Careers for New Graduates

Is this your new Occupational Therapy position?

• Are you wanting to connect and impact children’s and family’s lives?
• Are you excited by responsibility and working independently?
• Would you like to grow professionally and work in a collaborative environment?

We are hiring an Occupational Therapist, and we have the ability to tailor this role to suit YOU! (FT or PT). You’ll join our Allied Health Team in Tuncurry and Taree, with outreach to Gloucester, NSW.

We are looking for either a new graduate or an intermediate experienced Occupational Therapist who is not only able to relate to, assess, and support children of all ages, but also someone who is excited by responsibility, works independently, and loves to participate, connecting to and supporting the children and families that we work with.

This is an extremely exciting opportunity for someone wanting to join an award leading business in a diverse role delivering a wide range of therapy programs to support children and families.

About the Business

We are an innovative private Occupational Therapy and Early Intervention service, and we’re passionate about helping children unlock their full potential while upholding our core values of excellence, respect, transparency, and lifelong learning. We currently have an occupational therapist (Deb Hopper), our educator/ keyworkers and an allied health assistant on our team.

Our skilled team provides bespoke services to address developmental, sensory, emotional, and motor skill challenges, creating an inspiring work environment for professionals to flourish and make a lasting impact.

We’re committed to continuous learning, ensuring that our team offers current, evidence-based practices to the children and families we support. Our owner and director, Deb Hopper, is an award-winning industry leader who mentors Occupational Therapists and allied health assistants (AHA’s) across Australia.

• You’ll be eligible to apply for $10K of continuing professional development for online and/or travel to professional courses (through NSW Rural Doctors Network), and
• Your package includes membership to The Kids OT POD online membership (valued at $1227 , founded and run by our experienced OT, Deb Hopper, who supports OT’s Australia-wide (see https://theotmentor.com/kids-ot-pod-group-supervision/)
• Your clinical supervision will be provided by a mixture of on-site support, with additional external supervision (paid by the organisation) to support your growth in multiple ways.

Working hand-in-hand with local families, we nurture the growth of practical life skills that truly matter to them.

About this exciting role

This role provides a huge amount of variety, including completing occupational therapy assessments, goal setting, and intervention in supporting children and families to achieve their goals.

You’ll play an integral role in empowering children with developmental differences, sensory sensitivities, and emotional regulation strengths to enhance their overall well-being and unlock their unique potential using a strengths-based and neuro-affirming approach.

As a valued team member, your engaging and approachable style will enable you to:

• Provide client-focused and neuro-diversity affirming practice including occupational therapy assessments, and set goals and interventions for children within the Mid-North Coast and Barrington areas.
• Deliver tailored occupational therapy support for children with diverse needs.
• Independently manage clinical documentation and collaborate effectively with clients and participants.
• Engage children in enjoyable and therapeutic activities to enhance their well-being and development and help them achieve their goals.
• Use our client management system to monitor and document a child’s progress.
• Communicate empathetically with children, parents, and families, ensuring transparency and support throughout the therapy process.
• Contribute to a welcoming and safe therapy environment
• Participate in relevant training and professional development opportunities.
• Develop occupational therapy programmes for Allied Health Assistants (AHAs) and monitor and support them in delivering tailored interventions for your clients and participants.

More about YOU

1. You may be a new graduate, and we are keen to connect you into our very experienced team of our senior clinician and educators, OR
2. You may already have experience working in the area of paediatrics as an Occupational Therapist.

Candidates must have existing Australian work authorisation to be eligible for this position.

Based at both or either of our Tuncurry and Taree locations, you’ll also outreach to schools, preschools, and rural areas, using your excellent communication skills to build meaningful connections with clients, families, and fellow team members.

In addition to the above, you’ll have AHPRA registration, a degree in Occupational Therapy, your own professional public liability insurance, a working with children check, a first aid certificate, a police check, and a reliable car for work-related travel (don’t worry, travel reimbursements apply).

You’ll also:

• Be an excellent self-leader and enjoy working independently
• Have high emotional intelligence
• Be energetic, proactive, and pay attention to detail.
• You are sensitive, respectful, and treat children and their families in a respectful way
• Strong communicator who wants to work within a collaborative team of professionals
• Have excellent time management skills, are tech savvy, and enjoy problem solving.

In exchange for your hard work and amazing skills, you’ll enjoy a workplace that offers you the opportunity to gain valuable experience and knowledge while working closely with our experienced Occupational Therapist, educator/ keyworkers and our AHA and be working in a team-oriented atmosphere where collaboration and professional growth are encouraged.

You’ll benefit from working with a communicative leader with clear expectations and a true desire to make a difference in the world. We love our work and think of it as a privilege and joy rather than a job (and you’ll be empowered to do the same).

Next Steps

If you’ve read to this point and are feeling excited, YIPPEE! Keep reading, and please follow these specific instructions to apply for this job.

Apply by sending an email to debbie@lifeskills4kids.com.au with “Applying to be your next OT” in the subject heading and including your answers to the following questions in the body of the email with your CV attached (in PDF form).

1. Tell me why this role stood out to you.
2. Briefly tell me about your experience and/or qualifications as an Occupational Therapist working with children. How long have you worked with children, and where have you worked in the past?
3. Tell me about your style of being organised and managing your workload
4. Please list the top 5 words to describe ‘how’ you like to work (or how someone else would describe you in a professional setting).

This position will have a flexible start location dependent on client needs, starting in either /both our Tuncurry or Taree bases.

These positions are for starting ASAP or by mutual arrangement.