Love      Trust      Honesty      Respect      Concern

AOD Clinician: Assessment, Care & Recovery and Counselling

• Part-time (0.5 FTE), Maximum term contract until 30 June 2024.
• Based at Shepparton
• Pro rata of $68,612 – $73,568 per annum (neg), plus super
• 17.5% annual leave loading and generous salary packaging options
• Progressive Workplace Flexibility options that enables genuine work life balance

About Odyssey House Victoria:

Odyssey House Victoria (OHV) is a place of hope and positive change for individuals working towards breaking their pattern of addiction. At Odyssey House we believe that every person should have the opportunity to change and grow. Our diverse teams work with individuals, families, and communities to reduce alcohol and other drug (AOD) use, improve mental health, and reconnect people to their family and the community. OHV is a dynamic and fast-growing organisation committed to excellence in service provision and innovation in responding to alcohol and other drugs use problems.

About GVADS:

The Goulburn Valley Alcohol and Drug Service (GVADS) offers alcohol and drug treatment to adults (16+ years) in the Goulburn Valley region. This is a free service with a variety of treatment streams available including: Care and Recovery Coordination, Counselling, Non-Residential Withdrawal Service and Therapeutic Day Rehabilitation.
 

Role purpose:

The AOD Clinician: Assessment, Care & Recovery and Counselling reduces AOD-related harms to individuals and their families by providing a range of counselling interventions to assist clients and their family members to change harmful behaviours and increase their capacity to effectively manage the difficulties they are experiencing that are associated with problematic AOD use and that promote recovery. Ultimately this role will assist in the provision of skills to prevent relapse and support the acquisition of knowledge, skills, and motivation to initiate and maintain change and improve quality of life.
 

Key areas of focus:

• Case manage complex clients, facilitate, coordinator and support clients throughout the life cycle of their treatment plan.
• Provide flexible coordination and support and targeted interventions to clients and family members, to enhance the client’s engagement and retention in treatment and facilitate re-entry for clients who have disengaged or relapsed following treatment. These interventions may include:
  • Providing practical assistance, such as transport to key appointments and facilitating access to relevant services.
  • Opportunistic motivational interviewing and supportive counselling with the aim of retaining clients in treatment.
  • Provision of harm reduction information and education.
  • Coordination of and contribution to case conferences to facilitate integrated and consistent treatment across services.
• Utilise the Drug & Alcohol Outcome Star and/or other outcome measure to identify goals, track and monitor progress across a range of recovery domains and provide clients with tangible evidence of the effectiveness of their treatments.
• Develop treatment plans and provide effective counselling interventions to meet the individual needs of clients and their families, including those with complex needs. These interventions may include:
  • Assisting clients to identify their substance abuse triggers and high-risk situations.
  • Assisting clients to develop practical skills such as problem-solving, goal-setting, and assertive communication
  • Assisting clients to develop insight into their thinking and behavior in order to help them make and sustain positive changes
  • Assisting clients to understand the relationship between their substance abuse and other areas of their lives, such as mental and physical health, relationships, and lifestyles.
  • Assisting clients to access a range of community services and supports to promote recovery.
• Follow-up standard clients at 3- and 12-months post treatment to track progress of recovery and support re-engagement with AOD treatment services or other supports, where appropriate.
• Liaise and consult with other services to develop and support the provision of recovery and harm reduction orientated treatment that aligns with the client’s individual treatment plan (IRP).
• Support the student placement program and supervise students as requested.

A week in the role:

If you were here last week, you would have…

• Attended a team meeting and clinical review meetings.
• Scheduled to see 4 to 6 clients daily.
• Following a client meeting, completed your case notes and recorded your work promptly.

Who are WE looking for?

We are looking for an experienced and passionate Clinician to work with our complex clients to develop holistic, long term recovery plans focusing on recovery from problematic substance abuse and achieving outcomes that will sustain positive and ongoing behaviour change.

To be successful in this role, you must…

• Hold a relevant Tertiary qualification in Health, Social or Welfare or Certificate IV in Alcohol & Other Drugs  
• Have completed or be willing to obtain within 12 month of employment, the AOD competencies for Health Professionals *(see appendix A).
• Possess a current Victorian Driver’s License.
• Have experience in the provision of counselling services preferably with AOD or dual diagnosis clients.
• Have experience with therapeutic approaches such as: Motivational Enhancement Therapy, Cognitive Behavioural Coping skills Training, Family Inclusive Practice, self-help groups, Community Reinforcement Approaches.
• Demonstrate understanding of community-based interventions for reducing alcohol and drug related harm.
• Proven ability to work effectively with people and families experiencing problematic alcohol and other drugs (AOD) use in a respectful, compassionate and positive manner and a general empathy for those whose lives have been affected by problematic AOD use and or mental health disorders
• Be able to self-regulate and self-monitor own behaviours, practice self-reflection at all times, display a commitment to realistically assess own personal strengths, limitations, biases, and effectiveness, and remain open to feedback and constructive criticism
• Demonstrate understanding of the importance and application of inclusive practice when working with people from diverse communities, such as cultures, genders, sexualities, bodies, abilities, spiritualities, ages and backgrounds\
• Demonstrate understanding of the importance and application of intersectionality when working with people from all cultures, genders, sexualities, bodies, abilities, spiritualities, ages and backgrounds

*Appendix A (AOD Competencies)

OHV requires staff in clinical positions to have the following competencies (or their equivalent). Where people do not already have these competencies, OHV will invest in the staff’s professional development by providing them through our registered training organisation (RTO).

The competencies required in the first 12 months of employment are:

• CHCAOD001 – Work in an alcohol and other drugs context
• CHCAOD004 – Assess needs of clients with alcohol and other drugs issues
• CHCAOD006 – Provide interventions for people with alcohol and other drugs issues
• CHCAOD009 – Develop and review individual alcohol and other drugs treatment plans

What we can give YOU!

In return we are committed to offering you an inclusive and transparent workplace culture where our people can develop to be their very best by:  

• Ongoing learning and development opportunities
• Providing work that is meaningful and challenging, with career development opportunities through project and secondment opportunities and succession planning
• Providing career pathways across diverse OHV programs.
• Access to 24/7 counselling through our Employee Assistance Provider (EAP)
• Generous leave options such as 48/52 Purchase Leave, Study Leave and Sabbaticals
• Flexible working arrangements such as school-orientated part-year hours and monthly RDO’s for full-timers (arrangements will vary based on role requirements).

In addition to the above, staff will also be provided monthly Clinical Supervision sessions for professional development and personal wellbeing.
 

Application information

Please apply directly via our careers website (applications via external recruitment websites or via email will not be considered)

Applications should be addressed to Bryan Ambrosius and include your CV and a cover letter addressing the key selection criteria. 

If you have any questions relating to the position, please contact Bryan Ambrosius on, 0429 030 847 or at [email protected]

We will be assessing applications on a rolling basis and suitable candidates will be shortlisted immediately. This role will close once a suitable candidate has been selected, so please don’t wait to apply!

Our commitment to diversity

At OHV we value diversity and believe that a range of backgrounds brings a variety of ideas, perspectives and experiences that will enhance our effectiveness. We promote a workplace that actively seeks to include, welcome and value unique contributions by encouraging people with disability, Aboriginal Australians, LGBTQIA, young people and people from culturally diverse backgrounds to apply for this position.

Safety screening

OHV is committed to child safety and is a child safe organisation. All OHV employees must undergo Police Records and Working with Children Checks. Any person issued with a negative notice on their Working with Children Check will not be eligible for employment with us.
 

Mandatory COVID vaccinations

In line with recent Victorian Government mandatory vaccination requirements for the health industry, and OHV’s Mandatory Vaccination Policy, all Odyssey House Victoria staff are required to hold full vaccination status, and effective as of 1 March 2022 also have received the Booster Vaccination. Evidence of such vaccination status will be requested during the onboarding process and offers will be rescinded where such evidence cannot be provided.

All Odyssey House Victoria sites are smoke free for all employees.