Youth Development Officer

**Promote development activities, living and vocational skills, sports and recreation**programs, activities, and events for young people in custody.**:

- **Ongoing, Full-Time opportunity to work with a high-performing and passionate team.**:

- **VPS Grade 4: $97,955 - $111,142 plus superannuation.**

The Department of Justice and Community Safety is seeking a **Youth Development Officer** to provide a critical role at Marngoneet Correctional Centre within the Ripley Young Adult Unit.

**About the Business Unit**

Corrections Victoria is part of the Department of Justice and Community Safety and is responsible for the operation of Victoria's adult corrections system, public and privately operated prisons, and a transitional centre. It ensures that people held in prison are safely and securely contained and aims to rehabilitate people by addressing the underlying causes of offending behaviour.

Marngoneet Correctional Centre and Karreenga Annex is a medium security facility that houses a mix of sentenced and remand people in our care and is located 6km north-west of Lara, 20km from the centre of Geelong and about 70km from Melbourne. The role of the facility is to contain people in our care safely, securely and humanely, focusing on the individual needs of the people in our care with the aim of providing a successful transition back into the community or on their continued journey through the prison system. The facility has a strong focus on achieving positive outcomes and provides a range of engaged services. Our highly skilled workforce provides supervision and case management and are dedicated to enhancing opportunities to strengthen the people in our care pathways.

Within Marngoneet, Ripley is a Structured Intervention Unit that provides a placement opportunity for individuals aged 25 and under who will benefit from a structured youth specific environment, to increase capabilities of those residing with the unit to prepare them for transition into the wider prison environment, and subsequently the wider community. Ripley is a general rehabilitation unit with a therapeutic environment, it provides access to structured intervention plans, including offence-specific and offence-related interventions based on risk, need, responsivity principles.

**About the Role**

The Youth Development Officer is responsible for the development, implementation, and co-ordination of the youth response at Ripley. Assisting in the planning, coordination, and delivery of the day-to-day operations of Young Adult Engagement and the facilitation and promotion of development activities, living and vocational skills, sports and recreation programs, activities, and events for young people in custody.

The Youth Development Officer is integral in the running of Ripley and the Structured Day of the young adults housed there. The Youth Development Officer will form part of the staffing group at Ripley and be integral in effective offender management practices. They will develop individual support plans based on the individual's needs, identifying where possible the specialist needs of the individual to tailor a suite of programs to best support the young adult whilst he is in Ripley.

Some of your duties will include:

- Develop, deliver and organise a comprehensive suite of services and activities, including living skills, vocational and internal programs, special events, tournaments and drop-in activities that will engage young adults in custody.
- Assist in the coordination and promote the implementation of engagement strategies for young adults in custody, including engaging all young adults in a manner that promotes individual needs.
- Assess and identify young adult needs, and provide proactive, advice, consultation, case co-ordination, guidance and recommendations in relation to the needs of young adults.

To learn more about this role before applying, please read the attached position description.

**About you**

To be successful in this role, you will have:

- Demonstrated experience in the development of young adults and young adults who offend.
- Demonstrated experience with programs that develop and facilitate activities, sport and recreation, living skills, vocational skills and events for young adults.
- Experience working with forensic and/or correctional environments is highly desirable.

**Qualifications/requirements**
- Relevant tertiary qualification or experience in the field of youth or social work is highly desirable for this role.
- A current Victorian driver's licence is required for this role.

**How to Apply**

**IMPORTANT INFORMATION**:
**CHILD SAFE STATEMENT OF COMMITMENT**:
The Department of Justice and Community Safety is committed to the safety and wellbeing of children and young people. We seek to prevent harm of any kind impacting children and young people and have zero tolerance for racism, child abuse and inequality. Children and young people's rights, relationships, identity, and culture must be re