Peer Support Worker, Active 8 Hurstville NSW

For all people in Australia living with mental health and wellbeing challenges to live a life that is meaningful to them.

Position Details

• Full-Time Maximum Term Contract until 30 June 2025 (Parental Leave Cover)
• Classification: SCHADS Level 3 with a salary range of $73,883-$79,218 per annum (pro rata) + Superannuation
• Salary packaging arrangements providing tax benefits available for living and entertainment expenses increasing your take home income where part of your wage is paid tax free each pay, savings thousands in tax each year
• Location: Hurstville NSW

About your new role

People with a serious mental illness have an increased likelihood of developing physical health issues including diabetes, various cancers and cardiovascular disease. It also appears that diagnosis and treatment of these conditions may be delayed in people with mental illness contributing to substantially higher levels of morbidity and mortality for those with a mental illness than the general population.

The Active8 Project offers the following programs:

Coaching for Physical Health - (CPH) is a one-on-one support program where trained Peer Workers provide up to eight coaching sessions to support consumers in reaching their identified physical health goals. Sessions are delivered face-to-face, over the phone or via an online platform. The aims of Coaching for Physical Health are:

• The prevention of the onset of preventable physical health issues for people living with a mental illness
• The improvement of chronic disease self-management for people living with a mental illness

Eat Plant Learn (EPL) - EPL is a program of workshops focusing on healthy and sustainable eating, development by Neami Sustainability and Health Promotion Teams. It supports individuals to develop health lifestyles skills and opportunities to link with community organisations. It aims to improve the knowledge and skills, while moving towards changing the behaviours of individuals in relation to sustainability, gardening and healthy eating.

Kick the Habit - Kick the Habit is a person-centred tobacco management program that supports participants to monitor, reduce or quit smoking. Up to 10 sessions are delivered face-to-face, over the phone or via an online platform. The Kick the Habit program also includes support to access Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT).

NSW Health Modules - The NSW Health Modules aim to empower people to address their physical health and wellbeing, by creating awareness and promoting access to education and resources specifically designed for people living with mental ill-health. These modules are delivered in a group setting and include the following topics: Skin Smart, Oral Health, Tobacco Awareness and Healthy Eating.

What will Neami offer

• Generous leave entitlements including paid parental leave, an Accrued Day Off each month, Gratis Leave and Wellness leave
• Professional development through regular practice development sessions and coaching with your supervisor
• Ongoing extensive in-house Learning and Development programs to encourage learning and skill-building
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP) through TELUS - providing holistic health and wellness supports and resources to Neami staff and their immediate family
• Flexible work arrangements are available for maintaining your work-life balance

What you will bring to the role

Essential

• Personal lived/living experience of recovery as an individual or as a family, friend or carer. Your recovery experience may be related to mental health, suicidal crisis, drugs and alcohol use or trauma
• Willingness to identify or be identified by others as a professional with lived experience of recovery
• Willingness to share and draw on lived experience purposefully in the role to instill confidence and hope in others about the journey of recovery
• It is a requirement of the Peer Support Worker position that you hold and provide Neami evidence of a Mental Health (or equivalent Human Services, Community Services) qualification of Certificate IV level or above, or complete such a qualification within 2 years of your commencement of employment.
• Uphold ethical behaviour, consistent with the values of honesty, fairness, responsibility, and hope.
• Demonstrate integrity, credibility and foster open communication.
• Positively listens and consults with others to proactively address conflict.
• Demonstrates an interest and understanding of others and relates well to people at all levels.
• Demonstrates self-awareness and ability to reflect and handle feedback well and learn from it.
• Proven ability to work autonomously with minimal supervision and to prioritise multiple tasks to meet conflicting deadlines.
• Proven ability to maintain confidentiality and build trust to deal with sensitive and difficult situations in a diplomatic manner.
• Ability to work productively in a fast paced, changing, and agile environment.
• Ability to establish respectful professional relationships that have clear boundaries with consumers, staff, and partner organisations.
• Ability to adapt communication style to meet the needs of a diverse range of people and identifies changing needs within a group.

Desirable

• Experience of the public or private mental health system
• Experience in a similar role.

What the role requires

• National Criminal History Check (police check) - disclosable outcomes considered
• Current Working with Children Check - required before commencement of work
• Current Australian drivers licence and access to a car
• Australian working rights

How to Apply

The terms and conditions of the role are listed in the attached position description (please select paperclip icon).
To apply for this position, please:

• Click the 'Apply Now' button where you will need to create a username and password
• Upload your resume and cover letter

When applying for this position, you are asked to tell us about your previous work experience, your suitability for this role and your answers to any target questions (where asked). Please include in your application how you would prefer to be contacted (whether via email, text or phone call).

If you are excited about this role, but only meet some of the requirements, we encourage you to call or email us to talk about this opportunity. We're passionate about creating opportunities and supporting professional development.

If your application is shortlisted:

• We may invite you to have an informal phone conversation to discuss the role and get to know more about your experience and interest and answer your questions
• We may invite you to an interview (which may be in person or conducted online via Microsoft Teams) with up to three panel members from Neami

If you have any further questions regarding this role which are not addressed in the job advertisement or position description, or if you require any adjustments to participate in the recruitment process, please contact:

• Nicoletta Magnaterra | Senior Practice Leader | [email protected], using the subject line: Peer Support Worker - Hurstville enquiry via EthicalJobs.

If you have any technical issues when applying for this role, please email [email protected] for assistance.

About Neami National

We're Neami. We're big believers in everyone having the opportunity to live a full life - and we give our all to support people to achieve wellbeing and mental health outcomes that matter to them.

For some people, this means having a stronger sense of self. For others, it may mean nurturing relationships or building the confidence to tackle tomorrow. Everyone has different life goals, and at Neami, we walk alongside people to help improve their quality of life on their terms.

We're proud to support 30,000+ people living with mental health challenges each year across Australia and offer services over 40 different Indigenous lands.These services include mental health and wellbeing, housing and homelessness, and suicide prevention.

Values

Together with our vision and purpose, our values define who we are and guide the way we operate. They are fundamental to our identity, and we align all our actions with them.

• Connecting
• Collaborating
• Learning
• Belonging

Be Yourself - Neami values and celebrates diversity including multidisciplinary teams and the unique backgrounds, experiences and contributions that each person brings to our community. First Nations people, those identifying as LGBTQIA+, people with disabilities and culturally and linguistically diverse people are encouraged to apply. Our aim is to create a workforce that is accessible, inclusive and reflects the community in which we live.

Neami is committed to the safety and wellbeing of children and young people. We commit to providing accessible and safe physical and online environments for all children and young people. Click Here for full statement.