Child Protection - Beginning to Senior level roles - Job Share

Job Share Opportunity

Joining the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing (DFFH) Child Protection program means making a real change to the lives of others, keeping families safe and strong. The work of a child protection practitioner is complex, challenging, and rewarding. Practitioners need to have specialist child welfare knowledge and the ability to engage children, young people and their families.

We have roles available at all levels;

• Child Protection Practitioner – CPP3, is the first step in a rewarding career
• Advanced Child Protection Practitioner – CPP4, is an opportunity to consolidate and develop your practice
• Senior Child Protection Practitioner – CPP5, is an opportunity to use your expertise to take the next step in your career

Wimmera South West Area is currently participating in a job share pilot for Child Protection Practitioners and so this role is specifically for those who want to job share the one role and the workload of the role.  We are ideally looking for someone who is available three (3) days per week (so that the job share partners can have one cross-over day to discuss urgent matters, obtain peer review on cases, etc.), but applications are still welcomed from those who are available to work less than three (3) days per week.

Some benefits of job share include but are not limited to:

• Provides true flexibility to both job share partners without compromising business outcomes as it ensures coverage in a full-time role
• Job sharers are more productive, with optimal matches increasing productivity by up to 30%
• Job share partners report lower stress and fatigue, enjoy working genuinely part-time and sharing the responsibility load with a job share partner
• Job share partners have the highest employee engagement results
• Increased opportunities for collaboration leading to improved outcomes for clients
• Enables a career path for those unable to work full-time due to caring responsibilities, medical conditions, or community commitments.

Job share may be of specific interest to:

• people who are returning from extended leave (such as parental or illness);
• people who might be transitioning to retirement or studying
• people who might need to reinvigorate their joy for work by taking a break from full-time work (e.g., those experiencing or nudging towards burnout or rust-out, those experiencing stressful life circumstances, and those with increased caring responsibilities, etc)
• people who have previously worked part-time in a similar role, but found they were expected to deliver on a full-time workload in part-time hours - the job share arrangement will protect you from this happening again
• people who are just wanting to try working in a different way!

Job share is not for everyone!  Job share partners will need to be willing to:

• Commit – to making the arrangement work
• Trust – that your job share partner is able to do the work on your non-work day
• Communicate – openly and honestly with your job share partner and your manager and proactively address any concerns
• Be a team player – appreciate that the whole is more valuable than the parts and that an equitable approach to work allocation will be adopted
• Being super organised – especially in relation to being able to provide clear notes and advice on the work in progress in your handover notes
• Respect your job share partner – even if you disagree with your job share partner's decision as you need to present a united front to avoid destabilising the team and undermining confidence in the job share arrangement

ACCOUNTABILITIES INCLUDE

Please open the position description to read more.

WORKING IN RURAL VICTORIA INCENTIVE

External applicants relocating to a regional area could be eligible for up to $20,500 worth of incentives.  Internal applicants relocating to a regional area could be eligible for up to $15,500 worth of incentives.  If you live and work in an area classified as ‘remote' by the Australian Tax Office, you may also be eligible for additional salary packaging arrangements, such as mortgage interest, rental costs, and residential utilities. 

COVID-19 VACCINATION
The department strongly recommends (but does not mandate) that employees maintain their COVID-19 vaccination status in accordance with current ATAGI (Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation) advice, given their individual circumstances. As of June 2023, DFFH does not require evidence of COVID-19 vaccination status.

HOW TO APPLY

All VPS employees (and ex-VPS employees with extended access to the Jobs and Skills Exchange website) MUST apply via the Jobs and Skills Exchange (JSE) <https://jse.vic.gov.au/user/login?destination=/new-home-page> portal.

Applicants are encouraged to apply online. Attachments can be uploaded in .doc, .docx, .pdf, .txt or .rtf formats.
Applicants are required to submit a CV and Cover Letter (max 2 pages) outlining their suitability to the role in line with the Key Selection Criteria. 
Applicants must be an Australian Citizen, Permanent Resident or hold a valid work permit or visa. Work eligibility will be checked as part of the recruitment process. 
Preferred candidates will be required to complete pre-employment screening, including a national police check and misconduct screening.

For more information on working with us and our recruitment process, please visit Department of Families, Fairness and Housing Victoria | Jobs (www.dffh.vic.gov.au/jobs)

Please apply to submit your interest in this position.