Very Special Kids currently have an exciting opportunity for a part time Family Support Practitioner to join our team. If you are passionate about caring for children and are seeking more purpose, fulfilment, and connection in your everyday work – Very Special Kids might be your perfect fit? 

At Very Special Kids, we nurture and foster a culture where our team is empowered, supported and safe through the process of caring for children and families. As part of our diverse, expert team you will have access to education and training to enhance your personal and professional development; expert specialist resources; and the well-being support you need to make a bigger impact in the lives of children and their families.

The role will be located at our Malvern site in our Very Special Kids House.  Our new state-of-the-art hospice (including hydro-therapy pool) is a world class facility to support the complex needs of the children and young people in our care. The role is required to provide support for families in inner and outer metro Melbourne.  Our services are delivered in person, over the phone and or through telehealth outreach.

About Very Special Kids:

At Very Special Kids, we believe that all children and young people have the right to a quality of life, no matter how long or short their life may be. We are a highly respected organisation with circa 100 employees and over 950 volunteers who provide essential, free-of-charge, palliative care services for children and young people living with a life-limiting condition.  Very Special Kids provides specialist services for the whole family, including counselling, peer support, bereavement support and respite and end of life care at Victoria’s only hospice for children and young people. 

The successful applicant will have:

• Tertiary qualifications in social work, psychology, or equivalent.
• Direct significant experience working with children and families in grief and bereavement, family services, or the general health field required.
• Demonstrated ability to provide trauma informed therapeutic intervention, including formal counselling and emotional support to one or more family members, including children and young people.
• Demonstrated understanding and application of counselling theoretical frameworks.
• Demonstrated ability to undertake psychosocial assessment and develop, implement, and review level of support required to meet the changing needs of families.
• A genuine interest and commitment to working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, LGBTIQ, refugee and culturally diverse families and communities, and other higher risk cohorts.
• Proven program implementation skills including service planning, evaluation and impact, and quality improvement activities.
• Flexibility to work independently and part of a larger team of practitioners.
• Bilingual will be highly regarded. 
• A commitment to the purpose, values, and philosophy of Very Special Kids.
• A commitment to upholding the Victorian Child Safe standards.
• Current driver’s licence and willingness to travel.

Very Special Kids offers its employees a unique and rewarding environment including a supportive team, beautiful setting conveniently located to shops, parking and transport in Malvern, salary packaging, health & wellbeing initiatives, and targeted individual development plans. 

At Very Special Kids, our goal is for our workforce to reflect the diverse community we serve.  We continually seek to employ people of any gender, age, religion, sexual orientation, with a disability, Aboriginal Australians and varied cultural backgrounds.  If this sounds like you, please take a look at the position description on our website   www.vsk.org.au and below.

Confidential enquiries are welcome, please contact Jess Birnbaum, Family Support Manager, on 0487 001 766 or via [email protected].

Applications are open until Tuesday the 12th of September 2023. Please include a cover letter, addressing the key selection criteria and an updated copy of your resume via  [email protected].   We will review applications as they are received.

Very Special Kids is committed to providing a child-safe environment and requires all staff to have Working with Children Check, Police Record Checks and evidence to demonstrate vaccination against COVID-19.