Residential Care SME - Child Protection

HCPA is looking for an experienced Residential Care / Child Protection SME to join our consulting team and bring real-world operational expertise into the organisations we support across regulated child and family services.
This is an opportunity for someone who has worked deeply within Residential Care, Therapeutic Residential Care or OOHC and understands what it takes to deliver safe, compliant and high-quality services for children and young people.
What you'll be doingYou'll work with organisations to:Review and improve residential care operations, policies and proceduresStrengthen safeguarding, risk and incident managementAssess governance, quality and compliance frameworksSupport implementation of Child Safe StandardsTranslate legislation and regulatory requirements into practical systemsConduct compliance and quality reviewsIdentify operational gaps and develop practical improvement plansAdvise leaders on workforce, practice and service deliverySupport organisations preparing for audits, reviews and regulatory requirements
You don't need to have been a consultant before.
We're looking for someone who has lived and breathed residential care and can now bring that experience to multiple organisations.You'll be a strong fit if you have:Significant experience in Residential Care, Therapeutic Residential Care or OOHCSenior operational or practice leadership experienceStrong understanding of safeguarding and child protectionExperience with policies, procedures, quality or complianceUnderstanding of the Victorian Child Safe Standards and relevant child protection requirementsStrong communication and stakeholder-management skillsThe ability to turn complex requirements into practical solutionsA genuine commitment to improving outcomes for children and young people
Why HCPA?Take your residential-care expertise beyond a single service and use your experience to make an impact across multiple organisations, teams and projects.
If you're an experienced residential-care leader looking for a new challenge — with the opportunity to share your expertise, influence better practice and help strengthen services across the sector — we'd love to hear from you.
📍 Melbourne | Hybrid💼 Full-time | Long-term | No travel required | Strong work-life balance
Ready to take the next step in your career? Apply now or reach out for a confidential conversation about the role.