Therapeutic Specialist – Eastern Homes

Provide therapeutic leadership across Lighthouse’s Eastern Homes, helping young people experience safety, connection, healing and the supports to thrive.

WHO ARE WE?

Lighthouse Foundation provides homes and therapeutic care programs to children and young people impacted by long-term neglect, abuse and homelessness. Our focus is to create caring communities where young people can feel safe, form meaningful relationships and begin to heal from traumatic experiences.

For 35 years our evidence-based Lighthouse Model of Care has supported over 1,000 young people to heal and thrive. We also educate and support foster carers and families so they can provide the same quality of care to some of Australia’s most vulnerable children and young people.

Our vision is to end youth homelessness, together.

HOW WILL I HELP?

As the Therapeutic Specialist – Eastern Homes, you will provide therapeutic practice leadership and direct clinical support across two Lighthouse homes in Melbourne’s eastern division: a three-bed therapeutic residential care home and a semi-independent home.

Working alongside young people, Therapeutic Carers and the broader Care Team, you will help create safe, stable, relational, culturally safe and inclusive home environments. You will hold a small therapeutic caseload and facilitate regular individual and group reflective practice for Therapeutic Carers and staff teams—supporting them to understand young people’s experiences, respond consistently and build the relationships that enable healing.

You will provide therapeutic assessment, formulation and thoughtful care planning, working alongside young people and their Care Teams to respond to what matters to them and support progress toward their individual goals.

WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME?

• SCHADS Award – SAC Level 6 remuneration plus salary packaging.
• Flexible working arrangements.
• Regular reflective practice, supervision and professional development.
• A caring, values-led workplace community committed to Respect, Kindness, Courage and Collaboration.

WHAT DO I NEED TO BE SUCCESSFUL?

First and foremost, you will bring warmth, emotional steadiness and strong relationship-building skills, with a genuine commitment to walking alongside young people in a respectful, relational and strengths-based way.

From a professional standpoint you will require:

• A tertiary qualification in Psychology, Social Work, Counselling or a related field.
• Demonstrated experience working therapeutically with children and young people impacted by trauma, family disruption, homelessness and/or out-of-home care.
• Strong knowledge of trauma, attachment, abuse and neglect, and their impact on child and adolescent development, wellbeing and relationships.
• Demonstrated capability in therapeutic assessment, psychosocial formulation, risk assessment, therapeutic care planning and outcome monitoring.
• The ability to build trusting therapeutic relationships with young people and work collaboratively with families, carers, Care Teams, Child Protection, case managers and external services.
• Experience facilitating reflective practice, secondary consultation, coaching and/or training for carers or multidisciplinary staff teams.
• A demonstrated commitment to culturally safe, inclusive and strengths-based practice with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people, culturally and linguistically diverse communities, LGBTQIA+ young people and young people with disability.
• Excellent communication, planning and report-writing skills, with the ability to manage competing demands independently and as part of a team.

Other key skills which would be desirable;

• Postgraduate training in relevant child, adolescent and family clinical practice.
• Experience in Victorian child, youth and family services, residential care and/or Child Protection.
• Experience supporting young people in semi-independent home environments.
• Experience supporting young people to access mental health, disability, education, health, housing or other specialist supports.
• Experience delivering therapeutic training, staff coaching and reflective practice.

For this role you will please note you will also need:

• Current driver’s license.
• Valid first aid certificate, or willingness to obtain one.
• Criminal Records Check.
• Current Working with Children Check.
• Worker and Carer Exclusion Check.

APPLICATION PROCESS

We welcome your application and ask that you review the attached position description and provide your resume and cover letter, broadly addressing the key selection criteria highlighted.

To submit your application, click Apply Now.

Contact Person

Ben Pryke, benp@lighthousefoundation.org.au using the subject line: Therapeutic Specialist – Eastern Homes enquiry

Lighthouse celebrates diversity and affirms the right of access, equity and equality for every young person, staff member and volunteer in the Lighthouse community. Our organisation is inclusive of all sexual orientations and gender identities. We practice from a position of cultural safety and awareness across diverse languages, religions and cultures, and we respect, respond to and continue to learn about the unique needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people.

Lighthouse Foundation is a Child Safe Organisation. We are committed to a thoughtful and protective environment that supports babies, children and young people to feel safe and respected, and to build their capacity to feel deeply cared for and important to other human beings.

Please find attached the position description.