Clinical Governance Officer

Monitor and review the performance of health and mental health service providers in the custodial setting
- Ongoing full time opportunity to provide expert and authoritative clinical advice
- VPS Grade 5: $105,479 - $127,621 plus superannuation.

The Department of Justice and Community Safety is seeking a Clinical Governance Officer - Mental Health to provide a critical role within Justice Health.

About the Business Unit
Justice Health is the business unit of the Department of Justice and Community Safety (DJCS) responsible for health, mental health and alcohol and other drug (AOD) services in Victoria's prisons and Youth Justice centres. Justice Health sets the standards for the delivery of these services, monitors service delivery, and manages contracts with service providers across public prisons and Youth Justice facilities. Justice Health is also responsible for facilitating an integrated approach to health service planning and service delivery, leading health prevention and promotion activities, and facilitating the release of health information to community health care providers, legal representatives, and individuals.
Justice Health works in collaboration with the other DJCS areas such as Corrections Victoria and Youth Justice, as well as the Department of Health to fulfil these functions. This collaboration helps to ensure that people in custody are effectively transitioned back to the community from prison.
About the Role
The Mental Health Clinical Governance Officer, reporting directly to the General Manager, Clinical Governance, will be primarily responsible for monitoring and reviewing the performance of mental health service delivery across adult custodial settings. The Mental Health Clinical Governance Officer will work alongside other Clinical Governance Officers in the Clinical Governance team and will conduct regular location-based audits of mental health service provision to ensure accordance with the mental health standards of the Justice Health Quality Framework (2014). The Mental Health Clinical Governance Officer will support the validation of performance outcome measures relevant to mental health service delivery, and will be required to review critical incidents, complex medical and mental health issues and complaints. The Mental Health Clinical Governance Officer will provide expert and authoritative clinical advice on solutions to highly complex and sensitive issues to ensure the delivery of quality mental health service provision, and support continuous improvement in mental health services in adult custodial facilities.

**Some of your duties will include**:

- Contribute to the development and implementation of sound clinical governance and risk management frameworks that foster a culture of accountability, whilst encouraging innovation and problem solving, for health service providers
- Provide clinical advice and direction in clinical risk management to providers and senior management to ensure accountability for clinical practice and patient safety
- Investigate and address health service issues raised by people in custody, or by other representatives who are advocating on their behalf (e.g. carers and family members, health service providers, the Health Complaints Commissioner, Ombudsman Victoria)

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 ability to provide expert clinical advice within a challenging and complex health environment
- Demonstrated understanding and awareness of the key issues impacting health, mental health, and/or AOD services to vulnerable cohorts
- Demonstrated experience in a quality focused role coupled with a thorough understanding of Risk Management principles.

**Qualifications**:

- Current APHRA registration as a Registered Psychiatric Nurse will be highly regarded and / or significant experience working in acute mental health in primary or tertiary settings.
- A tertiary qualification in the health industry and eligibility to practice under the Health Professions Registration Act.

How to Apply

**FOR INTERNAL VPS EMPLOYEES**:
**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 recognised and respected, their voices heard, and their concerns acted upon. We aim to foster a culturally safe, child safe and child friendly environment for all children and young people we have contact with, deliver services to, or are impacted by our work.