Clinician - Practice Lead Behaviour Support | North West - Malmsbury

Job Description

• Join Victoria's Youth Justice Precinct at Malmsbury.
• Lead a multi-disciplinary team of staff delivering psychosocial programs and individual interventions to support the management of a young person's behaviour in custody and reintegration into the community
• Contribute to improving the outcomes of young people's futures.

The Department of Justice and Community Safety (Youth Justice) is responsible for the statutory supervision of young people in the criminal justice system in Victoria focusing on prevention, diversion, and early intervention as the most effective and fiscally responsible ways of reducing youth crime. Youth Justice is committed to the demonstration of the departmental values at all times; Responsiveness, Integrity, Impartiality, Accountability, Respect, Leadership, Human rights.

Children and young people involved in Youth Justice are either supervised in the community, by community youth justice workers located at Justice Service Centres across seven regions in Victoria or within custodial precincts. Custodial precincts focus on providing a genuine therapeutic environment, driven by relationships based on an integrated model of care and evidence-based approach to programs and services.

The three Youth Justice custodial precincts in Victoria are managed by the Department of Justice and Community Safety:

• Parkville Youth Justice Precinct is in the inner northern Melbourne suburb of Parkville, approximately five kilometres from the central business district.
• Cherry Creek Youth Justice Precinct located to the west of Werribee.
• Malmsbury Youth Justice Precinct located approximately 100 kilometres north of Melbourne.

Rehabilitation and Outcomes is a specialist team at the Malmsbury Youth Justice Precinct that provides young people in custody with developmentally targeted and multi-systemic offence-specific, offence-related, and psychosocial assessments and intervention services and structured programs to support their rehabilitation, manage complex behaviours in custody and support their reintegration with caregivers, education and other related support systems in the community.

The Practice Lead reports directly to the Clinical Manager and will provide leadership and direction to a team of Behaviour Support Specialists at Malmsbury Youth Justice Precinct. They will oversee a range of interventions and behaviour management strategies, and the delivery of evidence-informed psychosocial programs to support a young person's rehabilitation. The position will work within a multi-disciplinary team to achieve sustained change in a young person's behaviour through individual interactions with young people and staff in the units as well as structured programs. 

The Opportunity

• Ongoing, full-time position based at the Malmsbury Youth Justice Precinct but working flexibly across other Youth Justice Custodial Precincts (Parkville & Cherry Creek), where needed to respond to operational requirements.
• VPS Grade 5 role: $ $113,022 - $136,747 per year plus superannuation.
• Provide leadership to a team of Behaviour Support Specialists at the Malmsbury Youth Justice Precinct.
• Oversee the delivery of evidence-based psychosocial programs to support the rehabilitation of young people in custody.
• Oversee the development of individualised strategies, interventions and plans that are responsive to the needs of young people and assist in reducing the occurrence and impact of behaviours of concern.
• Provide high quality supervision and access to professional development, developing and maintaining a culture that supports best practice.
• Lead the capacity building of unit staff through developing their skills and confidence to manage and intervene with positive behaviour strategies to manage young people in custody with highly complex behaviours.
• Ensure that functional behavioural assessments contain evidence-based, proactive strategies that meet the specific needs of the young person displaying behaviours of concern and includes consideration of cultural and family support needs and responses.
• Convene and/or attend relevant meetings to ensure that managers and staff are supported and guided in the system's response to highly complex behaviours.
• Provide strategic advice to address complex service delivery issues and complex cases/matters relating to the behaviour management and rehabilitation of young people in custody
• Establish and maintain an effective coordinated, care team approach between custody and community, and external stakeholders on issues relevant to the behaviour management and rehabilitation of young people in custody.
• Contribute to the development of key operational documents including operating manuals and/or procedures
• Contribute to the development and training of the Rehabilitation and Behaviour Support team and other staff involved in the delivery of intervention services to young people in custody.
• Direct contact with young people will be required.

To be successful in this role you will have:

• Experience in leading a multi-disciplinary team to deliver interventions and services to complex client groups.
• Specialist expertise in working with young people presenting with multiple and complex needs, including offending behaviour, trauma, substance use and mental health issues.
• Competence in delivering practice supervision

You will be required to obtain a Working with Children Check, which you will need to maintain for the period of employment.

To learn more about the type of skills you will need to thrive in this role, please read the position description.

What's in it for you?

You will be working for the Department of Justice and Community Safety, which is one arm of the Victorian State Government, a recognised top employer of choice nationally. All our staff work to the vision of a safe, just, innovative and thriving Victoria.

There are many advantages in working for the department, including:

• Job stability – position as a member of the Victorian Public Service (VPS).
• A fair salary– enjoy great work conditions and salary sacrificing options.
• Transparent performance framework– approach your work with confidence in how you're tracking, working to professional development plans agreed on by you and your manager.
• Generous leave entitlements– provisions for many forms of leave; including personal, parental, carers, study, cultural, compassionate, and sick leave.
• Employee Assistance Program support – you are encouraged to use this short-term, confidential counselling service if you're experiencing emotional stress, relationship problems, conflict with others or personal issues. It is also available for financial counselling and retirement planning.

If you have any queries, please contact Chelsea Leach on 0498 334 483 or Chelsea.Leach@justice.vic.gov.au

Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people are strongly encouraged to apply.

Applicants are welcome to utilise support from the Aboriginal Recruitment Team throughout the recruitment process. Aboriginal candidates are encouraged to contact Aboriginalrecruitment@justice.vic.gov.au if they would like cultural support and guidance through the application process.

For Aboriginal Designated and Prioritised positions, a Certificate of Aboriginality (CoA) will be required prior to an offer of employment being made

We want to make sure all Victorians feel represented by the department's work. One of the ways we do this is by recruiting a diverse workforce – we welcome people of any gender, age, religion, sexual orientation, disability and cultural background. We are also committed to the Victorian Government's promise to increase the number of veterans working in the public sector.

We're proud of our individual differences. We're proud of the many languages we speak and the stories we can share with each other. We hope you will share your story too.

If this sounds like a compelling job that you believe your skills would be a great match for, please APPLY NOW. Applications close 11.59pm, Tuesday 3^rd March 2026.

How to apply

Please click the Apply button on this advertisement. Applications should include a resume and covering letter. Attachments can be uploaded in .doc, .docx, .pdf, .txt or .rtf formats.

The successful candidate will be required to undergo pre-employment checks which may include national police checks and misconduct screening.

If you require adjustments to the recruitment and selection process, or require an alternative format to any of the application material, please don't hesitate to get in touch with the contact person listed on this ad.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

CHILD SAFE STATEMENT OF COMMITMENT:

The Department of Justice and Community Safety is committed to the safety and wellbeing of children and young people. We seek to prevent harm of any kind impacting children and young people and have zero tolerance for racism, child abuse and inequality. Children and young people's rights, relationships, identity, and culture must be recognised and respected, their voices heard, and their concerns acted upon. We aim to foster a culturally safe, child safe and child friendly environment for all children and young people we have contact with, deliver services to, or are impacted by our work.