Anoushka Wootton
Carlton North,VIC
Summary
Dynamic professional grounded in anti-oppressive, emancipatory, and feminist principles, with a relationship-centered and value-based ethical leadership style. Extensive experience engaging with individuals facing serious and enduring mental health challenges within complex service systems, while effectively collaborating with families and caregivers. Proven expertise in the genuine application of co-production models to empower communities and shift power dynamics, alongside a successful track record in project management encompassing the design, delivery, and evaluation of diverse programs tailored to meet outcomes, budgets, and timelines. Committed to fostering inclusive pathways that ensure equitable life opportunities for all. Comprehensive knowledge of Intentional Peer Support as well as LBGTIQA+ communities.
Overview
15
15
years of professional experience
Work History
General Manager – Victorian Operations
Mind Australia
01.2021 - 01.2025
- Company Overview: Mind Australia is a national not for profit providing mental health, wellbeing and psychosocial support to people.
- The General Manager - Victorian Operations provides leadership in operational management, partnership development, fiscal management and evidence-based practice to support the delivery of high-quality broad range of services
- Key relationship contact with the commissioning organisation – state/local government, PHN, clinical mental health services or other - coordinating all reporting, meetings and responses
- Contract management including oversight of contracts/renewal/renegotiation/performance reporting, financial management and workforce
- Development and maintaining collaborative and intentional partnerships with external stakeholders including commissioning bodies, communities, and partner agencies
- Lead a place based engagement alongside service leaders with the local community, working to understand and respond to their specific needs
- Lead and manage Managers, Team Leaders, and staff to deliver person-centred services aligned with Mind’s Service Models, policies, and quality standards.
- Ensure services operate ethically, safely, and in compliance with legislation, relevant standards, as well as organisational Governance framework, funding agreements, and organisational policies.
- Monitor performance targets, quality processes, and risk management, report and respond to operational trends, risks, and opportunities.
- Lead, develop, and coach Managers and teams to deliver high-quality services within budget and aligned with organisational framework and culture
- Foster a positive, high-performance culture through coaching, reflective practice, supervision, and professional development.
- Role model leadership behaviours, embedding required standards, policies, and practices.
Service Manager
Mind Australia
01.2019 - 01.2021
- Company Overview: Mind Australia Supported Independent Living is an NDIS funded residential adult mental health service supporting development of independent living skills and recovery for people with a psychosocial disability.
- Management, oversight and leadership of Preston, Brunswick and Clifton Hill 24-hour staffed residential adult mental health services
- Provision of innovative leadership and management of North East cluster services
- Promote anti-oppressive and recovery-oriented practice supporting critical problem solving across services
- Lead high-performance teams by engaging staff, setting clear direction and performance expectations
- Positively influence and contribute to a service culture that focusses on meeting the service users’ goals using evidence informed practice
- Ensure that the approved service/services budget is adhered to and met
- Oversee and mitigation of operational risk across services
- Build local manager capability with trauma informed supervision and day to day management of the service through a focus on wellbeing, safety and performance coaching and development
- Promote and ensuring accountability to policy and procedures and quality practice frameworks
- Oversee the delivery of direct support to individual persons and support to families and carers ensuring recover oriented model of practice
- Develop and maintain high quality and relevant partnerships
- Engage in productive working relationships that add value to service delivery
- Provide quality supervision for large team of community mental health practitioners in personal centred recovery-oriented practice
- Ensure funding requirements are maintained
- High-quality reporting
Coordinator Youth and Communities
Drummond Street Services
01.2017 - 01.2018
- Company Overview: Drummond Street Services is a not for profit community service organisation delivering a range of prevention, early intervention and targeted specialist support for children, young people, adults and families across the family life-course and at key life transitions.
- Management and oversight of multiple contracts with multiple funding bodies and programs under ‘the drum youth services’
- Coordination, supervision, growth and development of multidisciplinary team of 10 team members
- Promotion and modeling of best practice
- Strategic planning, leading development and implementation
- Risk management and critical incident response coordination according to organisational policy
- Grant writing and resource building
- Partnership building and maintenance
- Coordination and oversight of volunteer recruitment, induction and support
- Strength and skills-based leadership
- Flexible and strength-based supervision\Co-development of workplans with team members
- Creation of systems and structures
- Budget adherence and maintenance
- Development and implementation of team training
- Development and implementation of affirmative recruitment processes
- Induction and training of new staff members and volunteers
- Workshop facilitation
Youth and Family Practitioner
Drummond Street Services
01.2012 - 01.2017
- Company Overview: Drummond Street Services is a not for profit community service organisation delivering a range of prevention, early intervention and targeted specialist support for children, young people, adults and families across the family life-course and at key life transitions.
- Youth and family focused counselling and therapeutic intervention
- Whole of family strength-based assessment
- Client-driven goal planning and therapeutic interventions to a socio-cultural diverse population
- Relationship building and partnership with local schools
- Place based counseling and other outreach in local schools
- Provided strength-based case management services assisting young people with complex needs to build life-skills, find employment/education and stable housing, build internal awareness and coping strategies and external support systems, towards greater enjoyment and quality of life
- Provided assertive outreach to young people and their families
- Liaison and advocacy
- Project development and coordination utilising skills in project planning, grant writing
- Developed and facilitated groups and workshops around topics of gender identity, sexuality, mental health, parenting adolescents, celebrating diversity, whole of family practice
- Provided placement support and formal supervision for students
- Co-design and implementation of professional development packages, including: Queer Affirmative Practice and Parenting Adolescents.
- Development and facilitation of youth peer-led programs
- Prevention and early intervention community development programs
- Event management
Research Assistant
Australian Catholic University/University of Melbourne/Orygen Youth Health
01.2015 - 01.2016
- Company Overview: Research partnership between ACU, UniMelb and OYH exploring use of technology and supporting young people experiencing psychosis and their families. Orygen Youth Health (OYH) is a world-leading youth mental health program based in Melbourne, Australia. OYH has two main components: a specialised youth mental health clinical service; and an integrated training and communications program.
- Conduct risk assessments with families of young people experiencing psychosis
- Research data collection
- Utilising evidence-based assessment tools in collection of valid data
- Youth and family focused risk assessments
- Research program participant retention
Initial Assessment Planner
Launch Housing (prev. known as Homeground)
01.2011 - 01.2012
- Company Overview: Launch Housing are one of Victoria’s largest providers of housing and homelessness support services, providing flexible, specialist services that directly assist thousands of adults, young people, children and families every year.
- Intake and assessment
- Crisis management
- Crisis action planning
- Appropriate referral
- Liaising and advocacy on behalf of clients
- Embedded counselling
- Documenting
- Effective communication with co-workers
Outreach Youth Worker
Melbourne City Mission
01.2011 - 01.2012
- Company Overview: Stopover Youth Transitional Housing Program, Melbourne City Mission
- Stopover Youth Outreach program supported young people to engage with supportive goal setting towards building skills and further stability in their next housing.
- Assertive outreach with clients in supported transitional housing
- Case management
- Liaising and advocating on behalf of clients
- Assisting clients to obtain stable employment/housing/education goals
Residential Youth Worker
Melbourne City Mission
01.2010 - 01.2012
- Company Overview: Stopover Youth Refuge, Melbourne City Mission
- Stopover service offers supported short-term crisis accommodation to single young people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.
- Case management
- Liaising and advocacy on behalf of young people
- Crisis management
- Embedded counselling
- Appropriate referral
- Documenting
- Facilitating balanced household
- Client life skills
- Overnight shifts
Education
Master of Social Work -
Griffith University
Master of Social Work -
University of Melbourne
Post Graduate Professional Certificate - Adolescent Counselling
Monash University
Bachelor of Applied Social Science - Community Services
Jansen Newman Institute
Skills
- Intentional leadership
- Facilitation of transformative thinking
- Partnerships and relationships
- Collaborative team member
Timeline
General Manager – Victorian Operations
Mind Australia
01.2021 - 01.2025
Service Manager
Mind Australia
01.2019 - 01.2021
Coordinator Youth and Communities
Drummond Street Services
01.2017 - 01.2018
Research Assistant
Australian Catholic University/University of Melbourne/Orygen Youth Health
01.2015 - 01.2016
Youth and Family Practitioner
Drummond Street Services
01.2012 - 01.2017
Initial Assessment Planner
Launch Housing (prev. known as Homeground)
01.2011 - 01.2012
Outreach Youth Worker
Melbourne City Mission
01.2011 - 01.2012
Residential Youth Worker
Melbourne City Mission
01.2010 - 01.2012
Master of Social Work -
Griffith University
Master of Social Work -
University of Melbourne
Post Graduate Professional Certificate - Adolescent Counselling
Monash University
Bachelor of Applied Social Science - Community Services
Jansen Newman Institute
Relevant Professional Development
- 2025 Leadership development
- 2025 Purpose Driven coaching and leadership
- 2025 Intentional Peer Support training
- 2022 Cultural safety training – Koorie Heritage Trust
- 2021 Emotional Regulation and Impulse Control – Deakin University
- 2020 Mandt crisis de-escalation training
- 2019 ACT for Adolescents – DNA-V model
- 2019 Nationally accredited Instructor - Youth Mental Health First Aid
- 2018 Clinical Supervision – Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare
- 2018 Reflective Practice – Orygen Youth Health
- 2016 Nationally Accredited First Aid
- 2014 Lighthouse: Trauma focused practice
- 2013 Youth Mental Health First Aid
- 2012 Working with Unaccompanied Minor asylum seekers
- 2012 Suicide Prevention; ASIST