Youth Support Officer

Youth Support Officer (YSO) – Casual.

Immediate Start

Choice Futures Values:

Child oriented: Let the uniqueness of the child guide our work

Leadership: "Leadership is the awesome responsibility of seeing those around us rise" (Simon Sinek)

Humility: We are self-aware, selfless, we can adapt and overcome

Trust: Having faith and trust in our work and in one another, is embedded in our team culture.

Collective Strength: Is not as an individual, but as a collective. As a team. As part of the community

"It is not what you do for your children, but what you have taught them to do for themselves that will make them successful human beings"

– Ann Landers

Even though we are a relatively new service, our people are not new to the Out of Home Care space in the Central Queensland region and Community Services Sector as a whole. With recent expansion, we need to add to our core team of Youth Support Officers to care for young people across multiple sites.

To widen the scope of support we can deliver to young people in our care, Choice Futures is interested in applicants who bring something a little different in their toolbox, that's not to say we are looking for Wizards or Crocodile Wranglers, just people who have unique skills or new ideas they can bring to the table.

For those who meet all the compliance requirements, there is the option of an immediate start.

Our People:

Leading the Team on the ground, our Team Leader is indeed a Superhero who has had many years of experience working locally in the Out of Home Care space. She upholds the Choice Futures values in everything she does, supporting the team to model the high expectations we set, that are evident when observing the care environments, which are homely and individualised.

We are lucky enough to have an autism mentor in our executive leadership team, bringing lived experience and support to the team in teaching them new ways of working with young people who have varied abilities. He is also a cyber security expert, and has written the software by which our services are run on.

We love diverse cultures and are proud one of our leaders is of New Zealand Māori descent. With many years of experience from frontline youth work in New Zealand's largest youth detention centre, all the way to managing NDIS and youth services for an entire state. We are proud our leaders are happy to jump on shift to work alongside the team, but at the same time are comfortable in the executive space too.

Our Model:

The framework we draw upon is based largely on the New Zealand model of care whereby teams function like a family unit, overarching this with Therapeutic Crisis Intervention (TCI), it actually works Our young people are thriving, engaged and working towards realistic long and short-term achievable goals.

Role Overview:

As a Youth Support Officer (YSO), your primary responsibility is to provide daily care and supportive guidance to young people facing significant challenges. Operating within an Out of Home Care (OOHC) environment, you will nurture young people of all ages by working as part of a team maintaining a stable, homely setting.

• Serve as a consistent mentor and role model both in your role during work hours, but also in public outside of work hours as a mandatory reporter and responsible adult
• Work with our management/leadership team and stakeholders to deliver individualised care through case plans, care plans, attending planned weekly activities conducive to and aligning with the young people's long-term goals.
• We trust that in this role you feedback through the right channels anything young people share that they would like to try, or have an interest in, if they request to see family or if they have feedback (of any sort), regarding the care they are receiving.
• Plan and facilitate activities that foster life skills, personal growth and civic participation.
• Maintain thorough records daily
• As a mandatory reporter have the ability to observe, and the courage to report, any suspected harm, as well as incidents within departmental timeframes and requirements when they occur
• Able to put theory into practice when it comes to behaviour management techniques
• Encourage cleanliness, appropriate hygiene, and a sense of responsibility in the home – pride of place
• Must participate in monthly meetings and individual supervision sessions.
• Must complete all mandatory training within given timeframes.
• Open to accepting feedback as a positive opportunity for growth – feedback is not to be associated with feelings of negativity, in fact, most feedback is positive, it just isn't shared often enough

What you need to join our team:

1. Current Blue Card – (Working With Children Check)
2. Current Police check  (within last 3 months)
3. Current Open Queensland Drivers Licence
4. Current or willingness to obtain - NDIS Worker Screening Check (Yellow Card)  and the relevant training should NDIS support become part of Choice Futures Pty Ltd services.
5. Current First Aid Certificate (3 yearly)
6. Current Cardiovascular Pulmonary Resuscitation Certificate – CPR, (1 yearly)
7. Minimum Qualifications Standards (MQS): All applicants must either hold or be enrolled in an industry standard qualification see the appendix on page 3 in the below link, if you already hold a qualification, it may be listed.

If you do not hold or are not enrolled in an MQS, rest assured we can support you to find a course you will enjoy whilst completing, many of which are fee free or at a very small out of pocket expense (sometimes less than $300).

You also maybe eligible to RPL (Recognition of Prior Learning) of which we have suitably qualified Executive leadership who can guide you through this process.

1. Hope and Healing Certificate. Mandatory for all employees working in the OOHC sector. IF you have already completed Hope and Healing, you will only need to produce your certificate of completion.
2. Age is no barrier. We would love to have people who the team, and young people look up to as elders.

To have a breadth of ages within the team is what makes the New Zealand model so successful.

Having an age diverse team brings a sense of whanau (family), not only to the young people in our care,  but to the team as well, bringing about a community of support for one another where communication is clear, honest, open, and always in the best interests of the young people in our care.

1. Whilst we are always supportive of employees who require flexible working arrangements, we are acutely aware that with varying rates on weekends, evenings and public holidays, rosters rotate through the team so that the opportunity to work at the higher paid times/days is given to everyone
2. Applicants must have availability that allows them to complete shifts on weekdays, weekends, sleepovers, and evenings.
3. It would be ideal for applicants to have had experience in the sector, however we are open to people who can think on their feet, are willing to learn, and are positive role models.

Here at Choice Futures we have an incredible core team of superstars; we know many more of you are out there