Intake & Support Coordinator (QLD)

Career Description

Hello! We’re Little Dreamers, Australia’s leading non-profit organisation working with Young Carers around the country. 

A Young Carer is anyone under the age of 25 who currently provides, or intends to provide, care in their family for a parent or sibling who has a chronic illness, mental illness, disability or addiction.

Founded in 2009 by a Young Carer, we love building and delivering high quality programs that create deep and meaningful impact in the lives of young people providing care in their families. And we’re pretty good at it too. 

To date, we have supported over 5,000 Young Carers, we deliver eight core programs alongside ad hoc supports, advocacy and community awareness campaigns. We have strong corporate partnership and funding relationships and have raised over $5 million to improve the quality of life for Young Carers around Australia. 

We have even received recognition from Queen Elizabeth II and have been named as an internationally best practice organisation for Young Carer support.

Our team is made up of 50 incredible humans working across VIC, NSW, QLD. We are humble, hungry, kind and work hard to reach our goals. We believe in a world where every single Young Carer is supported by someone or something by 2030. Sounds fun right?!

By joining the Dream Team, you will play an integral part in supporting young people who often miss out on having a childhood.

Our Guiding Principles:

1. We place Young Carers at the centre of our work.
2. We seek to deepen our shared understanding of the work we do, and how we do it.
3. We adopt a growth mindset. We embrace best-practice, innovation, and change.
4. We are collaborative and inclusive in our practice and communication, working to deliver high-quality, safe programs, and strengthen communications across the organisation and community.
5. We celebrate. We are fun, energetic, and inspiring.
6. We practice what we preach.

About the role

The Little Dreamers Intake and Support Coordinators are based in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane to engage a wide range of Young Carers and their families and provide them with information and referrals.

As the first point of contact, our Intake and Support Coordinators are responsible for providing a single point of entry for information, assessment and referral services to internal programs and external services.

Building a positive relationship and rapport to offer an effective and supportive service to Young Carers and their families is crucial, whilst undertaking daily intake and assessment which includes but is not limited to: the development of support plans; reassessments; and regular contact to ensure the Young Carer is supported and engaged in their short and longer term goals, set together at the initial consultation.

Reporting through to a State Manager, this position requires empathy, excellent communication and interpersonal skills verbal, written and in person), strong attention to detail, a collaborative team player attitude, and the ability to manage competing priorities and work to a deadline. 

Success in this role involves creating and sustaining a workforce culture built on well-defined values, integrity and teamwork.

Little Dreamers takes great pride in cultivating an environment that is nurturing, inclusive, and respectful. We wholeheartedly welcome applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, individuals from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds, individuals who are neurodiverse or living with disabilities, and individuals across the gender and sexuality spectrum. We actively support flexible working arrangements and are committed to making necessary adjustments to accommodate individual needs.

Safeguarding Children and Young People

We take safeguarding children and young people seriously, and as an employee of Little Dreamers, you are required to meet the behaviour standards outlined in our Code of Conduct. As a part of your duties and responsibilities, you are also required to:

• Foster a welcoming and secure environment for children and young individuals.
• Prioritise the safety and well-being of children and young people whom we work with.
• Ensure that your interactions with children and young people are both positive and secure.
• Provide adequate care and supervision for children and young people under your responsibility.
• Serve as a positive role model for children and young people.
• Notify management of any suspicions, concerns, allegations, or disclosures of alleged abuse, whether involving personnel or external individuals.
• Report any policy violations by fellow personnel, regardless of their severity, to management.
• Take action and report any incidents of racism according to our Code of Conduct.
• Support children and young people in expressing their culture and enjoying their cultural rights. 
• Maintain up-to-date documentation of a valid Working with Children Check (or equivalent). 
• Undergo periodic checks of ‘national criminal history records’. 
• Inform management of any criminal charges or convictions received during the course of your employment that may pose a potential risk to children and young individuals.

Key Responsibilities

The duties and responsibilities of this role include, but are not limited to:

Intake and Support Coordination:

• Ensure prompt intake of new referrals in your state following a goal based intake and assessment approach;
• Manage all allocated Young Carers, communicating with them regularly and ensuring they are working towards the designed support plan;
• Manage your client database, including note taking and updating family information for your Young Carers;
• Facilitate engagement of Young Carers across Little Dreamers programs and events, and managing referrals out to external programs and organisations; 
• Coordinate and deliver the Hour of Power (HOP) program alongside the wider ISC and FSW team/s to support initial and ongoing engagement of YCs with LDs; and
• Build relationships with external programs and organisations to refer Young Carers where appropriate.

Carer Gateway Services:

• Assist families in the referral and registration process to the Carer Gateway services;
• Work with families to assess needs and coordinate enrolment into Carer Gateway programs;
• Liaise with relevant Carer Gateway Support Workers to ensure highest level of service delivery; and
• Support Team members to understand Carer Gateway referral and registration processes and to assist in maintaining accurate information in Young Carer databases. 

For nominated staff with additional Carer Gateway duties (in QLD and NSW only)

• Conduct Carer Star assessments and carer support planning in line with eligibility and access requirements of Carer Gateway support and services;
• Register Young Carers into the Wellways Carer Management System;
• Ensure referrals are provided to service delivery teams with accurate and complete information that allow for the timely commencement of service(s); and
• Work collaboratively with the Wellways team in ensuring intake and assessment practices are implemented effectively for Young Carers accessing Carer Gateway funded programs with Little Dreamer.

Community Outreach & Engagement:

• Working with State Manager and the state based team to conduct outreach to schools, local councils, hospitals, organisations and community groups to identify and engage Young Carers in services & programs as required;
• Identify opportunities for collaboration and partnerships;
• Represent Little Dreamers in the community; and
• Support parents and educators to understand Young Carers including who they are, how to identify a Young Carer and what to do next.

Other duties as required by the State Manager.