Older Persons Health and Palliative Care Officer

Date posted: Tuesday 11 July 2023
Closing date: Tuesday 25 July 2023

The Older Persons Health and Palliative Care Officer will be responsible for delivering aged care activities and interventions that directly build the capabilities of primary health care providers (PHCPs) to deliver services to older people living in the community and residential aged care facilities (RACFs).

The role is located in the Townsville office.

About us

Northern Queensland Primary Health Network (NQPHN) is one of 31 regionalised and independent PHNs established nationally by the Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care to provide local communities with better access to improved primary healthcare services.

The NQPHN region extends from St Lawrence in the south coast, up to the Torres Strait in the north, and west to Croydon and Kowanyama.

NQPHN aims to improve health outcomes for all residents by supporting, investing in, and working collaboratively with local Hospital and Health Services, the primary healthcare sector, local government areas (LGAs), other health organisations, and the wider community.

Find out more about NQPHN at www.nqphn.com.au 

The role

The Older Persons Health and Palliative Care Officer will be responsible for delivering aged care activities and interventions that directly build the capabilities of PHCPs to deliver services to older people living in the community and RACFs. The Older Persons Health and Palliative Care Officer will facilitate initiatives that build after hours and virtual health services and solutions that enhance the care of older Australians across the three NQPHN regional sites as well as ensuring equity of access to rural and remote areas.

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

• Providing support to RACFs in our region to have appropriate clinical facilities, equipment, staff training, and technology to provide their residents with access to quality virtual care from general practitioners (GPs) and other clinicians.
• Delivering initiatives that support RACFs to implement comprehensive out-of-hours arrangements and actions plans, including appropriate staff training and resources.
• Supporting, as requested, the commissioning of early intervention initiatives that contribute to healthy aging, including through the ongoing management of long-term conditions or reducing barriers at the aged care interface, to support senior Australians to live in the community for longer.
• Facilitating strong stakeholder relationships with aged care providers, general practices, and PHCPs, as well as governing agencies and other key contacts.
• Working collaboratively with RACFs, community-based aged care organisations, and Hospital and Health Services (HHSs) in the NQPHN region to provide integration education and skilling opportunities.
• Supporting relationships with aged care peak bodies to ensure collaboration in the delivery of new models of care for transition into practice.
• Supporting the development and implementation of an NQPHN Aged Care Program Plan informed by the Department of Health and Aged Care’s guidelines.
• Contributing to monitoring and evaluating the delivery of the NQPHN Aged Care Program Plan and outcomes for the PHCP workforce.
• Supporting the needs assessment, planning, and service development in relation to the Aged Care Program.
• Ensuring the NQPHN Aged Care Program Plan operates within a designated budget.

Key selection criteria

• Degree qualifications in a health-related discipline and two years’ experience in a similar role, or a VET qualification, and/or a minimum of three years’ aged care experience.
• Demonstrated understanding of opportunities and challenges for the aged care sector in the North Queensland region.
• Understanding of the technological and digital systems used in aged care in Australia.
• Understanding of health commissioning processes, health service design and delivery in a community environment.
• Demonstrated knowledge and experience in supporting aged care service development, program implementation, monitoring, and evaluation.
• Experience in supporting the development, implementation, and evaluation of aged care capacity building interventions within the primary health care and/or community services field.
• Significant knowledge to support cohesive networking and stakeholder engagement in the aged care sector across the NQPHN region.
• Demonstrated ability to prioritise and meet deadlines in a high demand work environment.
• Demonstrated interpersonal, communication (oral and written), engagement, and negotiation skills.
• Demonstrated ability to work with diverse communities including Aboriginals, Torres Strait Islanders, and Australian South Sea Islanders in our region.

If you are looking for the opportunity to be part of a passionate and driven team and contribute to achieving our mission of ‘Northern Queenslanders live happier, healthier, longer lives,’ we’d love to hear from you.

NQPHN aims to be an employer of choice for Indigenous Australians, and we encourage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to apply for this role.

For further information on this position click the below links.

Your application should include:

• cover letter responding to the key selection criteria (no more than two pages)
• your resume.

To submit an application for this position, please send your application to recruitment@nqphn.com.au

Applications close Tuesday 25 July 2023 at 5pm.

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