Forensic Clinical Team Leader

• Great opportunity to join Forensic Intervention Services
• Make a positive difference in keeping our community safe
• Attractive salary between $113,022 - $136,747 + superannuation

An exciting ongoing opportunity is available to join Forensic Intervention Services as a Forensic Clinical Team Leader in the Barwon Precinct Interventions team.

What does the Forensic Intervention Services team do?

As a division of Corrections Victoria, Forensic Intervention Services is a specialist program area that provides service users in custody and in the community with evidence-based screening, assessment, and offence-specific intervention services to support their rehabilitation. In doing so, Forensic Intervention Services is a critical component of the department's strategy to reduce reoffending and contribute to community safety.

Who is the Barwon Precinct Interventions team?

The Barwon Precinct Interventions team is responsible for assessments and treatment at Barwon Prison Precinct. The team is based in the Barwon Region (Lara, Victoria)

The Barwon Precinct Interventions team delivers offence-specific assessments and treatment pathways to service users accommodated at four medium and maximum security facilities located in the Barwon Prison Precinct:

• Barwon Prison (Barwon)
• Marngoneet Correctional Centre (Marngoneet)
• Marngoneet's Kareenga annexe (Kareenga)
• Western Plains Correctional Centre (Western Plains)

Comprised of a Manager, Forensic Clinical Team Leaders, Forensic Senior Clinicians Practice, Forensic Clinicians and AoD Practitioners, this expanding multidisciplinary team collaborates with internal and external stakeholders such as custodial staff, prison leadership and a wide variety of mental health and disability service providers to deliver our therapeutic clinical services.

What will the Forensic Clinical Team Leader, do?

In this role, you will contribute to the development of programs and policy and provide consultancy in the placement and management of the applicable service user cohort. Forensic Clinical Team Leaders provide leadership to a multi-disciplinary team and oversee the consistent delivery of services to individuals with complex forensic presentations and varied treatment needs. To satisfy the requirements of their professional membership or registration, Forensic Clinical Team Leaders are expected to continue their practice by maintaining involvement in direct service delivery including comprehensive risk assessments or facilitating group or individual interventions.

The role may require travel and the delivery of after-hours services.

What skills should the Forensic Clinical Team Leader, have?

• Demonstrated experience managing and leading staff in multidisciplinary clinical teams.
• An advanced understanding of the theory and therapeutic frameworks underpinning assessment and treatment with service users within the justice system, and an ability to apply these frameworks in practice, such as the Risk-Needs-Responsivity principles.
• Adherence to and demonstration of key therapist characteristics [empathy, warmth, rewarding and directive] to facilitate the therapeutic relationship.
• Significant experience in and knowledge of evidence-based, forensic risk assessments and the delivery of individual and group treatment and behaviour intervention treatment models with complex populations in a justice setting (for example, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Dialectical Behaviour Therapy, Schema Therapy, Transtheoretical Model of Change, Trauma Informed Care, Strengths Based Approaches).

Qualifications

• Minimum four years post-registration clinical experience, or equivalent.
• Registration as a Psychologist with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency; or
• Member of the Australian Association of Social Work (AASW); or
• Credentialed as a Mental Health Nurse with the Australian College of Mental Health Nurses; or
• Registration as an Occupational Therapist with the Occupational Therapy Board of Australia.
• Specialist training and/or postgraduate qualifications in a clinical or forensic field, is desirable.
• Psychology Board of Australia Approved Supervisor status is desirable.
• A current Victorian driver's licence is required.

What's in it for you?

You will be working for the Department of Justice and Community Safety, which is one arm of the Victorian State Government, a recognised top employer of choice nationally. All our staff work to the vision of a safe, just, innovative and thriving Victoria.

There are many advantages in working for the department, including:

• Job stability - Ongoing position as a member of the Victorian Public Service (VPS)
• A fair salary- enjoy great work conditions and salary sacrificing options.
• Transparent performance framework- approach your work with confidence in how you're tracking, working to professional development plans agreed on by you and your manager.
• Generous leave entitlements- provisions for many forms of leave; including personal, parental, carers, study, cultural, compassionate, and sick leave.
• Employee Assistance Program support- you are encouraged to use this short-term, confidential counselling service if you're experiencing emotional stress, relationship problems, conflict with others or personal issues. It is also available for financial counselling and retirement planning.

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

If you have any queries, please call Amy Jones on or email

We want to make sure all Victorians feel represented by the department's work. One of the ways do this is by recruiting a diverse workforce - we welcome people of any gender, age, religion, sexual orientation, disability, and cultural background. We are also committed to the Victorian Government's promise to increase the number of veterans working in the public sector.

We're proud of our individual differences. We're proud of the many languages we speak and the stories we can share with each other. We hope you will share your story too.

Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people are strongly encouraged to apply.

The Department of Justice and Community Safety is continually working towards increasing our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (Aboriginal) workforce. The Aboriginal Employment Team aims to attract, recruit and retain Aboriginal staff across all our roles. This support includes a culturally appropriate attraction and recruitment process. To learn more, email 

If this sounds like a compelling job that you believe your skills would be a great match for, please APPLY NOW. Applications close soon.

How to Apply:

Please click the Apply button on this advertisement. Applications should include a resume and covering letter. Attachments can be uploaded in .doc, .docx, .pdf, .txt or .rtf formats.

The successful candidate will be required to undergo pre-employment checks which may include reference checks, national police checks and misconduct screening. Dependant on the role, other checks may include VicRoads checks, drivers licence checks, medical checks, Working with Children Checks, and Declaration of Private Interests (for executive and responsible officer roles).

If you require adjustments to the recruitment and selection process, or require an alternative format to any of the application material, please don't hesitate to get in touch with the contact person listed on this ad.

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.