Senior Practitioner - The Orange Door

What we do

wayss deliver funded services and programs for family violence homelessness and are the largest provider of housing and in the Southeast Region including the local government areas of Greater Dandenong, Frankston, Casey and Cardinia. 

We are committed to:

Our values

We are:

Why we exist

Our purpose is to provide safe housing and support options for the people in our community experiencing family violence, housing insecurity and homelessness.

Our vision is that people we support have a safe home and freedom from discrimination and violence. 

About The Orange Door

The Orange Door delivers a fundamental change to the way we work with women, children and families, and men. The role of The Orange Door is to provide:

• a more visible contact point so that people know where to go for specialist support.
• help for people to identify family violence and child and family safety and wellbeing issues.
• advice based on contemporary risk assessment tools and guidance and best available information.
• specialist support and tailored advice for victims, families and children, young people, and perpetrators.
• a strong focus on perpetrator accountability.
• connection and coordination of access to support.
• an approach across the spectrum of prevention, early intervention, and response.
• a system-wide view of service capacity, client experience and outcomes.

The Orange Door supports the agency of women, children, young people, and families, to ensure that the services they receive meet their needs and their goals.

The role

The Orange Door brings together different workforces and practices to create an integrated team and a consolidated intake point in each Hub area to create a new way of support for:  

• Women, children, young people, and families experiencing family violence  
• Perpetrators of family violence  
• Families in need of support with the care, development, and well-being of children 

The Orange Door

• Receives police referrals for women and children who are victims of family violence  
• Receives police referrals for perpetrators of family violence (known as ‘Enhanced Intake Services’)  
• Receives child wellbeing referrals  
• Provides the (Child FIRST) Intake, assessment, and referral service for vulnerable families  
• Delivers other relevant services as appropriate, such as those delivered by Aboriginal services  

The Southern Melbourne Area (SMA) Orange Door is the largest in the state with the central hub based in Dandenong and two access points based in the City of Casey and Cardinia Shire.

Reporting to the Team Leader, The Orange Door, the position works collaboratively as part of an integrated team to respond to the needs of children, young people and families experiencing family violence and vulnerability. The Senior Practitioner works directly with clients to provide information, advice, and an initial assessment with a focus on risk assessment and safety planning. The Senior Practitioner provides support to practitioners within the team and actively participates in creating an inclusive team culture.

Duties include:

• Identifying, assessing, and prioritising the risk and need of women, children and families using the MARAM framework, relevant practice frameworks and guidelines and drawing on the expertise of Team Leaders, Practice Leaders and others with diverse expertise in a multi-disciplinary team.
• Working collaboratively with the Hub team to support integrated risk assessment and planning, including participating in case conferences and meetings.
• Applying for brokerage on behalf of clients in accordance with the Hub’s Brokerage Guidelines for approval by the Integrated Practice Leader.
• Recording client information accurately on the Hub Client Relationship Management (CRM) system, handling client information in accordance with the Family Violence Information Sharing Scheme (FVISS), information security and privacy policies and requirements.
• Participating in training and development, formal supervision, and performance development as per wayss policies and procedures.
• Ensuring the health and safety of self and others in the workplace by working in accordance with legislative requirements and wayss policies and procedures.
• Other reasonable duties as required.

Senior responsibilities include:

• Supporting Team Leaders in managing referrals into The Orange Door.
• Supporting clients with a higher level of complexity and risk.
• Assisting the Team Leader in the professional development of the team including the provision of mentoring and support to other team members as agreed.
• Assisting the Team Leader with operational tasks such as case reviews and consultations.
• Assisting the Team Leader in the development and maintenance of a positive team culture.
• Supervising students on placement as required.
• Contributing to the profile of The Orange Door by undertaking community and professional education activities, in consultation with the Team Leader.

About you

You will have:

• Relevant tertiary qualification(s) in social work, or a related discipline.
• Compliant with Family Violence Minimum Qualifications (Rec 209).
• Experience working with women and their children and families with complex needs and risk issues within in any of the following service areas: Family Violence, Family Services, Child Protection, Housing, Mental Health and/or Alcohol and Other Drugs.
• Demonstrated ability to identify, assess and prioritise the risk and needs of clients in a whole of family approach.
• Demonstrated ability to provide operational assistance to a supervisor that includes mentoring support and practice supervision for team members.
• Resilience to work with and support clients who have been exposed to trauma
• The ability to work collaboratively and build strong, authentic and supportive working relationships.
• The ability to recognise and identify limits of own expertise and to seek advice or refer clients to other specialists.
• A commitment to best practice and work towards the best possible outcomes.

What is important to wayss must be important to you

• At wayss, we embrace a culture of diversity and inclusion within our workforce and approach to service delivery. We are responsive to the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people from LGBTIQ and culturally and linguistically diverse communities, people living with a disability and people of all ages.  wayss is proud to be Rainbow Tick Accredited and welcomes everyone across the LGBTIQ community.
• We encourage people with lived experience to apply for roles at wayss.
• wayss is committed to being a child safe organisation. wayss has a zero tolerance of any abuse or maltreatment of children and young people. Every person who is part of the organisation must treat the rights, interests and safety of children and young people as paramount. 
• wayss values the voices of our clients. We recognise that we deliver higher quality and safer services when we hear from people with lived experience. We are committed to providing opportunities for clients to participate and provide feedback on our service design and delivery. wayss aligns with the MARAM framework and ensures our services are effectively identifying, assessing and managing family violence risk.
• wayss is committed to the health, safety, and wellbeing of its staff. wayss and its staff must comply with a range of statutory requirements, including equal opportunity, occupational health and safety, privacy, and trade practice.

20 Princes Highway Dandenong VIC 3175

Phone: (03) 9791 6111

wayss.org.au