x. EOI - Hunter

Anglicare SQ; Australia; Remote; AUD 65,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

Flourish Australia invites expressions of interest for Mental Health Worker and Peer Worker roles across Newcastle, Lake Macquarie and surrounding NSW communities. You will support individuals with lived experience of mental health issues to achieve recovery goals and maintain wellbeing.

Daily duties include listening, facilitating activities, coordinating with families and carers, and linking clients with services. A recovery framework guides all decisions and care planning.

Qualifications

• Certificate IV or above in a relevant field OR a minimum of 2-years full-time experience working in the human services field (as recognised by Flourish Australia).
• A strong commitment to recovery-based practice in the workplace.
• A personal lived experience of a mental health issue and recovery.
• Understanding of the challenges faced by people with a lived experience of a mental health issue.
• Understanding of, and ability to effectively use, Microsoft Office and knowledge of data information management systems.
• A currentAustralian Driver’s Licence.

Responsibilities

• Provide support within a recovery framework centred on the individual.
• Assist clients with activities and everyday tasks to meet goals.
• Coordinate with families, carers and other services to support care.
• Maintain documentation and participate in background checks as required.

Skills

Recovery-based practice

Lived experience

Microsoft Office / data management

Australian Driver’s Licence

Education

Certificate IV or above in a relevant field

2+ years full-time experience in human services

Job description

Location:Newcastle, Taree, Lake Macquarie, Maitland & Muswellbrook

Expression of Interest for future Job Opportunities withFlourish Australia

About Us

Flourish Australia is one of Australia’s most experienced community mental health organisations. Our purpose is to support people to flourish, believe in their futures, and become contributing members of the community.Our services are comprehensive and highly personalised because each person’s experience will be different and their needs, as an individual, are unique. Together we set goals, connect individuals with the right people, support services and opportunities to meet their needs.

With 60+ locations across New South Wales, ACT, Queensland, Victoria and South Australia, we have over 60 years’ experience providing comprehensive, holistic support for people with a lived experience of mental health.

Flourish Australia is proud to have built one of Australia’s largest peer workforces, a proven, strengths-based approach to mental health recovery. Peer work is a cornerstone of our services with more than half of our workforce having had a lived experience of a mental health issue. By applying personal experience in mental health, peer workers can empathise, support, and inspire people in finding their own path to recovery.

A day in the life of a Mental Health Worker and Peer Worker with Flourish Australia

As aMental Health Worker or Peer Worker, you will support people accessing our services who have a lived experience of mental health issues to achieve their hopes and dreams. You will play an important part in assisting people to maintain wellness and realise their goals. In this role, you will:

• Listen to and create opportunities and activities that meet the interests and goals of people.
• Encourage shared learning experiences, and support skill development at every opportunity through self-directed learning, information and education.
• Ensure that individual support is provided to a person that accesses Flourish Australia services thatmeet their recovery journey goals and is strengths based and led by the person wherever possible.
• Be ‘hands on’ and involved in direct service delivery.

The nature of the support provided to people you support varies depending on the individual goals of each person. Some of these tasks can involve helping people look after their home environment and supporting people with community activities like shopping or attending medical appointments. You might also support people to participate in recreational activities, look for work or gain a qualification. The emphasis in mental health work is always on supporting independence and skill development.

As a Mental Health Worker or Peer Worker you work within a recovery framework where the person receiving support is central in determining the assistance they receive. By walking alongside them as they determine their goals, you support people to make choices based on their own personal hopes and dreams. On a daily basis you would also work in partnership with family members and carers, clinical mental health services and other stakeholders. This might involve organising support meetings, liaising with people over the phone and corresponding via email.

Our positions

The difference between a Mental Health Worker and a Peer Worker at Flourish Australiais that aPeer Workeris required to use theirlived experience of a mental health issue and personal recoveryopenly, appropriately and effectively to build professional relationships with the people they support that also experience a mental health issue.

It isnota requirement forMental Health Workersto use their lived experience of a mental health issue in their everyday work.

Our positions are opento all suitably qualified applicants. We have a strong commitment to the participation of people with lived experience of mental health issues in our workforce. We value diversity and encourage applications from suitably qualified people from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds, people from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse communities, LGBTQ+ communities and mature age candidates.

All appointments with Flourish Australia's Mental Health Services are subject to an NDIS Worker Screening clearance, a National Criminal History Check, a WWCC, previous employment reference checks, satisfactory Australian residency status and other background checks. All successful applicants will be required to declare any private or secondary employment prior to commencement in line with Flourish Australia's Private or Secondary Employment Policy.

Selection Criteria

• Certificate IV or above in a relevant field OR a minimum of 2-years full-time experience working in the human services field (as recognised by Flourish Australia)
• A strong commitment to recovery-based practice in the workplace.
• A personal lived experience of a mental health issue and recovery.
• Understanding of the challenges faced by people with a lived experience of a mental health issue.
• Understanding of, and ability to effectively use, Microsoft Office and knowledge of data information management systems.
• A currentAustralian Driver’s Licence.