Senior Social Worker – Acute Bereavement

• Role Title: Senior Social Worker – Acute Bereavement

• Role Type: Permanent, Part-time (16 Hours Per Week)

• Role Grade: Social Work Level 3

• Department and Location: Social Work, St Vincent's Hospital, Darlinghurst

• Salary: $112,396 - $116,038 p.a + Super + Salary packaging

Better and fairer care. Always.
We are St Vincent's Health Australia, Australia's largest not-for-profit provider of health and aged care services.

Founded by The Sisters of Charity in 1857, our +30,000 healthcare superheroes operate public and private hospitals, residential aged care, community and virtual care, and outreach programs.

About the Role:

• Permanent Part-time Social Worker Level 3 which sits in the Emergency Department (ED) and Intensive Care Unit (ICU) social work team, providing specialised, trauma-informed bereavement support across acute, sub-acute, and palliative settings. Delivers advanced psychosocial interventions to patients, families, and carers experiencing sudden or anticipated loss, in alignment with St Vincent's values and person-centred care principles.

• Participate in the 24-hour on-call social work crisis service, offering timely emotional support, practical guidance, and grief counselling to individuals and families following death, trauma, or critical incidents, including sudden deteriorations and unexpected loss outside of standard hours.

• Conduct comprehensive psychosocial and risk assessments to inform clinical decision-making, guide targeted grief and loss interventions, identify risk factors for complicated bereavement, and facilitate appropriate follow-up or referral to internal or external support services.

• Coordinate immediate post-death care and safe transitions for bereaved families through effective liaison with internal teams (e.g., medical, pastoral care, mortuary) and external stakeholders (e.g., coroners, funeral homes, community supports), ensuring respectful, culturally responsive, and seamless care.

• Deliver therapeutic grief counselling, anticipatory grief interventions, crisis support, and advocacy to individuals and families impacted by complex bereavement, including traumatic loss, while supporting preventative care approaches to mitigate disenfranchised grief and adverse outcomes.

• Provide clinical supervision, consultation, and education to staff and students on bereavement best practices, contribute to staff wellbeing through debriefings and peer support, and actively participate in quality improvement, policy development, and research initiatives within the Social Work Department.

About You:

• Qualified Social Worker with a degree in Social Work and eligibility for membership with the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW), bringing extensive clinical experience in hospital and health settings, including advanced capability in delivering acute bereavement care within palliative, trauma, and critical care environments.

• Flexible to work up to 2 days per week on either Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, or Sundays.

• Highly skilled in supporting individuals and families facing sudden, traumatic, or anticipated loss, with a strong ability to respond to complex emotional, psychological, cultural, and spiritual needs. Demonstrated expertise in navigating hospital systems, coronial processes, and post-death protocols with sensitivity and professionalism.

• Proven advanced clinical skills in psychosocial assessment, risk screening, grief counselling, trauma-informed intervention, advocacy, and short-term case management, particularly in high-acuity and end-of-life contexts.

• Recognised as a clinical leader within multidisciplinary teams, providing expert social work input across emergency, ICU, palliative care, oncology, and pastoral care, with a strong track record of responding effectively in high-pressure situations and contributing to the development and improvement of bereavement support services.

• Exceptional communication, collaboration, and negotiation skills, underpinned by a commitment to culturally safe, trauma-informed, and family-centred care. Actively engaged in clinical supervision and reflective practice, with experience mentoring students and junior staff and ongoing professional development in grief, trauma, and loss.

Why Work at St Vincent's?

• Join us on our mission to provide care to all, including the most at-risk people in our community

• Discounted access to many gyms for you and your family with Fitness Passport

• Access to discounted private health insurance with Medibank

• Access to a government salary sacrifice program to make a proportion of your salary tax-free

• Financial support for educational development, scholarship programs, paid study leave

About the Hospital:
In this role, you will be based at St Vincent's Hospital, Darlinghurst.

• A busy inner-city hospital in a beautiful location

• Surrounded by great cafes, galleries, and theatres, parks, nightlife, and nearby glorious beaches

• A place of expert clinical care for at-risk people

• Closely partnered with universities & affiliated research institutes, many of which are located on-campus

• Centres of excellence include heart & lung transplantation, bone marrow transplantation, cardiology, cancer care, AIDS/HIV, respiratory medicine, mental health, homeless health, drug & alcohol services, and correctional health

Pre-employment Checks:
Your employment is conditional upon the completion of all role-required pre-employment checks, including relevant immunisations.

Equal Opportunity:
We celebrate diversity & inclusion and are committed to equal employment opportunity for everyone. 
 

As part of our commitment to reconciliation we encourage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to apply and join us in delivering care that heals body, mind, spirit and community. 

How to Apply:
The closing date for applications is 15 October 2025

Please submit your resume and a brief cover letter highlighting how your interest, skills, and experience align with the role and address each of the criteria.

Further information please contact

At St Vincent's we acknowledge the importance of creating a work environment that is welcoming, safe, equitable and inclusive for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Employees. As part of our Commitment to Reconciliation and Closing the Gap in employment related outcomes, we encourage applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.

For further information, visit or get in contact at

View Reconciliation Action Plan

View Code of Conduct