About the Company

The Mental Health Lived Experience Peak Queensland (MHLEPQ) is the Queensland peak for mental health consumers, established to provide a collective voice for Queenslanders with a lived and living experience of mental-ill health and suicidality, in particular those who are marginalised or disadvantaged.

It is an independent member-based organisation funded by the Queensland Health Community Services Funding Branch. The role of the MHLEPQ is to provide systems advice and advocacy on behalf of Queensland’s mental health consumers.

About the Role

Use your policy and advocacy experience to produce outcomes with impact on the Queensland mental health sector. You will drive policy and strategy, and lead key projects and programs informed and led by people with lived and living experience of mental-ill health and suicidality. As part of a small team, you will work closely with the MHLEPQ Engagement Leads in consulting and co-designing policy and systems advice, with the potential to take on additional responsibilities for project management and leadership for the right person.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Prepare consumer-informed and led submissions, position statements and policy documents
• Use a consultative approach along with qualitative research methods used in co-design to develop policy advice and strategy to advocate for improvement of the Queensland mental health system
• Manage key internal and external stakeholder relationships with team members, advisory groups, and relevant government bodies
• Contribute to the development, management and ongoing evaluation of relevant projects and programs
• Provide specialist advice on policy matters and contribute to the development and review of both internal and external policy
• Mentoring, supervising and reviewing work of other team members where required.
• Other duties and responsibilities as required as a senior staff member to support the CEO

About You

• You are a person with a lived or living experience of mental ill-health and/or suicidality
• Demonstrated experience in policy development ideally relating to social justice and/or human rights issues
• Relevant tertiary qualifications or equivalent experience with a strong understanding of the Mental Health Consumer movement and working principles
• Ideally you will have previously worked in an identified lived experience role, though this is not essential
• Consultative and collaborative approach – this role will require you to work closely with the Engagement Leads, various Special Interest Groups, and various State and Federal peak bodies regularly
• Experience in leadership and/or project management would be highly desirable

Benefits and Culture

• Make an impact influencing policy and advocacy efforts, guided by consumer lived experience expertise and aimed at improvement of the Queensland mental health system
• Complex and diverse role with potential for growth over time as the organisation continues to expand its footprint
• Organisation that embodies the principles of equity, access, cultural safety, and human rights
• Salary aligned with SCHADS Level 7 – 8 depending on experience

Equity of access:

MHLEPQ recognises the importance of a two-way fit between the job and the individual. We seek to find the best person for the job whilst ensuring that the job aligns with the candidate’s needs and well-being. We know not everyone starts from the same place, and that systemic advantages and barriers exist.

We are committed to working with the successful candidate to understand their needs and remove or reduce any existing barriers that may inhibit them from being the best they can be in the role.

Therefore, during the recruitment process we encourage you to discuss with us any reasonable adjustments you may need to make this job accessible and equitable for you. This may include any specific access needs regarding flexible work arrangements, physical or digital accessibility or specific cultural needs.

Please include a cover letter outlining your interest in and alignment with the position.

Click on the APPLY NOW button, or for a confidential discussion, please contact Ashleigh McFadyen on 07 3846 7730.

This is an identified lived experience position, meaning that you must have a personal, first-hand lived or living experience of mental ill-health and/or suicidality.

We are not asking you to disclose the specifics of your lived or living experience in your application or throughout the interview process, but rather the perspective that this experience brings to systemic advocacy in the mental health sector.

All Candidates will be notified of the outcome of their application by email or phone.

The Pure Source Recruitment office will be closed from Monday 23rd December for Christmas, and will reopen on Monday 6th of January.