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Assistant Manager
HOME in Queanbeyan
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What if your calm judgement and practical common sense were exactly what keeps a long-term mental health home steady, dignified, and human?
Why us?
Help us drive impact in:
The opportunity:
Why you might love this opp:
HOME provides what many people need but few can find: a permanent, loving home for people living with enduring mental illness who are at risk of homelessness. Not temporary accommodation. Not crisis housing. A real home where residents live in self-contained units within a safe, non-institutional setting - a place that feels like what it is: somewhere you belong.
Why you might love this job
💛 HOME began in 2005 as an aspirational thought. Within weeks, volunteers, architects, business leaders and politicians rallied behind a simple vision: create a place that actually feels like home, not a refuge or institution, for people living with enduring mental illness. By 2010, HOME opened its doors in Queanbeyan with backing from both sides of politics, hundreds of community supporters, and a design built around dignity. This history shaped how HOME operates today: long tenure, deep trust, and decisions made for the long game.
🌏 Impact in action: HOME supports 20 long-term residents through a deliberately small, stable housing model - backed by 40+ active volunteers and long-term partners including Bunnings, the Snow Foundation, Rotary, and IGA. Operating as an Assisted Boarding House under Homes NSW, HOME works closely with families, allied health providers, and community partners to sustain continuity of care. The scale is intentional: small enough for care to feel personal, steady enough to deliver outcomes that last.
🥜 In a nutshell : As Assistant Manager, you’re the trusted second-in-command. You hold the relational core of the home while keeping the operational and compliance backbone intact. You support residents directly, maintain systems and documentation, and step into the Manager role when required; helping ensure HOME remains safe, stable, and human. You're not waiting for instruction: you assess, prioritise, and act in the best interests of residents, bringing sharp decision-making and exceptional organisational skills that keep the entire HOME ecosystem flowing smoothly.
👥 The human centre: You're the person who holds the centre between residents, families, allied health and psychiatric services, support workers, regulators, and a large volunteer base. That means coordinating the many moving parts, translating between different worlds and staying grounded when expectations don't align.
📅 The best kind of juggling act: No two days look the same. Some work is planned; much of it isn’t. You might start with resident check-ins and medication supervision, move into rostering or incident documentation and end the day supporting a volunteer or responding to a situation that needs calm de-escalation. You're trusted to make the call: what is needed now, who needs to be involved and how do we keep things on track.
💬 A culture you’ll feel: HOME is values-led, close-knit, and built on integrity. The team has long working relationships and shared judgement. Decisions are talked through. Ethics matter. Humour helps. Change happens thoughtfully - without rushing people or overriding what already works.
🕶 Your style: You're calm, practical, and perceptive. You bring good judgement, real-world experience supporting people living with mental health conditions, and a willingness to carry responsibility. You're exceptionally organised and reliable - balls don't get dropped on your watch, and compliance is just how you work.
🌟 Bonus: We know great assistant managers come from varied paths. You might have worked in mental health, disability support, or community housing - or built your experience supporting a family member, volunteering, or working in adjacent roles where judgement, care, and follow-through mattered. Either way, if you're ready to use your skills to help people live with dignity and stability, we'd love to hear from you.
🗺 The Detail: This is a full-time, Monday–Friday role based in Canberra, ACT, with four days considered for the right person. Salary is SCHADS Award Level 5: $101.000-$105,000 p.a (FT equivalent). Salary packaging options available. A driver’s licence is required (work car provided). Police checks and core training can be supported.
What's involved:
The balance shifts week to week, but broadly:
〰️ 50% Relational Care & Community Stewardship
Be the consistent, trusted presence residents rely on - especially when routines break or support is needed. You're there when mornings are hard, when appointments need support and also when residents gather for a meal, share conversation, or connect over everyday moments. You handle medication supervision, advocate within systems like NDIS and health, and help create the conditions for residents to have active, fulfilling lives within their community.
〰️ 30% Operational Glue & Compliance Backbone
Keep the home running safely and smoothly - from rosters and documentation to compliance reporting. You'll coordinate volunteers, caretakers and casual staff, maintain Assisted Boarding House requirements, handle WHS and safeguarding, and liaise with NDIS providers so the system holds even when the day doesn’t go according to plan.
〰️ 20% Leadership, Representation & Continuity
Step into the Manager role when needed and help HOME grow its capability over time. You'll build capacity in volunteers and staff, contribute to policy and organisational improvement, participate in committees, and back fundraising and marketing efforts so the home stays credible, connected, and ready for what's next.
Key criteria:
The kind of expertise and skills you can leverage in this role include:
👥 Relational steadiness: You build connection over time, stay grounded when things escalate, and support people with compassion and clear boundaries.
🧹 Practical, hands-on mindset: You’re not precious. If something needs doing to keep people safe, supported, or on track, you do it. You know dignity lives in the details.
🧠 Sharp and Switched on: You’re organised, reliable, and strong on follow-through. You improve how things run - gently, sensibly, and at a pace others can adopt.
💙 Experience around mental health or disability contexts: You’ve supported people through mental health illness before - professionally or through substantial adjacent experience - and can navigate systems like NDIS in practice.
🤝 Credible presence: You represent your organisation with warmth, competence and confidence across residents, families, volunteers, professionals, and community stakeholders.
🔥 Values alignment: You care about dignity, choice, and long-term stability. You're here to strengthen what works and help the system hold.
How to apply:
If any of the above resonated with you but you don’t tick every box:
👒 🧢 🎩 You should throw your hat in the ring, whatever those years of experience look like in your personal impact journey. We’d love to hear from you!
Interested?
1. Create a profile (or complete yours if you already have one) on Ripple Opportunities. Note: This won't be shared directly with our impact partner but we may reach out to you for permission to share excerpts if we think it could assist your application.
2. Submit an application by clicking on the job listing and ‘apply’.
A detailed position description is available for download on the listing page.
Please submit your resume and a cover letter (ideally PDF) that briefly outlines what’s motivating you to apply for the role and how your experience could be applied in this context. We’re reviewing applications on a rolling basis, so we encourage you to apply early.
Your written application (max 1,000 words) should include:
- What’s motivating you to apply for this role?
- A brief overview of your previous experience and how it applies in this context.
- A specific experience you’ve had that’s directly related to this role (e.g supporting a team to progress a project or program). What was the objective, what strategy and tactics did you implement, what results did you achieve and what did you learn from this?
- What’s something we don’t know about you that could help you thrive in this role?
Ripple Opportunities is riding the holiday wave! 🌊
We’re mostly out of office from Friday, 19th December 2025, as our team takes a well-earned break. During this time, we’ll be assessing applications on a rolling basis with limited capacity - if you’re waiting to hear from us, please sit tight. We’ll be back in full swing on Monday, 5th January 2026, ready to make a splash! Wishing you a joyful break filled with all the good ripples! 🎄✨
Oh look! A legend is here reading some fine print! At Ripple our mission is to democratise access to purpose-driven opportunities. As a small team that curates hundreds of opportunities each week we do our best to share all the key information and juicy details. We often link out to the original listing and can't guarantee all details are included on our page, or the full accuracy as application windows and role descriptions may be changed by companies with short notice. If you're unsure of any details or closing dates, it's best to reach out to the organisation directly.