BARWON CENTRE AGAINST SEXUAL ASSAULT Counselling

BARWON CENTRE AGAINST SEXUAL ASSAULT
Counselling Services
POSITION DESCRIPTION
Title:
Counsellor Advocate – Crisis Care Service-After Hours
Reports to:
Office Manager, Wimmera Services
Location
Horsham and Wimmera District
Hours:
Casual – On call - After hours
Date:
March 2015
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ORGANISATIONAL OVERVIEW
Established in 1978, the Barwon Centre Against Sexual Assault (Barwon CASA) is a specialist sexual
assault and family violence service. The Centre was established through the efforts and contributions of
concerned community members and continues to receive strong community support to this day. Our
organisation has a solid history encompassing over 36 years of expertise in delivering the highest quality
services in this specialised field of work.
Barwon CASA is an incorporated not for profit community organisation that is governed by a Board, with
membership comprising prominent local corporate, government and academic representatives. Funding is
received from the Victorian Departments of Health and Human Services. We employ over 38 staff with post
graduate qualifications ranging in psychology, social work, family therapy and psychotherapy. We have
office locations in Geelong and Horsham and provides services across the Barwon and Wimmera Districts.
Our services include free and confidential, specialist counselling to adults, young people and children who
have experienced sexual assault and/or family violence either recently or in the past and to their nonoffending parents, partners, family and friends. We offer a 24-hour crisis care response to victims of recent
sexual assault, (within the past 72 hours) including crisis counselling, support and advocacy to medical
care and justice services.
Barwon CASA also provides a family focused, prevention and early intervention therapeutic service to
children and young people under the age of 15 who have engaged in problematic or abusive sexualised
behaviours (SABTS). We provide specialised advocacy, secondary consultation, community education and
professional training across the sector and deliver a sexual assault prevention program in secondary
schools that aims to address violence supportive attitudes and prevent sexual assault before it occurs.
We uphold a feminist philosophy and our aim is to provide an empowering, respectful and culturally
sensitive service committed to best practice.
We are committed to the development of a positive and supportive work environment and strive to provide
a family friendly workplace with flexible working arrangements. We provide clinical supervision, encourage
continuous learning and focus on the achievement of excellence in client outcomes and organisational
objectives.
Barwon CASA is at the forefront of emerging practice and significant change across the sector through
being a partner in the Barwon Multi-Disciplinary Centre (MDC) based in Geelong. In the MDC we are colocated with Victoria Police, Sexual Offences and Child Abuse Investigation Team (SOCIT) and staff from
Department of Health and Human Services, Child Protection. In this specialised model partner
organisations support adult and child victims from first disclosure of sexual assault to criminal prosecution.
MDCs seek to provide victims of sexual assault and child abuse safety, support and access to justice within
an integrated, seamless environment.
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This centre demonstrates the importance of practical cooperation among highly trained and experienced
professionals and police who can work together in the support of victims and the apprehension and
prosecution of offenders. Geelong’s MDC represents a culmination of the world’s best practice in this field.
POSITION OVERVIEW:
The position is based in Horsham and reports to the Office Manager, Wimmera Services. After hours
counsellor advocates are on call to provide crisis intervention, trauma counselling, advocacy and support to
those who have experienced a recent sexual assault. The after hours service operates outside standard
business hours; from 5.00pm to 8.30am weeknights and 9.00am to 9.00am weekends and public holidays.
Counsellor advocates participate in a roster system and are on call an average of 3-4 nights per week in a
block of time i.e. Mon to Thur, Fri to Sun. Staff are located in their own homes and are provided a mobile
phone and must be located within a telephone service range. When a crisis care call is received the
counsellor is generally required to attend in person. The service is provided primarily face to face from a
Crisis Care Unit in Horsham or occasionally provides telephone crisis support and secondary consultation
to the outer lying areas of the Wimmera District.
After hours crisis care phone calls are coordinated and forwarded from the Statewide Sexual Assault Crisis
Line (SACL) to on call counsellor advocates. Counsellor advocates conduct the role as they go about their
usual night time or weekend activities (some limitations apply – i.e. no alcohol, within phone service range
at all times, 30 mins face to face response time) until the point of a call out. SACL offer support to
counsellor advocates and Barwon CASA provides phone debriefing following crisis care call outs, training,
clinical supervision and resources relevant to the provision of after hours crisis care, including telephone
back up and consultation regarding issues requiring clarification and authorisation.
This position is based in Horsham Victoria. It is anticipated that the service will respond to approximately
12 crisis care after hours calls per annum. On average crisis care calls require an attendance of 2 to 3
hours per call. Staff are remunerated through an oncall allowance and recall applies from the point of the
call to the end of the support provided.
POSITION REQUIREMENTS:
The position is responsible to provide a specialist Crisis Care-After Hours service on a rostered on call
basis and to participate in quarterly team meetings, debriefing, annual performance reviews, training and
professional development.
Duties of the Counsellor Advocate, Crisis Care-After Hours include:
1. Clinical Responsibilities:
1.1 Provide crisis intervention, trauma counselling and psychological first aid to those who have
experienced recent sexual assault and to their non offending families and friends.
1.2
Provide an overview of medical and legal options to assist in decision making processes.
1.3
Liaise, consult and advocate with Victoria Police, forensic medical services, nursing and
medical staff, and other professionals as required.
1.4
Consult the Barwon CASA telephone back up for issues requiring clarification and
authorisation.
1.5
Arrange next business day follow up contact by Barwon CASA, Wimmera service and provide
external referral information, as appropriate.
1.6
Offer debriefing to SOCIT, forensic medical services, nursing staff and family or friends
impacted by an episode of crisis care.
1.7
Accurately document casework and record statistical information in a timely manner.
2. Organisational Responsibilities:
2.1 Undertake an average 3-4 days on call per week incorporating weeknights, weekends and
public holidays.
2.2
Respond to crisis call outs in a timely and professional manner during rostered on call shifts (30
Min maximum response time to attend in person at the CCU from time of receiving call).
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2.3
Participate in debriefing, staff meetings, annual reviews, training and professional
development, on an after hours basis.
2.4
Provide support to colleagues by offering flexibility in swapping shifts and covering sick leave
as necessary.
2.5
Provide adequate notice for periods of leave off the roster.
2.6
Comply with legislative, legal, professional and organisational requirements.
2.7
Commitment to the vision, philosophy, aims and objectives of Barwon CASA and to cultural
equity in service delivery.
KEY SELECTION CRITERIA:
Your application must address the following:
1. Essential Requirements:
1.1 A relevant graduate or post graduate qualification in psychology, social work or other relevant
discipline.
1.2 A minimum one year relevant experience in community services post qualification.
2. Essential Skills and Knowledge:
2.1 Demonstrated competencies in assessment and risk management, crisis intervention and
trauma counselling.
2.2
Sound knowledge of the effect and impact of interpersonal trauma on adults, young people,
children and their non offending families.
2.3
Demonstrated capacity to apply theoretical frameworks to practice, particularly structural
analysis and feminist theory.
2.4
Demonstrated ability to utilise advocacy skills and to professionally liaise collaboratively across
complex systems.
2.5
Ability to manage complex cases, to operate with a high degree of autonomy and to participate
in the delivery of quality client services.
2.6
A strong commitment to maintaining confidentiality and understanding of the requirement to
record accurate and confidential case notes.
2.7
Current Victorian driver’s licence.
2.8
Other duties are directed.
SALARY AND CONDITIONS:
Remuneration for this position is in accordance with the Barwon CASA Enterprise Agreement and based
on the HSUA (Victoria–Public Sector) Health Professional Services Award, Social Worker in the range of
Grade 1. Barwon CASA pays superannuation in accordance with superannuation legislation.
The position is subject to successful completion of a six month probationary period. A review will be
conducted during this period. A current Working with Children Check and Police Records Check is
mandatory prior to commencement. Induction training will be provided upon commencement.
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Referees:
Applicants must provide the names and contact details of three professional referees, including a current
supervisor.
Applications Close:
5.00p.m. Tuesday 17 March 2015
Addressed to:
Mary Cowell
Email: mary@barwoncasa.org
P O Box 245
Geelong, Vic 3220
(Marked Private & Confidential)
Tel: 03 5222 4318
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