Senior Practice Lead - Child, Youth & Family Services

Senior Practice Lead – Child, Youth & Family

• Monthly rostered day off 
• Hybrid working model   
• Full training and certification in CARE and Therapeutic Crisis Intervention (TCI) will be provided to the successful candidate ensure you are fully equipped to deliver therapeutic, relationship-based care.

At Life Without Barriers, we’re all about creating safe, supportive environments where children and young people can thrive.

Every day, we work closely with families, carers, and communities to help shape brighter futures. From supporting children and families to empowering people with disability, mental health, or those seeking refuge — we’re here to break down barriers and build better lives.               

Role: Senior Practice Lead – Child, Youth & Family

Employment Type: Permanent Full Time

Office Location: Unley SA

We are seeking a seasoned Senior Practice Lead to join our South Australian Out of Home Care team. As a crucial part of the SA Leadership team, you will collaborate with state, and local teams to instil a culture of evidence-based practice, ultimately improving outcomes for children, young people, and families.

Reporting to the State Director Child Youth and Families and Alcohol and Other Drugs, the Senior Practice Lead plays a pivotal role in implementing organisational practice initiatives, providing professional learning, and offering practice support strategies to SA CYF Teams. Your focus will be on supporting the deliver high-quality evidence-based services that positively impact the lives of children, families, and young people.

About you

You will lead, coach, and motivate teams to optimise their performance across our; Foster Care, Mentoring Residential Care and Preservation and Reunification programs, while fostering a culture of stronger client voice and participation in service delivery. Additionally, you will provide expert advice on legislation and standards, mentor regional teams, contribute to business development opportunities, and ensure compliance with LWB policies and procedures.

You will have a sound understanding of the child protection and broader family support services sector with advanced practice experience in the sector.

Your role will also involve providing leadership in Clinical Supervision and facilitating Group Supervision for Therapeutic Specialists, enhancing the overall practice and program excellence within our organisation.

If you are a leader passionate about transforming lives through evidence-based practices, we invite you to apply and be a driving force for positive change in our community!

Key Responsibilities

• Lead, coach, motivate teams to enable them to perform to the best of their ability, with a cross-program focus.
• Lead and model a culture and practice stronger client voice and participation in all Family, Children and Young People service delivery and programs.
• Provide advice and practical assistance to Client Services managers and team members on the application and implementation of legislation and standards.
• Provide leadership, mentoring and advice to regional teams and individuals on practice and program issues.
• Provide training, on-the-job coaching and mentoring to staff, to assist with skills development.
• Assist and contribute to development of new business opportunities including funding submissions.
• Provide input into the development of new programs and practice initiatives and translate these into practice.
• Assist in establishing, monitoring and revising quality assurance processes, including the collection of fidelity data and implementation data and the establishment of monitoring systems.
• Report risks, poor practice and non-compliance with LWB policy and procedure and legislation.
• Support the Practice Assurance team to prepare for and participate in accreditation and licensing processes or play a key role in service development improvement plans.

Skills & Experience

• Tertiary qualification in Psychology or Social Work or related field and eligibility for registration with either the AASW or PBA.
• Experience in a leadership role in Human Services.
• Demonstrated experience in clinical supervision of either Social Workers or Psychologists.
• Experience in practice leadership and / or developing and implementing practice improvement strategies to improve service delivery.
• Demonstrated experience in developing and implementing processes and systems to improve services.
• Demonstrated experiencing in providing advice, support, coaching, mentoring, and training to managers and staff.
• Working knowledge of relevant legislative and regulatory environment for areas of business responsibility.
• Excellent written communication skills for the creation of reports, correspondence and other material.
• Demonstrated commitment to the care and protection of service users.
• Demonstrated skills in the development and implementation of monitoring and compliance systems.
• Previous experience working in a culturally sensitive manner with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and a willingness to work and train in culturally appropriate approaches.
• Current Drivers Licence.

Full position description -  Senior Practice Lead - PD.pdf

 Successful candidates will be required to clear probity checks including National Criminal History Record Check and SA Working with Children Check.

Benefits

• A rostered day off per month.
• Employee Assistance Program.
• Opportunity to work for one of Australia’s largest social purpose organisations.
• Ongoing training and development opportunities.
• NFP salary packaging options
• Travel club membership, discounted health insurance & discounted vehicle servicing to mention a few
• Mobile phone and laptop provided.

Additional Support 

Life Without Barriers offers a dedicated After-Hours Service (AHS) for all Child Youth and Family programs. AHS ensures efficient responses to after-hours events that cannot wait until the next business day, relieving our front-line staff from on-call duties and significantly improving their work-life balance.  

How to Apply

Include your resume and covering letter in one document, click ‘Apply’ and follow the prompts. For any enquiries including persons with disability that require adjustments, contact tracy.dallas@lwb.org.au with the subject heading ‘Senior Practice Lead - Unley’.

Application closing date is midnight Thursday 17th of September.

Candidates with disabilities who require adjustments to the recruitment process or the application form in an alternate format can visit https://www.lwb.org.au/careers/ for information on our access and inclusion work and how to contact us directly.