Paediatric Speech Pathology Lead, Brighter Beginnings Health and Development Checks Preschool Program
Join us as a key member of the Brighter Beginnings Health and Development Checks in Preschools Service Team, part of the Northern Sydney Local Health District Child, Youth, and Family Community Health Service. You’ll lead a small Speech Pathology team and work alongside experienced colleagues, playing an essential role in delivering the NSW First 2000 Days Policy to support preschool-aged children and their families in early childhood education settings.
Employment Type: Temporary Part Time until 30 June 2026 (with possibility of ongoing employment)
Position Classification: Speech Pathologist (Level 4)
Remuneration: $61.36 - $62.84 per hour
Hours Per Week: 24
Requisition ID: REQ555176
Who we are: We are a health service that touches thousands of lives across the Northern Sydney Local Health District, together as a team of like-minded people. We are passionate, driven and have the skills and knowledge to care for our patients whilst creating the best services possible. Our teams have meaningful, interesting and rewarding work everyday. We challenge and nurture each other, sharing our knowledge and experience so that we can deliver better care for everyone There’s a real sense of belonging here because we value and respect our patients, employees, and teams’ voices. You’ll feel a real privilege being a trusted caregiver in our patients, their families, their carers, and our communities’ lives.
NSLHD is proud of our diverse and inclusive workplaces, a place where health care professionals can thrive and feel they belong. We are committed to ensure that all our people feel respected and participate safely within a work environment without aggression, sexual harassment, discrimination and racism.
Where you'll be working
Royal North Shore Community Health Centre as part of the Brighter Beginnings Health and Development Checks Team
What you'll be doing
The Lead Speech Pathologist (SP) works collaboratively as part of the multidisciplinary Brighter Beginnings Health and Development Checks (BBHDC) Preschool Program, which is part of the Northern Sydney Local Health District (NSLHD) Child, Youth and Family (CYF) Community Health Service. Professionally and operationally the role reports to the NSLHD CYF Speech Pathology Team Leader. Clinically the Lead BBHDC Speech Pathologist works as part of a multidisciplinary team providing child-focused screening, assessment and therapy programs within the large number of Early Childhood Education (ECE) and health centers. The Lead SP has operational and professional management responsibility for the Level 3 BBHDC Team SPs. The role holds a senior clinical advisory role within the BBHDC team and across CYF and ECE services.
The BBHDC program is a collaboration between NSW Health, the NSW Department of ECE and preschools aimed at delivering health and development checks for preschool age children. The service aims to identify children with health and development concerns and enhance access to early intervention support for children, and their families, before they start primary school.
This senior clinical role needs extensive expertise in children’s development in the first 2000 days of life, and is accountable for providing safe, trauma-informed, culturally sensitive, evidence-based, child-centered, neurodiversity affirming, specialist SP services to children with developmental support needs, and their families, within an integrated community health context. The incumbent works autonomously in the district-wide BBHDC team applying high level clinical reasoning skills when reviewing HDC check results to identify children needing specialist assessment, early intervention and follow-up support.
When required, the SP will offer comprehensive, preschool-based, SP assessments for children with various development support needs, facilitate referrals and actively support families to access community-based children's SP services. The SP works in partnership with parents and children, to enhance short-term and lifetime outcomes for children who need extra support to develop their speech, language, and communication skills before they start school and assists parent/carers to understand children’s needs and enhance capacity to support their development. The role also contributes to development of resources for children from diverse backgrounds for individual and group therapy contexts. Establishing formal relationships with various services is a crucial part of this role, requiring high-level interpersonal skills. This role is responsible for working with the BB Program Manager to establish strategic partnerships with ECE providers and will lead development and delivery of capacity building programs to enhance ECE sector capacity to promote children's communication and social participation skills within preschool play-based programs. The role applies critical thinking, problem-solving and analytical skills in analysing assessments and data and leading clinical service development, evaluation and practice redesign.
People of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander background are encouraged to apply.
Candidates will need to meet the following criteria:
- Eligible for membership to Speech Pathology Australia. A current and unrestricted NSW drivers’ licence (P2 licence acceptable).
- Demonstrated advanced Paediatric Speech Pathology (SP) clinical knowledge, extensive clinical skills and experience working with children aged 0-5 years presenting with complex developmental, health and social needs including trauma. Proven ability to independently exercise professional judgment at a high level and apply critical thinking to undertake complex paediatric SP assessment, design care plans and interventions and evaluate care. Experience in using reflective practice models to supervise Level 1/2 Speech Pathologists in this clinical area.
- Demonstrated ability to provide trauma-informed care, and experience working in partnership with families to respond to the needs of vulnerable families and priority population groups.
- Demonstrated commitment to evidence-based practice, evidence of quality improvement and service evaluation skills and experience.
Need more information?
1) Click here for the Position Description
2) Find out more about applying for this position
For role related queries or questions contact Anastasia Scott on Anastasia.Scott@health.nsw.gov.au
This is a NSW Health Category A position which requires immunisation and screening for certain diseases. The full list of requirements are outlined in the NSW Health OASV Policy . You will be required to complete the OASV Undertaking/ Declaration Form and TB Assessment Tool during the recruitment process. Please upload this with your application along with any other vaccination evidence that you may have.
NSW Health is committed to implementing the Child Safe Standards.
Applications Close: 4 March 2025
