Youth Worker

**YOUTH WORKER**

Baabayn Aboriginal Corporation

**ABORIGINAL, FEMALE-IDENTIFIED POSITION**

**We require a Youth Worker to lead Speak Up Sis, our deadly program for Koori girls aged 11-16 in the Mt Druitt area. Come work for a genuine Aboriginal organisation**

Baabayn Aboriginal Corporation seeks to appoint a part-time Youth Worker to lead "Speak Up, Sis," our Youth Group—a program for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander teenage and immediately pre-teenage girls in the greater Mount Druitt area. This will be your primary area of responsibility.

You will also join the team that runs our Young Mums and Bubs Program—an empowerment initiative primarily for local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mums aged 16-25, and an early childhood education experience for their accompanying children aged 0-5.

Availability to lead one other weekly after-school activity for pre-teenage children and/or to assist with the coordination of occasional larger events may also be required.

**Speak Up Sis and Your Role in it**

Speak Up Sis meets after school from 4.00 to 7.00 p.m. on Thursdays during the school terms. Numbers are capped at 12 girls. Sessions provide opportunities to connect with culture, build friendships and engage in a range of enjoyable and skill-building activities.

All our work at Baabayn is strengths-based, and this program is designed to nurture self-esteem and pride in identity and culture. It is intended to encourage healthy aspiration and give participants the confidence to pursue their dreams. Among other purposes, the program is run as a "primary prevention" initiative to counter the temptations posed to teenage girls in our community by alcohol and other drugs.

If you are the successful applicant, your primary responsibilities in the Speak Up Sis program will be:

- Overall on-the-day responsibility for the face-to-face delivery (including coordination and co-facilitation) of a weekly evening youth group open to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander girls aged 11-16;
- Planning, administration and logístical arrangements for the program;
- Mentoring and supervision of a Youth Programs Support Worker who can co-facilitate group sessions and has cultural skills that she can share with participants;
- Individual support, guidance and referral for youth group participants as required and as possible within the time available.

It is likely that your work in the Speak Up Sis program will occupy up to about 1.5 days per week.

**The Young Mums and Bubs Program and Your Role in it**

The Young Mums group meets on Wednesdays from 10.00 to 2.00 for a structured program of talks and activities aimed at empowering the Mums with knowledge about supports and opportunities and the confidence to access them. The program further encourages peer support and puts direct assistance with practical needs in the Mums' reach at our Centre. Childcare is provided by qualified Early Childhood Education and Care professionals.

Consistently with our strengths-based approach, we affirm participants' resilience and seek to nurture their abilities and talents. A key underlying purpose of the program is to build young mothers' ability to avoid the intrusion of the child protection authorities in their lives by supporting them to be the good parents they want to be. We also find that when participants engage in cultural activities such as painting, this helps them to relax and creates an atmosphere in which peer support happens naturally.

If you are the successful applicant, your main responsibilities in the Young Mums program will be:

- A contribution, such as co-facilitation, to the face-to-face delivery of a weekly three-hour life-skills session for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mothers aged 16-25.
- One-to-one support and referral for adult program participants who request support with personal issues;
- Mentoring and supervision of the Youth Programs Support Worker, who plays an important role within the group as peer facilitator;
- A contribution to planning, administrative and logístical support work for the program as required.

More detailed information about your duties if you are the successful applicant is available in the full position description. If the full position description is not attached to this advertisement, it can be requested directly from Baabayn.

**SELECTION CRITERIA**
- Demonstrated ability to work with Aboriginal people in a culturally appropriate and empowering manner
- Demonstrated ability to work with young people who may be experiencing complex issues
- Certificate IV in Youth Work or equivalent qualification (or ability to demonstrate skills and competencies to an equivalent standard)
- At least one year of experience in youth work, paid or unpaid
- Demonstrated administrative and organizational ability
- Excellent communication skills, both orally and in writing
- Understanding of, and commitment to, trauma-informed and strength-based practice
- Ability t