Senior Mental Health Clinician

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• Make an impact supporting patients, their families and carers  

• Social Worker (GR3), Occupational Therapist, Psychologist (Grade 2) or Registered Psychiatric Nurses (Grade 4), Speech Therapist (GR3), Family Therapy Training encouraged 

• Full-time position located at the Austin Hospital in Heidelberg  

Austin Health is the major provider of tertiary health services, health professional education and research across three campuses in the north-east of Melbourne and state-wide. We have a highly engaged, diverse and collaborative workforce that is unified by our goal to help people live healthy and fulfilled lives.

About the Child Inpatient Unit   

The Child Inpatient Unit (CIPU) is part of Austin Health’s Infant Child and Youth Mental Health Services (ICYMHS). It services children from metropolitan and regional Victoria, NSW and Tasmania at present. It is one of two Child Units in the state – the other is the OASIS Unit, based at Monash Health.  Our community teams are currently based primarily at the Heidelberg Campus of Austin Health, Heidelberg site and in Epping. it is anticipated there will be a number of teams located the community over time.

•  The CIPU is a 12 bed unit which provides specialist inpatient psychiatric assessment and treatment for young people up to the age of 12 years with severe emotional and/or behavioural disturbance, 

• Provides two types of admission: Crisis and Planned – during which both assessment and treatment can be accommodated, 

• Children are admitted on a voluntary basis and with a primary care giver 

• All members of the household are encouraged to attend and flexible arrangements are made for anyone who has a caregiving role.  

• There is an associated Austin Hospital School administered by the Department of Education and Training.  

About the role  

The Senior Mental Health Clinician at the Austins Child Inpatient Unit, coordinates referrals and admissions for children and families to the Child Inpatient Unit in a multidisciplinary setting. They will display a clear understanding of and sophisticated practice in the principles of recovery-orientated, trauma-informed, family-centred and collaborative care and expertise in engaging children and their families within clinical settings. Provides high quality, evidence-based clinical assessment, risk formulation and treatment at an individual or systems level as indicated by clinical need. 

The Child Inpatient Unit is a leader in promoting staff well-being whilst providing useful supports to the mental health workforce.  As a Senior Mental Health Clinician employed on the Child Inpatient Unit you will be rewarded with regular high quality staff supervision both as a group and one on one, team reflective sessions with your multidisciplinary team on a regular basis facilitated by a highly qualified external supervisor, and the use of an identified space to take time out and utilise time/space and sensory approaches to re-regulate at times of stress.  

About you

You will be someone who has excellent communication skills and a strong commitment to excellence in patient care. You’ll bring energy and drive to you work, and have a keen interest in developing your skillset.

You’ll further have:

• Relevant professional qualification in health- Demonstrated working knowledge of the Victorian public health care and child protection systems
• Related discipline of psychology, nursing, social work, occupational therapy or speech therapy with current Registration with Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) where applicable.
• Psychologists must be registered with a specialist endorsement in Clinical Psychology, Clinical Neuropsychology or Forensic Psychology.
• Nurses must have a Post Graduate Qualification in Psychiatric/Mental Health Nursing or equivalent Selection Criteria Mental Health Clinician – Eating Disorders ICYMHS
• Social Workers – Eligibility for membership with Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW)
• A current, unrestricted Victorian Driver’s Licence.
• A current unrestricted Working with Children’s Check

Our benefits

Working at Austin Health means enjoying a strong sense of purpose, engaging in meaningful work every day.  Our people also receive a variety of rewarding benefits, including:

• Greater take-home pay through generous salary packaging for living expenses, meals, and holiday accommodation
• A suite of wellness initiatives designed to support you, including discounts on fitness memberships and health insurance, and a comprehensive wellbeing program
• Mentoring and career development opportunities
• Onsite childcare, easy access via public transport, car parking and end of journey facilities for cyclists

Work with us!

We are committed to cultural safety and health equity for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander People. We celebrate, value, and include people of all backgrounds, genders, identities, cultures, bodies, and abilities. We welcome and support applications from talented people identifying as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander, people with disability, neurodiverse people, LGBTQIA+ and people of all ages and cultures.

If you feel this role is right for you, we encourage your early application. Applications will be reviewed as they are received, and interviews may take place prior to the closing date. This means we reserve the right to close a job ad prior to the advertised closing date.

All appointments are made subject to a satisfactory National Police Check and if required, a Working With Children Check. If you require any reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process or have questions about this opportunity, you are welcome to reach out to the hiring manager: Sandra Chirume-Chiguma, Nurse Unit Manager - Child Inpatient Unit at Sandra.CHIRUME-CHIGUMA@austin.org.au

Interested in finding out more about this opportunity? Read the position description for further details.

Application closing date: Friday 18 April 2025