Senior Youth AOD Clinician

Honesty - Trust - Respect - Concern - Love

• Part-Time, Fixed-Term  (0.6 FTE, 3 Days per week to the end of June, 2027)
• Based at headspace Elsternwick and The Salvation Army Youth Services, St. Kilda
• $108,016.22 pro rata per annum plus super
• 17.5% annual leave loading and generous salary packaging options
• Progressive Workplace Flexibility options that enable genuine work life balance

About Odyssey Victoria

Odyssey Victoria (OV) is a place of hope and positive change for individuals working towards breaking their pattern of addiction. At Odyssey Victoria we believe that every person should have the opportunity to change and grow. Our diverse teams work with individuals, families, and communities to reduce alcohol and other drug (AOD) use, improve mental health, and reconnect people to their family and the community. OV is a dynamic and fast-growing organisation committed to excellence in service provision and innovation in responding to alcohol and other drugs use problems.

Role Purpose

The OV Youth & Family Services program supports young people and families experiencing a range of complex issues associated with alcohol and other drug (AOD) use.

Services include:

• AOD assessment, counselling, and case management
• Gambling counselling and support
• Dual Diagnosis counselling and support
• Information and education on drug use
• Health promotion and harm minimisation strategies
• Pro-social recreational activities
• Schools and community education
• Secondary consultation  

The Senior Youth AOD Clinician provides AOD counselling and case management support for young people 12 to 25 years old (and their careers and families where appropriate) via Headspace (2 days a week) and The Salvation Army Youth Services (1 day a week).

This support aims to:  

• Reduce AOD-related harms and change harmful behaviours.
• Identify and address barriers to recovery.
• Increase capacity to effectively manage difficulties associated with problematic AOD use and other addictions.
• Develop skills to prevent relapse. 

Increase health and wellbeing, social connectedness, and positive and ongoing behaviour change. The Senior Youth AOD Clinician will work independently but will be well connected to the OV youth and family services team, along with other youth-focused and related services.

Key areas of focus    

• Provide high quality engagement, assessment, treatment and support services to young people and their families.
• Provide AOD support and expert advice to team members in the field where required.
• Deliver evidence-based psychosocial interventions including but not limited to, brief interventions; cognitive behavioural therapies; community reinforcement therapy; contingency management; motivational enhancement therapy and social behavioural therapy.
• Liaise and provide education, information, and support regarding the programs to other agencies and the wider community.
• Identify and provide AOD interventions to young people including assessment, case management, counselling, and supported referral.
• Conduct Mental health screening and referral.
• Provide family/carer support, counselling, and referral as appropriate.
• Undertake post treatment follow-up to track recovery progress and, where appropriate, support re-engagement with AOD treatment services or other supports.
• Provide integrated care with other services (i.e., Juvenile Justice, Department of Health and Human Services, mental health providers) and professionals (i.e., psychologists, social workers, nurses, and welfare workers).
• Establish collaborative working relationships with local youth and related service providers.
• Develop comprehensive, flexible, and individualised harm reduction and case management plans with the young person and their family where relevant.
• Facilitate access to support networks, aftercare, self-help groups and community activities.
• Identify any risks to vulnerable children, working with families to develop safety plans and facilitating referrals to Child First and Family services agents when indicated.
• Deliver content for, and attend, case conferences and care team meetings to facilitate integrated and consistent treatment across services.
• Represent the various partner organisations along with OV and actively participate in local area forums, meetings and working groups.
• Undertake other activities as required and determined by the Manager.

To be successful in this role, you must:

1. Relevant health and or welfare Tertiary/Degree Qualification e.g., in Social Work, Psychology, Nursing or Allied Health Sciences with experience and/or an Associate Diploma with substantial experience. 
2. Certificate IV Alcohol & Other Drugs, or willingness to complete within first 12 months of employment. *(Refer to Appendix A) 
3. Extensive experience in working with young people, specifically in AOD, dual diagnosis, gambling, gaming and other categories of complex clients including homelessness, school disengagement, trauma, abuse, juvenile justice, out-of-home care, child protection and family breakdown. 
4. Experience in providing AOD support to young people.  
5. Proven skills in AOD assessment, Individual Treatment Plans, and case management. 
6. Experience in working with young people and families from diverse backgrounds, including ATSI, CALD and GLBTI communities. 
7. Knowledge of available interventions and support services appropriate to the target group. 
8. Proven ability to develop and collaborate effectively with service providers and stakeholders. 
9. A demonstrated commitment to teamwork and the ability to take appropriate individual and team responsibility for the welfare of clients. 
10. Highly developed verbal and written communication skills, including capacity to maintain file records and data collection processes to a high professional standard. 

*Note: refer to Appendix A for details on competencies

For a copy of the position description which outlines the full list of responsibilities and key selection criteria, please click HERE.

*Appendix A (AOD Competencies)

OV requires people in clinical positions to have the following competencies (or their equivalent). Where people do not already have these competencies, OV will invest in the person’s professional development by providing them through its RTO.

The competencies required in the first 12 months of employment are:

• CHCAOD001 - Work in an alcohol and other drugs context     
• CHCAOD004 - Assess needs of clients with alcohol and other drugs issues.
• CHCAOD006 - Provide interventions for people with alcohol and other drugs issues.
• CHCAOD009 - Develop and review individual alcohol and other drugs treatment plans     

What we can give YOU!

In return we are committed to offering you an inclusive and transparent workplace culture where our people can develop to be their very best by:       

• Ongoing learning and development opportunities
• Providing work that is meaningful and challenging
• Providing career pathways across diverse OV programs
• Access to 24/7 counselling through our Employee Assistance Provider (EAP)
• Generous leave options such as 48/52 Purchase Leave and Study Leave
• Flexible working arrangements such as monthly RDO’s for full-timers (arrangements will vary based on role requirements).

In addition to the above, staff will also be provided monthly Clinical Supervision sessions for professional development and personal wellbeing.

Application information