Senior Child Safety Officer

Your contribution

Senior Child Safety Officers (SCSO) are responsible for ensuring the safety, belonging and wellbeing of all children and young people in the child protection process. The SCSO is responsible for delivering statutory child protection services including: assessment, intervention, casework and case management for complex cases.

The SCSO is also responsible for delivering services in accordance with legislation, practice guidelines and a strength based framework for practice. They will also be required to co-work with Child Safety Officers (CSO) and Child Safety Support Officers (CSSO) on complex and sensitive cases. This role provides mentoring and support to develop the skills and knowledge of newly appointed and less experienced CSO and CSSO’s. SCSO’s work in teams (often multi-disciplinary) based in service centres covering specific geographical areas.

Your responsibilities

As a Senior Child Safety Officer, you will:

• Deliver accountable and collaborative integrated child protection services for complex and sensitive cases in a manner that respects the culture and context of each child, young person, family and community in accordance with departmental policies and procedures, statutory responsibilities, and the child protection framework for practice.
• Work collaboratively with colleagues, stakeholders, including children, young people and their families, Non-Government Organisations (NGO's), service providers, medical professionals, police and others to provide high quality strength based child protection practice in complex and sensitive cases.
• Participate and contribute productively as a team member to form culturally appropriate, professional working relationships with colleagues, stakeholders, including children, young people and families, NGO's, and other service providers.
• Foster a culture and philosophy of quality frontline service delivery based on collaboration, cooperation, commitment to excellence and professional ethics.
• Maintain high quality case records in accordance with departmental case management requirements. Prepare, and support less experienced Child Safety Officers prepare quality case management reports.
• Participate and contribute to a culture of continuous learning, training and professional development to ensure practice knowledge and skills are contemporary and evidence-based.
• Draw on professional practice experience in relevant child protection fields to provide coaching and mentoring to new and less experienced Child Safety Officers and to Child Safety Support Officers by providing support and advice and demonstrating quality practice to develop their skills and knowledge.
• Develop and contribute to continuous quality improvement strategies.

Your mandatory requirements

• Applicant to undergo criminal history screening under the blue card system administered by the Queensland Public Safety Business Agency.
• Successful applicant for permanent role who are not already tenured Public Service Officers will be required to agree to a 12 month probationary period prior to commencing employment. Permanent appointment will be confirmed upon successful completion of probation in accordance with departmental policy.
• Possession of a “C' class driver's licence.