Permanent - Full Time

Lower Plenty

Community Services and Development

Honesty Trust Respect Concern Love

Child Focused Clinician - Lower Plenty

- Full-Time (1 FTE), Permanent

- Based in Lower Plenty
- $108,016.22 pro rata per annum plus super.
- 17.5% annual leave loading and generous salary packaging options
- Progressive Workplace Flexibility options that enable genuine work life balance

About Odyssey Victoria: Odyssey Victoria (OV) is a place of hope and positive change for individuals working towards breaking their pattern of addiction.

At Odyssey

Victoria we believe that every person should have the opportunity to change and grow. Our diverse teams work with individuals, families, and communities to reduce alcohol and other drug (AOD) use, improve mental health, and reconnect people to their family and the community. OV is a dynamic and fast-growing organisation committed to excellence in service provision and innovation in responding to alcohol and other drugs use problems.

Role Purpose:

The Child Focused Clinician contributes to the life and community of the Lower Plenty Therapeutic Community (TC) by supporting the therapeutic needs of children whose parents are in rehabilitation, strengthening family relationships, enhancing the community’s capacity to respond to children’s wellbeing, and fostering a safe, nurturing environment that promotes healthy development and connection.

The key purpose of the position is to provide specialised therapeutic support to children & families at Lower Plenty TC, with a solid focus on strengthening parent-child relationships, supporting child development, and embedding a child –centred lens across the therapeutic community. The role advocates for the needs and rights of children within treatment planning, recognising that children of people in rehabilitation undertake their own parallel rehabilitation journey. It ensures that the wellbeing and safety are actively integrated into the daily life and practice of the therapeutic community.

Key areas of focus:

- Provide therapeutic interventions to children, informed by trauma, attachment and developmental frameworks to support the safety, well-being and development of children.
- Assess and respond to children’s emotional, behavioural and developmental needs within the TC environment.
- · Develop and implement individualised child wellbeing plans, in collaboration with families and the care team.
- Undertake therapeutic outreach with schools, wellbeing programs and other child-focused services to support engagement and continuity.
- Support the therapeutic integration of children within the TC, recognising their parallel recovery journey.
- Collaborate with the Children’s Centre team regarding children’s developmental wellbeing plans and goal setting.




- Collaborate with the Family Services team to guide and support parents in implementing strategies to provide developmentally appropriate parenting and boundaries to their children.
- Contribute to the assessment and approval processes for residents seeking to undertake child supervision responsibilities, ensuring decisions align with clinical, safety and program requirements at Lower Plenty TC.
- Ensure mechanisms for child voice and participation, ensuring children’s feedback informs service design, planning, and response are developed and implemented.
- Work closely with parents to ensure they receive appropriate parental education and are empowered in maintaining a safe environment for their children.
- Provide guidance on parenting strategies that support child wellbeing in the context of substance use recovery to staff and residents in the TC.
- Provide therapeutic support to parents to strengthen attachment, attunement and reflective parenting capacity.

To be successful in this role, you must…

1. Relevant tertiary/degree qualifications in Welfare, Social Work, Psychology, Child Development, Developmental Attachment and Trauma or similar (or relevant experience).
2. Experience supporting children who have exposure to trauma or behavioural issues.
3. Previous work with parents and families to develop or improve stability, consistency, routines and appropriate boundaries for children in their care.
4. Ability to apply evidence based and/or clinical tools in practice.
5. Demonstrated ability to work with diverse populations and provide service that is culturally safe.
6. High attention to detail with excellent record-keeping and report writing skills.
7. Demonstrated knowledge of administrative procedures, confidentiality, and privacy protocols.
8. Self-motivated, with the ability to take initiative and work independently as well as within a team with a consultative approach to addressing issues.
9. Ability to maintain confidentiality and remain impartial at all times.
10. Well-developed organisational, interpersonal, and planning skills, with ability to apply effective case management practices, determine priorities and manage multiple tasks to deadlines.
11. Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to liaise effectively with varied stakeholders.

For a copy of the position description which outlines the full list of responsibilities and key selection criteria, please click HERE (http://odyssey.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/POSTC5024-Child-Focused-Clinician-LP.pdf) *Appendix A (AOD Competencies)

OV requires people in clinical positions to have the following competencies (or their equivalent).



Where people do not already have these competencies, OV will invest in the person’s professional development by providing them through its RTO.

The competencies required in the first 12 months of employment are:

- CHCAOD001 - Work in an alcohol and other drugs context
- CHCAOD004 - Assess needs of clients with alcohol and other drugs issues.
- CHCAOD006 - Provide interventions for people with alcohol and other drugs issues.
- CHCAOD009 - Develop and review individual alcohol and other drugs treatment plans

What we can give YOU! In return we are committed to offering you an inclusive and transparent workplace culture where our people can develop to be their very best by:

- Ongoing learning and development opportunities
- Providing work that is meaningful and challenging, with career development opportunities through project and secondment opportunities and succession planning
- Providing career pathways across diverse OV programs.
- Access to 24/7 counselling through our Employee Assistance Provider (EAP)
- Generous leave options such as 48/52 Purchase Leave, Study Leave and Sabbaticals
- Flexible working arrangements such as monthly RDO’s for full-timers (arrangements will vary based on role requirements).

In addition to the above, staff will also be provided monthly Clinical Supervision sessions for professional development and personal wellbeing.

Application information

Please apply directly via our careers website (applications via external recruitment websites or via email will not be considered)

Applications should be addressed to Becca Gratch and include your CV and a cover letter addressing the key selection criteria. If you have any questions relating to the position, please contact Becca Gratch Team Leader – Family Services on, [email protected].

We will be assessing applications on a rolling basis, and suitable candidates will be shortlisted immediately. This role will be open for one week and close once a suitable candidate has been selected, which may be prior to the application deadline, so please don’t wait to apply!

Our commitment to diversity

At OV we value diversity and believe that a range of backgrounds brings a variety of ideas, perspectives and experiences that will enhance our effectiveness. We promote a workplace that actively seeks to include, welcome and value unique contributions by encouraging people with disability, Aboriginal Australians, LGBTQIA, young people and people from culturally diverse backgrounds to apply for this position.

Safety screening

OV is committed to child safety and is a child safe organisation. All OV employees must undergo Police Records and Working with Children Checks. Any person issued with a negative notice on their Working with Children Check will not be eligible for employment with us.

All Odyssey Victoria sites are smoke free for all employees

📌 Child Focused Clinician (Lower Plenty)
🏢 Odyssey House Victoria
📍 Lower Plenty