Hope Clinician

Alfred Health

Alfred Health is a leader in health care delivery, improvement, research and education. We are the main provider of health services to people living in the inner southeast suburbs of Melbourne, from ambulatory to inpatient and home and community-based services. On 1 January 2026, Alfred Health will come together with Kooweerup Regional Health Service, Peninsula Health, Bass Coast Health and Gippsland Southern Health Service to create Bayside Health, a newly merged health service with more than 22,000 employees caring for a community of over 1.2 million Victorians. The new health service will provide people with the best possible care with services that support them throughout their lives. The merger will also strengthen our workforce, providing new training, education and career opportunities. Subject to final approval on 1 January 2026, all employees from the five health services will transfer to Bayside Health.

• Full-time (1EFT/80hours + ADO) to 06/09/2026
• RPN Gr 3, or Social Worker / Occupational Therapist/ Psychologist Gr 2
• Based at 549 St Kilda Rd
• Great staff benefits! 5 weeks annual leave and salary packaging

The Department

Alfred Mental & Addiction Health (AMAH) is responsible for the operation of services, which focus on people with a severe mental illness residing in the Inner South Eastern area of Melbourne.

The single most important goal of AMAH is to create an environment that facilitates clinical recovery, supports individual recovery efforts and strives to minimise service system barriers to the recovery process.

The HOPE Suicide Prevention team provide 3 months’ intensive outreach psycho-social support and brief interventions to individuals discharged from hospital post a suicide attempt or who have presented with serious suicidal ideation.

The Role

The HOPE team work Monday – Sunday 8 – 4:30pm including public holidays, and Psychosocial Support workers work on a rotating roster covering approximately 1 weekend per month.

In keeping with the goals of the Victorian suicide prevention framework 2016–25, the Alfred HOPE team aims to build resilience in individuals who have made a suicide attempt by providing them intensive outreach support and individualised therapeutic care post this event in their lives.

The incumbent will provide individuals who have attempted suicide or present with serious ideation or intent, brief therapeutic interventions to enable improved resilience and self-management of distress. Clinical staff on the HOPE team work collaboratively with Psycho-social Support Workers (PSSW) to engage clients early - within 24hrs of discharge from the Alfred Emergency and Trauma Centre, a medical ward within The Alfred or the in-patient unit. Referrals will also be accepted from CATT and parallel engagement will occur until risk has subsided.

The HOPE clinician will provide clients with 1-3 evidence-based intervention sessions which may include CBT, ACT, Problem Solving skills, Brief Solution Focussed Therapy and/or Mindfulness to improve resilience and equip them with skills and strategies in order that they can face future crises with more confidence.

Single Session Family work is also offered to clients and their identified family, carers and significant others to help them manage their own distress and enable them to effectively support their family member.

The HOPE clinician, along with other senior clinicians and the Team Leader, will provide clinical supervision to the Support Workers. The Support Workers will provide each client with practical support and ensure linkage with appropriate health practitioners and community services via assertive outreach support for up to 3 months. 

It is expected clinicians and Support Workers will intervene via an approach that actively engages clients in the assessment of their own suicide risk and actively contributes to their suicide prevention plan in order to minimize their risk of attempting suicide in the future. Each client will be allocated a clinician and a Support Worker with any signs of mental state deterioration escalated to the clinician and the Team Leader.

The candidate will demonstrate advanced clinical skills, experience working with suicidal clients and the ability to engage therapeutically with at risk clients.

Experience and Qualifications Required

• Social Worker - Approved Social Work degree or qualification acceptable for eligibility for membership with AASW
• RPN - Tertiary qualifications in mental health nursing – post graduate diploma equivalent as a minimum and registration with the Nurses’ and Midwifery Board Victoria through AHPRA
• Occupational Therapist - Registration with the Occupational Therapy Board via AHPRA with Tertiary qualifications in occupational therapy and post graduate certificate equivalent in mental health as a minimum
• Psychologist - Registration under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (Victoria) Act 2009, Endorsement as a Clinical Psychologist under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (Victoria) Act 2009 or eligibility and willingness to participate in a registrar-training program leading to endorsement, and Masters or Doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology
• Other relevant tertiary qualification or working towards, in relevant areas such as drug and alcohol or psychosocial or therapeutic interventions, highly regarded
• Minimum of 3 years post graduate experience including having worked within a community setting
• A current Victorian Drivers Licence is essential.
• Experience in Emergency Psychiatry highly desirable

Staff Benefits

• Salary packaging & novated leasing through Maxxia
• Flexible health insurance coverage through HCF Health Insurance
• Onsite car (subject to availability) and bike parking opportunities, deducted pre-tax(Subject to availability)
• Fantastic onsite fitness facilities at The Alfred through ProSport health and fitness
• Childcare services at The Alfred managed by KU Children’s Services

If applicable, please specify specific requirements that you require in your cover letter or CV.

For enquiries regarding this position, please contact HOPE team leader Juliet Thornton on 0457 451 834 or j.thornton@alfred.org.au

Applications close at 11.00 pm on Friday 19 December 2025

We embrace diversity and strive to have a workforce that reflects the communities we serve. We actively encourage applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people with disability, and people of all genders, sexualities, and cultural backgrounds.

If you require adjustments to the recruitment and selection process, or require an alternative format to any of the application materials, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with the contact person listed on this ad.

In accordance with the Health Services Amendment (Mandatory Vaccination of Healthcare Workers) Act 2020, health care workers in Category A or B roles (as determined by the department’s risk ratings) are required to be vaccinated against influenza or hold an acceptable medical exemption. 

Website: www.alfredhealth.org.au