; and the delivery of public health programs. Services are delivered within a multidisciplinary context if not by a multidisciplinary team.

The Enhanced Health Services (EHS) include the Early Family Support Service (EFSS), Enhanced Child Health Service (ECHS), Developmental Paediatric and Child Protection Medical Service (DPCPMS), and Women’s Health Service (WHS).

Child and Family Counselling Team

Health professionals in the Child and Family Counselling Team within the ECHS provide therapeutic psychosocial and counselling interventions to children, young people, and families relating to experiences of abuse and trauma. Interventions may include short- or medium-term counselling, group work and service linkage to support identified consumer goals. Health Professionals across EHS participate in the delivery of training and education programs to CHS staff and external stakeholders and consumers.

As Clinical Lead you will provide clinical leadership, clinical supervision, and guidance to a team of Health Professionals. You will provide expert clinical interventions for highly complex and sensitive presentations and work collaboratively with team members to achieve enhanced health outcomes with a focus on safety. You will work in collaboration with clinical leads, health professionals and managers to support and embed a model of holistic multidisciplinary care.

This is a rewarding and exciting position within a vibrant service that is suitable for a dynamic, flexible, and highly skilled Health Professional, with strong leadership, who is committed to the delivery of high quality, trauma informed, and holistic care, to women, children, young people, and families.

Key Responsibilities

Specific responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. Provide high level clinical expertise and consultation to a team of health professionals relating to therapeutic interventions, systems navigation, and service coordination for women, children, young people, and families where there is increased risk of poor health or developmental outcomes due to an intersection of complex trauma, health and psychosocial needs.
2. Provide highly skilled therapeutic interventions including expert consultation and clinical decisions in relation to consumers with presentations of significant psychosocial complexity.
3. Provide individual and group supervision according to contemporary best practice and professional standards to ensure that psychosocial and counselling interventions are provided to a high clinical standard and to ensure Child Protection and Family Violence presentations and concerns are responded to in accordance with CHS Child Protection Policy, CHS Family Violence Policy and Child Protection Legislation.
4. Provide leadership in the development of pathways and processes across services and teams within EHS, broadly across WYCCHP, and externally across ACT and NSW organisations, to coordinate the delivery of seamless, holistic care and interventions for consumers, with a focus on achieving enhanced health and wellbeing outcomes.
5. Organise and lead professional development activities, education and training programs, and reflective practice, in line with contemporary evidence-based research and practice for a team of health professionals.
6. Provide leadership and expertise relating to clinical governance, policy development, planning and evaluation of services, quality improvement and research, undertake operational duties as required, model an exemplary level of professional and ethical standards in clinical interventions, and provide leadership to uphold the National Quality and Safety Health Care Standards.
7. Contribute to a positive workplace culture by building collegial professional relationships and demonstrating a commitment to proactively seeking solutions when issues arise.
8. Undertake other duties appropriate to this level of classification which contribute to the operation of the organisation.

Competencies

To be successful in this position, it is expected that you will have the following attributes:

• Strong clinical, leadership, and interpersonal skills.
• Adaptability and flexibility to accommodate change and provide responsive services to meet client's needs.
• The ability to work respectfully in partnership with staff and stakeholders.

Qualifications

Specific responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following.

Essential

• Relevant Tertiary qualifications in Social Work or Psychology.
• Be registered or be eligible for registration with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) or for allied health professions not regulated by National Law be eligible for accreditation with the Australian Association of Social Workers.

Desirable

• Have an understanding of how the National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) indicators align with this role.

Experience

Essential

• Greater than 5 years’ experience working professionally, preferably in the delivery of health services to women, children, young people, and families.

Desirable

• Experience or knowledge of the CHS Exceptional Care Framework, and all other related frameworks.

Prior to commencement

Appointment to this position is conditional on being granted and retaining appropriate clearances:

• Pre-employment National Police Check.
• Comply with Canberra Health Services Occupational Assessment, Screening and Vaccination policy.
• Current registration issued under the Working with Vulnerable People (Background Checking) Act 2011 is required.
• Comply with CHS credentialing and scope of clinical practice requirements for allied health professionals.

Important information

All employees are required to:

• Adhere to the Canberra Health Services Values and the ACT Public Service Code of Conduct.
• Act in accordance and comply with all relevant Safety and Quality policies and procedures.
• Comply with all relevant clinical and/or competency standards.

CHS is leading the drive to digitally transform health service delivery in Australia through the implementation of a territory wide Digital Health Record. Computer literacy skills are required which are relevant to this role as you will be responsible for completing required documentation and becoming a proficient user of the Digital Health Record and/or other Information Technology systems; once proficient, you will need to remain current with changes, updates, and contingencies.

What you Require (Key Selection Criteria)

These are the key selection criteria for how you will be assessed in conjunction with your resumé and experience.

1. Extensive experience in providing clinical supervision including a demonstrated knowledge of theoretical models and intervention modalities for the provision of therapeutic interventions to women, children, young people, and families experiencing an increased risk of poor health or developmental outcomes and where significant complexity exists.
2. High level knowledge of attachment, child development and behaviour, and the impact of complex trauma, and an ability to apply this in both clinical work, and when supervising staff working with women, children, young people, and families who have experienced childhood and interpersonal trauma (including family violence, child abuse and neglect).
3. Contemporary knowledge of relevant legislation, policy, and evidence based best practice relating to service delivery for women, children, young people, and families, including demonstrated experience in Quality Improvement activities.
4. Highly developed communication skills including the ability to lead the development of clinical governance documents, co-ordinate case consultations and multidisciplinary meetings, and provide expert liaison, negotiation, and advocacy for consumers.
5. Demonstrates understanding of, and adherence to, safety and quality standards, Work Health and Safety and the positive patient experience. Displays’ behaviour consistent with CHS’s values of reliable, progressive, respectful, and kind.

Work environment description

The following work environment description outlines the inherent requirements of the role and indicates how frequently each of these requirements would need to be performed. Please note that the ACT Public Service is committed to providing reasonable adjustments and ensuring all individuals have equal opportunities in the workplace.