Senior Worker

Why join Launch Housing

Launch Housing is an independent Melbourne based community organisation passionately committed to ending homelessness. From providing high quality housing and an innovative range of support, education and employment services, we bring solutions to homelessness under one roof for thousands at risk of or experiencing the crisis and trauma of homelessness.  With over 400 staff working across 16 locations in metropolitan Melbourne, we combine direct action with advocacy, research and innovation to drive widespread change.

Our people are the backbone of our organisation and supporting their wellbeing and professional development is critical to our ability to help our clients and the community. We value lived experience and diversity in our staff, and provide high-quality training & supervision, wellbeing days, access to an Employee Assistance Program and much much more to ensure your career with us is fulfilling.

Don’t just walk past homelessness.  Join the solution.  

Our permanent and fixed-term employee benefits include:

• Contributing to useful and rewarding work and giving something back to the community

• Wellbeing days, ceremonial leave, carers leave and study leave 

• Flexible working arrangements 

• Purchased leave 

• 17.5% leave loading 

• 8 weeks’ gender neutral paid parental leave after 12 months of service for both the primary and secondary carer

• Training and career growth opportunities across Launch Housing

• A portion of your income can be tax-free by salary packaging your personal expenses

• Additional tax-free salary packaging on dining and accommodation expenses

• Positive, supportive and progressive work environment

About the opportunity:

The Accommodation Options for Families (AOF) program provides solution-focussed housing support services to families and children who are experiencing homelessness. The AOF program is aimed at assisting families and children to move from inappropriate, unsafe, or unaffordable accommodation into long-term sustainable housing.

The AOF program is part of Launch Housing’s Specialist Child & Family Services area within the broader Families & New Beginnings function. The AOF program supports families and children experiencing homelessness to access short-term motel/hotel accommodation with a view to assisting them into long-term sustainable housing, often in the private rental market. The AOF team works in an outreach capacity, and is based across Launch Housing’s three entry points – LH Collingwood, LH St Kilda, and LH Cheltenham. The vision of the AOF program is to provide flexible, responsive, trauma-informed and child-safe support to families and children experiencing homelessness in order to move them out of the homelessness system as quickly as possible.

The Senior Worker works within the AOF program to deliver high quality, solution-focussed and trauma-informed housing support services to families and children experiencing homelessness using the Launch Housing Practice Framework to guide best practice. The Senior Worker holds a reduced caseload of clients, and additionally provides support, secondary consultation, mentoring, coaching, training, and education to staff members within their team, organisation and externally.

The Senior Worker will also work collaboratively with the coordinator – AOF to lead and coordinate practice reflection, provide leadership, guidance and support to manage complex client situations, including risk management, provide management and administrative oversight of the AOF program, and will identify and support advocacy and partnership development opportunities.

The Senior Worker will provide leadership in ensuring their actions and messaging is consistent with Launch Housing values and takes a “one team” approach to support initiatives developed across all areas of the business. 

This is a permanent full-time opportunity, based in South Melbourne.

• Ensuring a consistent, compliant, and best-practice approach to case management and operational practices across all services delivered by the relevant program(s).
• Engaging with clients to determine eligibility for the organisation's services and refer clients to other more relevant services if required.
• Developing case plans in conjunction with clients and implement strategies that enable clients to achieve their goals by building on their strengths and focusing on solutions.
• Initiating and maintaining contact with vulnerable clients using flexible engagement strategies to achieve case plan goals.
• Supporting and responding to critical incidents on clients and staff, including comprehensive assessment of risk and safety planning.
• Supporting improvement of client outcomes and satisfaction, through a person-centred, child-safe, and trauma informed approach, harm reduction and recovery-oriented practices.
• Advocating on behalf of clients and arranging referrals to other agencies to ensure access and delivery of appropriate services.
• Working closely with the coordinator – AOF to ensure the programs overseen comply with professional standards and relevant legislation, policies and guidelines.

• Have a relevant tertiary qualification (desirable).
• Demonstrated relevant case management experience working with families and children within the homelessness service system.
• Demonstrated understanding of the impact of homelessness and family violence on families and children.
• Demonstrated understanding of a trauma-informed approach and knowledge of family-centred practices and child safe practices (desirable).
• Demonstrated leadership skills and previous experience mentoring and/or coaching staff (desirable).
• High degree of initiative and analytical skills, including well-developed organisational and time-management skills.
• Demonstrated ability to build positive relationships and communicate with people of diverse backgrounds and abilities.
• A valid Victorian Driver’s Licence (mandatory).
• Demonstrated commitment to the values of Launch Housing and our mission to end homelessness

Applications close 10 February 2025, if you have any questions about this opportunity, please contact Angela Zheng on [email protected].

How to apply

To apply for this opportunity, please click on "Apply for this job" button. Please submit a cover letter addressing the key selection criteria and your CV.

For a copy of the position description please contact us at [email protected].

Launch Housing offers a wide range of career opportunities and employs a diverse range of talent. We strongly encourage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons to apply!   We acknowledge, respect and celebrate Aboriginal cultures, languages, connections to Country and heritage, customs and practices. We're committed to support Aboriginal peoples to obtain genuine and fulfilling career with us!

Launch Housing is a dog-friendly organisation, which allows dog owners to bring them in some of our sites, please contact the relevant Hiring Manager if you have any questions or concerns prior to your interview.

If you require reasonable adjustments at any stage of the recruitment process, please let us know at [email protected].

Launch Housing is committed to being a child safe organisation and has zero tolerance to child abuse. Our hiring process involves rigorous screening of applicants. All of our people including students, contractors and volunteers must hold a valid Working with Children Check and satisfactory criminal history record check. 

Launch Housing is an Equal Opportunity employer and supports accessible working arrangements for all. This includes people with a disability, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, culturally, religiously and linguistically diverse people, young people, older people, women, and people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, gender diverse, intersex or queer. We acknowledge Lived Experience as a unique expertise and encourage people with a Lived Experience of Homelessness to apply. All applicants must have the right to work in Australia.

Launch Housing is working to become more trauma informed and as a leading employer in the homelessness sector, it is important to let you know that you will hear stories of distress, hardship, trauma, or violence when working with us. We encourage you to reflect on how this may impact you when considering applying for the role.