Senior Social Worker

At Sonder, we believe that every person deserves to feel safe, supported, and empowered to be at their best - wherever they are. That’s why we’re redefining workplace health, safety, and wellbeing through a seamless blend of technology and human expertise. Sonder’s mobile platform provides 24/7, real-time support fr...

By harnessing real-time insights, we enable organisations to take proactive steps toward a healthier, safer future, which leads directly to tangible bottom-line business outcomes.

Since our founding in 2017, Sonder has experienced rapid growth, expanding operations across Australia, New Zealand, and the UK. Backed by Australia’s leading venture capital firms, Seek and Blackbird, we are well-capitalised and on a mission to scale globally, partnering with corporations, educational institutions,...

The Senior Social Worker leads the social work function within Sonder’s Member Support. The role combines senior-level direct clinical practice with leadership of the social work team, clinical supervision of social work staff and social work placements, and the design and maintenance of the clinical scaffolding (procedures, risk assessment methodology, supervision framework, training material) that the social work function relies on. All practice is delivered through a trauma-informed lens.
Senior direct clinical practice. Conducts up to eight 55-minute member sessions per week. Caseload will include more complex presentations requiring senior-level judgement, particularly in DFV, child protection, dynamic risk assessment, and cross-jurisdictional statutory contexts. Holds the most complex cases on behalf of the social work team.
Clinical leadership and supervision. Provides individual and group clinical supervision to social workers and social work placements, aligned to AASW Supervision Standards. Maintains supervision documentation and supervision agreements. Provides clinical leadership and direction to the social work team.
Clinical scaffolding and methodology design. Designs, maintains, and iterates social work clinical methodology including the unified DFV risk assessment framework, child protection risk stratification, jurisdictional overlays for statutory obligations, safe communication planning, supervision frameworks, and social work scope of practice. Outputs contribute to Sonder’s clinical governance needs.
Cross-team education and training. Designs and delivers education and training to the Sonder Support Centre (nursing and care specialists) and the Mental Health and Wellbeing Pathway Team (MH&WPT) on DFV, child protection, complex social presentations, mandatory reporting, safety planning, and trauma-informed practice. Maintains social work induction training. Provision of clinical oversight and active consultation support in the Sonder Support Center for mental health/social work escalations which will involve weekly shifts (TBD) within our SSC - Monday to Friday during core business hours.
Senior-level statutory and risk decision-making. Provides senior clinical judgement on complex statutory reporting decisions, coercive control identification, child safety threshold reasoning, and cross-jurisdictional matters. Acts as senior consultative resource for social work staff and other Sonder clinical teams on escalated cases.
Clinical governance contribution. Contributes to Clinical Governance Committee discussions, multi-disciplinary team forums, and quality assurance processes. Flags emerging clinical risk patterns, methodology gaps, and workforce sustainability concerns to the Director of Clinical Services.
Customer-facing and sector representation. Represents Sonder’s social work model in customer-facing meetings, webinars, and discussions where required. Acts as Sonder’s social work subject matter expert.

 

The ideal candidate has a growth mindset and is passionate, self-motivated, and takes pride in producing high-quality work every day. Above all else, you - the ideal candidate - will embody the Sonder values and love working in a fast-paced, dynamic workplace.
Tertiary qualification in Social Work and membership with the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW).
Minimum five years post-graduate experience in social work, including demonstrated experience in case management, leadership, and clinical supervision.
Demonstrated specialist experience in domestic and family violence (DFV) practice, including risk assessment, safety planning, coercive control identification, and work with people experiencing violence and people using violence. Demonstrated specialist experience in child protection practice, including statutory reporting reasoning, threshold judgement across jurisdictions, and engagement with Child Protection Services.
Highly collaborative, team-oriented, and culturally responsive practice, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD), LGBTQI+ affirming, and disability-affirmative practice.
Commitment to evidence-based and trauma-informed practice, continuous professional development, and quality improvement.
Resilience and adaptability under high-acuity caseload and the demands of senior clinical leadership in a small specialist function.
Coaching and mentoring capability for social work staff and social work placements.
Excellent written and verbal communication, including ability to write at policy, procedure, training material, and clinical note levels.
Strong organisation and judgement in balancing direct clinical work with leadership, supervision, scaffolding, and governance responsibilities.
Reflective practice and willingness to engage in ongoing clinical supervision and external professional development.