Disability Support Worker

As a Minda Youth Disability Support Worker, you will be a part of a team of heartfelt practitioners who aim to give children and young people a positive journey through care.

There are days when you will be challenged and there will be some tough moments but you will know in your heart that you are making a positive difference to a young person’s life. In this role you will be providing support to young people with disabilities who also have experienced trauma.

Ideal team members display resilience, willingness to accept and learn from and about others, the ability to build strong rapport with others, be a great role model at all times, have great communication and report writing skills, and be solution focused.

Your day at work will involve mentoring in all aspects in the life of another person, including but not limited to personal hygiene, healthy lifestyle and daily household duties and may not always go to plan – you will need to be adaptable and great at redirecting and negotiating but always kind and clear.

No two days will be the same however your day-to-day responsibilities will include:

• Mentoring and acting as a role model for young people;
• Helping them in building positive social skills, utilising effective conflict management and negotiation, and building healthy relationships;
• Assisting them with their physical and emotional well-being. This includes anything from helping them prepare their meals and clean up after themselves, to just being there for them when times get tough;
• Administering program records and maintaining strict documentation in accordance with legal requirements and service policy;
• Because we provide 24 hour care 7 days a week, you’ll need to be available for a rotating shift roster (including early starts, late finishes, weekends and public holidays, active/passive nights).
• You will also be required to attend staff meetings and compulsory training provided by the organisation.

What you can bring to the team:

You are passionate about the welfare of children & young people and achieving the absolute best outcomes for them. With an empathetic nature you are compassionate toward vulnerable individuals. You are approachable, and a good problem solver who is able to work autonomously and manage competing priorities.

To be successful for this position, you will ideally have:

• An understanding of the rights of youth in care
• An understanding of the standards for children and youth in care
• A Certificate IV in Disability Services/Mental Health/Community Services or relevant qualifications
• Demonstrated experience supporting in a challenging environment
• Ability to navigate and mitigate high risk behaviours and situations and be able to manage yourself in such situations
• Ability to communicate at all levels along with the knowledge and understanding of working with people from disadvantaged and diverse cultural backgrounds
• Prior relevant experience and understanding of the challenges that youth with a background of trauma may face
• Clear understanding of working in a person-centred manner whilst being culturally appropriate
• Computer literate in Microsoft Word at a minimum
• Report writing skills

In return, we offer:

• Salary packaging of up to $15,900 for general living expenses
• Career progression opportunities
• Free, confidential counselling service
• Working with a great team of like-minded people
• Ongoing training and support to give you the skills to make a bigger difference in peoples’ lives