- Senior Counsellor Advocate, part time 30.4 hours p/w ongoing position
- CBD location with multiple public transport options available
- $104,135.20 - $118,981.20 salary/range depending on level of experience (pro-rata for part time) + salary packaging + super + 5 weeks annual leave
The Royal Women’s Hospital is one of Australia’s oldest and most distinguished tertiary hospitals dedicated to improving the health and wellbeing of women and newborns, offering specialised services within maternity, neonatal and women’s health. Our goal is to be the best place to work, learn and contribute, and to provide exceptional experiences for our patients and consumers.
About CASA House
Located in the heart of Melbourne, the Centre Against Sexual Assault (CASA House) is a department of the Royal Women's Hospital. CASA House works with people of all genders (including providing support to trans and gender diverse people and non-binary people and communities) and provides 24-hour services to victim survivors of sexual assault, including immediate crisis care, counselling, support and advocacy, after hour’s crisis response, support groups, and support for non-offending family members and friends. CASA House also provides secondary consultation, education and training, research and public advocacy.
At CASA House you will be joining a team which values inclusivity, diversity and intersectionality, a team that is passionate about ensuring victim/ survivors are provided with timely support and that the silence which surrounds sexual assault continues to be broken. You will find a workplace that is collaborative, progressive and passionate about learning and working together to ensure you find the exceptional in your everyday.
About the role
The Senior Counsellor Advocate is responsible for providing supervision, secondary consultation and support to Counsellor Advocates, ensuring that Counsellor Advocates work within the articulated model, policies and philosophy of the Women’s and CASA House. There are four Senior Counsellor Advocates who support the Manager of CASA House, to ensure maintenance of high-quality direct service work which is delivered within a clearly articulated intersectional feminist, rights advocacy, violence and trauma informed practice framework.
The incumbent will be required to provide counselling and advocacy services to victim survivors of sexual assault, their non-offending family members and significant others. The Senior Counsellor Advocate will also provide service coordination activities and deliver community education and training to external professionals and community members.
A regular day will see you:
- Providing supervision to counsellor advocates
- Being the first point of contact for counsellor advocates rostered onto intake for secondary consultation and support
- Ensuring and coordinating intake coverage for the daytime and after hours shifts
- Provide telephone, telehealth and face to face support, counselling and advocacy to victim survivors of both recent and past sexual assault
- Participate in the after hours, on call roster
- Coordinate the provision of follow up medical support, and advocate on behalf of victim survivors with other systems including health, police and broader judicial systems
- Provide secondary consultation to health and other professional practitioners and assist them in making informed referrals and developing plans to respond to victim survivors presenting with multiple needs and complex issues
- Contribute and commit to a culture that promotes gender equity, respect and a safe working environment and have an understanding of violence against women and family violence issues
- Use the Women’s electronic medical record (EMR) where required to fulfil the duties of this position
About you
CASA House is looking for an experienced social worker to join our team of senior counsellor advocates who are dedicated to providing violence and trauma informed counselling and advocacy services to adult survivors of sexual assault.
You’ll bring with you:
- Tertiary qualifications in Social Work or other relevant health profession skills and experience
- A minimum of 7 years’ post-graduate experience in Social Work, or a relevant discipline
- Experience in provision of clinical supervision
- Demonstrated crisis intervention and short- medium term counselling experience and extensive specialist knowledge and skills in supporting survivors of sexual assault and violence
- Demonstrated understanding of a service based on an intersectional feminist, rights advocacy, violence and trauma informed practice framework and experience in applying this approach to your clinical practice in relation to working with victim/survivors of family violence and sexual assault
- Excellent communication (verbal and written), negotiation and advocacy skills
Our benefits
At the Women’s you will enjoy a culture that is collaborative, supportive and passionate about learning. We have a strong sense of purpose, and engage in meaningful work every day. We offer our people a range of rewarding benefits, including:
- Up to $11,660 in salary packaging benefits, for living expenses, meals and holiday accommodation
- A suite of wellness initiatives designed to support you, including discounted financial, lifestyle and health options, and a comprehensive wellbeing program
- Public transport options at our doorstep
- Mentoring, learning and career development opportunities
- Five weeks annual leave, 17.5% leave loading and purchased leave options
Inclusion and belonging
The Women’s celebrates, values and supports a diverse and inclusive environment which reflects our vibrant community. We encourage applications from anyone identifying as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander. We also welcome anyone who identifies as LGBTQIA+, linguistically, culturally and/or gender diverse, people with disability, and people of any age to apply for our roles. We are committed to gender equity principles, and our people have an awareness of and sensitive approach to violence against women and family violence matters. We are proudly Breastfeeding Association accredited.
Apply now!
If you feel this role is right for you we warmly invite you to apply, and encourage your early application. All appointments are made subject to a satisfactory Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check (NCCHC) and a valid Working with Children Check. Clinical staff are required to be vaccinated against, or demonstrate immunity to, COVID-19, influenza, and a range of other diseases.
Should you need assistance or require any adjustments or accommodations to fully participate in the application or interview process, or if you require an accessible copy of the position description, you are most welcome to reach out to the contact person listed. We acknowledge that not all applicants will meet the full list of selection criteria outlined, and wherever possible we will consider applications where relevant experience can apply.
For more information, please view the Position Description for this role.
For a confidential discussion, please contact Patsy on (03) 9635 3600 or email casa@thewomens.org.au.
Application closing date: Wednesday 29th October 2025