Position Title: Sexual Assault Support and Prevention Program Counsellor

Location: WOMEN'S HEALTH CENTRE, GLADSTONE

Purpose of Position:

 High quality individual counselling and support services to women aged 15 years and over who have experienced recent and/or past rape and/or sexual assault and who reside in the Gladstone region.
 Provide short and medium term counselling with women aged 15 and over who have experienced past sexual assault.
 Providing crisis response to women and young women who have experienced recent sexual assault.
 Providing support to clients through requisite medical and/or police procedures.
 Providing information and support to women’s support personnel, where appropriate.
 Evaluating the effectiveness of the counselling service on a regular basis.
 Participating in the development, implementation and review of appropriate and effective policies and procedures that relate to the provision of counselling services to women who have been sexually assaulted.

Skills and competencies required
Value Competencies:

 Relationships: be able to build a healthy and safe rapport with clients and other staff members
 Advocacy: be able advocate for the rights and needs of clients to ensure the best possible outcomes.
 Empowerment: to assist clients to be empowered within their relationships with the Service.
 Accountability: be accountable to the clients and to the service
 Quality: provide a high quality service
 Be able to develop, implement and manage projects from conception to post evaluation.

Role Competencies:
 Work/knowledge: to be able to provide counselling services appropriate to the clients of Women’s Health Centre.
 Quality of work: to provide high quality counselling and support to women accessing the service and quality projects. To write case notes in a timely manner, which conform to the centre policies.
 Interpersonal Skills/Communication skills: demonstrate high levels of interpersonal and communication skills.
 Presentation skills: demonstrate ability to present appropriate and relevant information in a professional group setting/community setting.
 Team work: to be able to work effectively in a team.
 Problem solving: be able to problem solve in relation to the individual client, client context and the service context.
 Counselling skills: ability to articulate personal therapeutic frameworks used within counselling.
Accountable to:
The Management Committee through the Centre Manager

Salary and Conditions:
15 hours per fortnight In accordance with SACS Award Community Service Worker Level 5 (CSW 5)

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Individual Support Work
 Provide generalist face to face and telephone counselling services to women who have been sexually assaulted.
 Provide crisis face to face and telephone counselling services to women who have been sexually assaulted.
 Support and advocate on behalf of women.
 To make appropriate referrals eg GP, Support Workers, Women’s Shelter, Mental Health, Domestic Violence Counselling, CQ Financial Services
 Provide accurate information on a wide range of issues to service users.
 Participate with other staff to answer telephone calls, welcome women to the centre and to respond to their needs.
 Keep statistical data on all activities
2. Outreach Support
 Provide outreach support within a defined region.
 Research and respond to identified needs of rural and isolated women who have been sexually assaulted.
3. Training and Professional Development
 Participate in fortnightly internal supervision with the centre manager.
 Participate in external supervision.
 Attend workshops, conferences and training on areas of relevance to the position, as may be negotiated with the manager, staff and management committee.
4. Accountability
 Participate in staff meetings as requested by manager/management committee and report on work undertaken. If unable to attend weekly meeting provide written report to be tabled.
 Provide a written report on work undertaken each month to the management committee and attend meetings on a rotational basis with other staff.
 Prepare reports to the funding body as required.
 Participate in an annual Staff Development and Performance Review.
 Collect and document relevant data for statistical purposes.
 Be committed to quality improvement of the workplace.
 Perform other duties as may be negotiated from time to time by the Management Committee.
5. Duties of all workers
 Undertake word processing, filing, replying to correspondence, photocopying and to be personally responsible for management of own work and time, being as self-sufficient with administrative duties as is possible.
 Assist in maintaining the high standard of cleanliness within the Centre.
 Assist in maintaining a clean and tidy centre.