• Organisation: LELAN | SA Lived Experience Leadership & Advocacy Network
• Employment status: Contract role 0.8FTE (SCHADS Award, Level 5)
• Location: Adelaide, South Australia
• Reports to: LELAN Executive Director
• Contract period: 12-month contract commencing February 2022 (extension subject to funding)

About the Role:

Due to increased growth in consultancy and project work LELAN is seeking a Project Worker. The Peer Project Worker will provide input into various projects that LELAN is undertaking, working with other staff, the lived and living experience community and organisations to meet project aims and deliverables. Particular areas of focus will be facilitating relationships and connections to enable collaboration, leading components of projects, collating and disseminating the insights and solution ideas of people with lived experience as well as supporting the co-creation of resources and/or reports that articulate organisational philosophy and practice.

LELAN offers a dynamic workplace and collaborative team culture, it can be fast paced with quick turnaround times. Being proactive, adaptable, creative and having a commitment to working together are the keys to success.

As a lived experience-led organisation, LELAN team members have their own lived or living experience of mental distress, social issues or injustice. Determining whether you meet this ‘criteria’ can be tricky, we do not require people to explain their personal history during the application or interview process. As a guide, it is described in our industry that ‘people with lived experience’ have had experiences that significantly affected their life, changing the way they viewed themselves and their place in the world. Given that LELAN actively advocates for systems level change in the mental health and social sectors experience of accessing public mental health and other services and/or programs for your lived experience is preferred.

About the SA Lived Experience Leadership & Advocacy Network (LELAN):

LELAN’s purpose is to amplify the voice, influence and leadership of people with personal lived and living experience of distress, social issues or injustice to drive systemic change. The organisation has three areas of focus:

• Developing the capability and influence of people with lived and living experience
• Nurturing organisational and sector capacity for partnering with people with lived and living experience
• Impacting system improvement agendas to benefit people with lived and living experience

Mobilising the power of lived experience throughout South Australia is LELAN’s vision. This underpins the work that we do and the way that we do it, embodying the knowing we have that lived experience matters. Our values are courage, compassion, dignity, intersectionality, leadership and social justice.

Core to all work that LELAN completes is a commitment to meaningful involvement of people with lived experience of mental distress, social issues or injustice and our allies, ensuring collective experiences are heard, elevated and provided space to gather and build strength together.

Duties and responsibilities:

• Facilitate the active and meaningful involvement of people with lived and living experience of mental distress, social issues or injustice in organisational activities
• Strengthen the capacity of the LELAN team to deliver on various project milestones and outcomes, including designing and facilitating co-design, capacity building and/or training sessions for specific projects or components of projects
• Collate and disseminate the insights and solution ideas of people with lived experience and/or organisational practice into high quality resources, presentations and/or written reports
• Work collaboratively with allies and the social sector to increase opportunities for people with lived to be involved in service design and decision making
• Create opportunities for lived experience-led action and inform LELAN’s systemic advocacy
• Support robust evaluation of LELAN’s work and the involvement impact of people with lived experience
• Liaise with and inform the mental health and community sector as directed on behalf of LELAN

Skill and experience requirements:

• Personal lived or living experience of mental distress, social issues or injustice
• Demonstrated experience of and commitment to centring the involvement and leadership of people with lived experience, particularly consumers, in projects and across all levels of an organisation
• Project work experience inclusive of planning, design, delivery and evaluation
• Experience designing and facilitating workshops and co-design processes, particularly where this is by, for and with people with lived experience of mental distress, social issues or injustice
• Strong planning, organisational and problem-solving skills, with a great attention to detail and ability to deliver quality work within tight deadlines
• Highly developed communication skills that includes group facilitation, delivery of presentations and capacity to translate these into report format
• Ability to work independently whilst being part of a team that is highly collaborative
• Ability to develop supportive, encouraging and engaging relationships with diverse groups
• Qualification and experience in peer work, mental health, community development or related field
• Computer literacy and ability to use Microsoft Office programs
• Commitment to the purpose and values of LELAN

We are committed to inclusion and accessibility for people with lived or living experience and welcome applications from people with: broad distress or mental health experiences (including psychosocial disability); diverse cultural backgrounds (including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people); gender or sexually diverse identities (including trans and non-binary); and/or other disabilities.

Submitting your application:

Click Apply Now to submit your application.

Further enquiries can be made by contacting Sheryl Boniface, Manager – Projects & Advocacy, via [email protected] using the subject line: Peer Project Worker enquiry via EthicalJobs or 0459 946 515. Additional information about LELAN can be accessed at www.lelan.org.au.

Interviews for the position will be held Thursday February 10th, 2022.