Nexventur is working closely with a leading children’s hospital in Melbourne that has been providing outstanding care for the children’s of Victoria and their families for the past 150 years. The hospital is a major specialists paediatric hospital in Victoria and care extends to children from Tasmania, New South Wales, across Australia and overseas.

With a passionate, highly skilled and committed staff campus wide of close to 4,000, they provide a full range of clinical services, tertiary care and health promotion and prevention programs for children and young people.

The hospital is the designated state-wide major trauma centre for paediatrics in Victoria and a Nationally Funded Centre for cardiac and liver transplantation.

They also lead a number of state-wide services, including:

• Victorian Paediatric Rehabilitation Service: delivering paediatric rehabilitation services to children, adolescents and their families.
• Victorian Paediatric Palliative Care Program: providing a multidisciplinary approach to palliative care for children across Victoria.
• Victorian Forensic Paediatric Medical Service providing assessment and care for abused, assaulted and neglected children and adolescents.
• Victorian Infant Hearing Screening Program: conducting hearing screenings of newborn babies while they are in hospital. The delivery of this service involves working with diagnostic audiology and early intervention services from across
• Victoria, Australian Hearing, Cochlear Implant Clinic, Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital, The University of Melbourne School of Audiology and Department of Education and Early Childhood Development.

Sponsorship and relocation packages are available to the right candidates. 

This role may require professional registration with the Australian Health Practitioner Agency (AHPRA)  https://www.ahpra.gov.au/

Role and responsibilities

Working in close collaboration with medical, nursing and allied health staff on wards, clinics and programs to deliver the best outcomes for the patient and family while also working in close liaison with other service providers both within the hospital and the community.

The role will provide social and emotional assessment, support and intervention for children and family where issues are identified as impacting on quality of life and outcomes for the child. This includes areas such as new diagnosis, chronic illness, trauma, bereavement, social issues impacting on the child’s wellbeing and family functioning, parenting difficulties, psychological health issues, child behavioural issues and a broad range of social support issues.

The role will also ensure that protective and psychosocial needs of vulnerable children and families are addressed in a timely and appropriate manner.

Excellence in healthcare

• As part of the health care team, provide high quality, evidenced based clinical care to children and families presenting with a broad range of complex medical and psychosocial needs, with activities including:
• Assessment & intervention;
• Advocacy;
• Referral;
• Interventions for traumatised and vulnerable children;
• Support and counselling for children and families in crisis situations including life limiting diagnosis, disability, trauma, family violence and bereavement; and
• Crisis intervention in external emergency situations.

Focus on quality and safety

• Engage in quality improvement, research & evaluation projects to enhance existing Social Work, Allied Health services and materials provided to patients and families.
  Engage in interdisciplinary quality improvement, evaluation and research activities to enhance patient care.
  Engage in continuing professional development through education and training.
  Participate actively in clinical supervision and supervision and training of social work students, other staff.
• Maintain required written and statistical records.
• Demonstrate clinical competencies as required by the hospital and Social Work Department.

Partners in Paediatric Care

• Promote and develop partnerships with other health care and community providers / Social Work networks.
• Improve multidisciplinary pathways for discharge and transition to appropriate services.
• Demonstrate partnerships with child / adolescents / family.
• Participate in any other projects allocated by the Department head, team leader, clinical lead or direct supervisor.

Qualifications and experience

• Eligibility for membership of AASW
• Meet AASW accreditation standards for Continuing Professional Education
• Uphold the AASW Code of Ethics
• Demonstrated capacity and skill in responding to chronically ill patients and vulnerable children
• Demonstrated capacity to work constructively and collaboratively with a range of disciplines towards common goals
• Demonstrated clinical competency and experience in paediatric health or closely related field of practice
• Possess an understanding of relevant legislation and practice frameworks relating to family violence practice, including but not limited to the Family Violence Information Sharing Scheme (FVISS), Child Information Sharing Scheme (CISS) and the Family Violence Multi-Agency Risk Assessment and Management Framework (MARAM).
• Employees are required to undertake a National Criminal Record Check and a Working with Children Check prior to commencing employment
• Employees are required to maintain a valid Working with Children’s Check throughout their employment
• A current, full drivers licence for the State of Victoria which is appropriate for the type of vehicle being driven, and comply with any restrictions on their licence (e.g. wearing glasses) while undertaking hospital duties (If applicable)
• Employees are required to maintain compliance with the hospital's “Staff Immunisation - Prevention of Vaccine Preventable Diseases” procedure.

Key selection criteria

• Strong team player yet with the ability to work independently.
• Awareness of own effectiveness and internalised responsibility.
• Commitment to building professional skills and capacity of self and others.
• Critically reflective stance with capacity for acting as an appropriate change agent.
• Capacity to provide psychosocial perspective within treating team and the broader organisation.