Position title   Social Worker; Support service for psychologically injured Queensland workers

Organisation  Queensland Council of Unions

Time fraction Full time – commencing January 2025

Salary From $109 000 + super

Employment arrangements   Queensland Council of Unions Staff Agreement 2023 – 2026

Minimum experience

Previous experience undertaking intake and assessment, case management, and community outreach as a social worker, preferably in the field of mental health.

Minimum qualifications          

Tertiary qualifications in social work, as recognised by the Australian Association of Social Workers

Location    TLC Building, 16 Peel St, South Brisbane

Collaborates with       Workers’ Compensation Information Service, Officer

Reports to directly    Executive Officer

Reports to overall      General Secretary

Organisation

Queensland Council of Unions is the peak union body in Queensland. It is comprised of 26 affiliated unions, representing over 400,000 union members.

Our Mission Statement is “Leading Unions to achieve industrial, political and social justice for Queensland Workers”.

Function

A  support service for psychologically injured Queensland workers (who are suffering, or have suffered from, a work-related psychological injury) will be delivered through a small team of social workers with appropriate skills and experience in mental health.

This service provides supplementary, non-technical support for workers who experience difficulties in navigating community supports as a result of the psychosocial impacts related to the workers’ compensation process.

Any agency engaged in workers’ compensation may refer an injured worker to this service; including the Regulator, employers, unions, and treating medical or allied health professionals.

The support service is required to be accessible to any Queensland worker, in any location throughout the state, through a toll free advisory telephone line, video conference, email enquiry and website enquiry facilities (9 am – 5 pm, Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays).

The support service complements an existing Workers’ Compensation Information and Advisory Service (WCIAS) for Queensland workers, delivered through the Queensland Council of Unions.

Deliverables

The duties and responsibilities of the social worker will be in line with their level of expertise, which includes but is not limited to:

• Performing initial needs assessments specific to each worker, based on an analysis of complex factors;
• Contributing to the development of services, through initiating and undertaking service evaluation and audit;
• Applying independent professional judgement and high-level problem-solving skills to a complex case load to achieve positive outcomes which meet individual client goals, where applicable;
• Applying therapeutic support skills (but not treatment) to meet the individual needs of workers;
• Establishing networks with key community support groups and organisations, including Centrelink and training organisations;
• Building networks and relationships to further promote the service among key stakeholder groups;
• Maintaining and further developing a current case management database to responsively identify key trends and reporting deliverables;
• Recommending diverse and multiple interventions commensurate with a worker’s identified needs;
• Educating and engaging the worker with community support services; and
• Effectively managing a worker’s expectations.

Qualifications

• Tertiary qualifications in social work, as recognised by the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW);
• Eligibility for membership of the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW);
• Not having any other outstanding professional competency or ethical issues or complaints known to the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) which may preclude membership of the organisation; and
• Evidence of continuing professional development will be well regarded.

Experience

Previous experience in undertaking intake and assessment, case management, and community outreach as a social worker, preferably in the field of mental health

Other

This position is based in Brisbane.

Applicants must have a current driver’s license.

Pre-employment screening, including an AFP criminal record check, may be undertaken on the person who is recommended for appointment to this role.

A probationary period of 6 months applies for new employees.

The QCU supports Equal Employment Opportunity and encourages Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, women and LGBTIQ people with relevant qualifications, experience and skills to apply.

Reporting process

To assume this role you must be appointed by the General Secretary, in line with the QCU Staff Recruitment Policy.

You will report to the Executive Officer and ultimately to the General Secretary on any matters within the area of responsibility.

Formal reports on key progress points on service deliverables will be made in accordance with a funding agreement, according to an established format.

Key selection criteria

The ideal candidate must demonstrate:

• High level of skill, knowledge and expertise in social work practice, theoretical perspectives, social systems, legislation and policies relevant to the service scope;
• High level ability to communicate and liaise effectively with clients and relevant stakeholders, including medical and allied health professionals, community service providers, and other organisations involved in meeting the identified needs of injured workers;
• Demonstrated experience in developing networks and relationships;
• Proven ability to manage and prioritise a caseload and exercise initiative;
• High level time management skills to effectively manage workload, meet deadlines and deliver services in a timely way;
• A high level of commitment to, and experience with, Queensland unions and the broader Labour movement;
• A high level of written and verbal communication skills.
• Sound computer and word-processing skills, including use of Microsoft Office Suite;
• Well-developed personal organisational and administrative skills;
• Ability to work collaboratively with staff to promote a co-operative and cohesive team approach to service delivery;
• Experience in networking and developing relationships with key stakeholders to promote service delivery;
• Experience in working independently to deliver high quality and timely actions and output, with the flexibility to rearrange priorities to meet changing needs of the organisation; and
• Experience and capacity to discharge the specific function of the new role, as described in the ‘Deliverables’ section of this Position Description.

Application process

Applications close at 5 pm on Thursday, 5 December 2024.

An applicant’s CV, together with a cover letter addressing the key selection criteria, should be forwarded to:

Ms Jacqueline King

General Secretary

Queensland Council of Unions Level 5

16 Peel Street

South Brisbane Qld 4101

Or email to reneek@qcu.asn.au, marked ‘Attention: Ms Jacqueline King