Job Description:

• Permanent part time position (22.8hrs per week) 0.6 FTE
• Friendly and supportive team
• Excellent benefits including salary packaging
• Salary Range $68874 - $73065 (pro rata)

About the Role

This is an innovative role in which people who have a lived/living experience of mental health challenges can support consumers by sharing a message of hope and optimism as a part of their recovery journey.

You will be an integral part of the Prevention and Recovery Care (PARC) team which provides recovery-focused care in a short-term sub-acute setting.

In this role you will:

• Develop trusting relationships with consumers through the lens of mutual experience and by offering empathy compassion choice and empowerment
• Provide 1:1 intentional peer support
• Facilitate and develop peer-led groups and co-facilitate or participate in other groups in the PARC Program
• Uphold a culture of hope by using optimistic language supporting people and celebrating consumers recovery efforts
• Contribute to ongoing continuous improvement activities at PARC
• Work collaboratively with the Director Lived Experience Workforce and Strategy and Lived Experience Workforce Coordinator to provide support and contribute to the development of the Lived/Living Experience Workforce (LLEW)

Classifications for this position will range from MP32 - MP35 Lived Experience Worker Level 2 ($68874 - $73065 per annum pro rata)

Your Contribution

• A lived experience of mental health challenges and of accessing and navigating public mental health services in a way that has changed the course of your life
• Appropriate IT skills such as use of Microsoft office suite
• Strong communication skills and able to work cooperatively in a team environment
• Able to deliver group programs
• Commitment to recovery-oriented and strengths-based practice in mental health rehabilitation
• Able to support consumers and carers to promote self-determination personal strengths and enable progress towards reaching individual goals
• A valid Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check or willing to obtain

What We Offer

• A focus on wellbeing initiatives with regular events and programs

• Confidential solutions-focused employee counselling

• A healthy work/life balance encouraged.

• Ability to join Fitness Passport - Your pass to an extensive choice of fitness facilities

• Salary Packaging Increase your take home pay!

• Discounts always available through our Foundation

• Regular opportunities for professional development to assist you to reach your career goals

• Culture of continuous improvement

About North Fitzroy PARC

The Prevention and Recovery Care (PARC) provides short term sub-acute intensive residential services with a recovery focus to consumers who require additional support early in relapse or following an acute in patient admission. The service is run in partnership with Wellways Australia. The service has 10 beds.

The staff team includes St Vincents clinicians and Wellways support staff.

Working at St Vincents
St Vincents Hospital Melbourne (SVHM) is a leading teaching research and tertiary health service. SVHM provides a diverse range of adult clinical services and is driven by values of Compassion Justice Integrity and Excellence.

Application

• Please attach your resume and cover letter to your application.

Shortlisting for this position will commence immediately. We encourage you to apply promptly as the advertisement may close early should a suitable applicant be sourced.

We encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and abilities. Inclusion is essential to our mission and diversity reflects the community we serve.

Please visit our website for further information regarding our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Employment at SVHM

SVHA has a duty of care under work health and safety legislation to eliminate and/or control the risk of transmission of vaccine preventable diseases in healthcare settings. You may therefore be required to undergo mandatory immunisations/vaccinations (including flu vaccinations).

St. Vincents Mental Health (SVMH) includes an adult area mental health service for the inner city areas of Yarra and Boroondara. The adult mental health service components are: Primary Intervention and Care the Footbridge Community Care Unit (CCU) the North Fitzroy Prevention and Recovery Care service (PARC) the 44 bed Acute Inpatient Service (AIS) located on the St. Vincents Hospital site and two community mental health services (CMHS) at Hawthorn and East Melbourne (Clarendon CMHS). Community mental health services comprise the Triage and Crisis assessment and Treatment (CAT) service Extended Triage and MH-HARP Continuing Care (CCT) Mobile Support and Treatment (MST) and Homeless Outreach (CHOPS) services. A Consultation & Liaison Service is provided to the health service. NEXUS Dual Diagnosis Service the Body Image and Eating Disorders Assessment and Treatment Service (BETRS) and NEVIL Training Cluster are regional services. Statewide services are the Victorian Dual Disability Service the Victorian Transcultural Mental Health and Dual Diagnosis Education and Training Unit. The Acute Inpatient Service includes 5 beds designated as the Koori State-wide Inpatient Service and linked to the Victorian Aboriginal Health Service.

All St Vincents Mental Health clinical staff are expected to be familiar with and practice in a manner consistent with the National Practice Standards for the Mental Health Workforce.

The Prevention and Recovery Care (PARC) provides short term sub-acute intensive residential services with a recovery focus to consumers who require additional support early in relapse or following an acute in patient admission. The service is run in partnership with Wellways Australia.

All St Vincents Mental Health staff are expected to be familiar and practice in a manner consistent with the National Practice Standards for the Mental Health Workforce.

Working in collaboration with the PARC Manager Team Leader and Consultant Psychiatrist and in conjunction with Wellways staff and St Vincents treating teams the consumer peer support worker will work within the PARC program to provide peer support for participants. The role includes an opportunity to contribute to the group program and be part of co-design activities to improve the wellbeing of consumers accessing the service their families and significant others. Participation in community development will also be a core component of the role; including advocacy negotiation and development of community linkages. The consumer peer support worker is part of the lived/living experience workforce team and will attend LLEW discipline meetings and actively connect with their LLEW peers.

• Consumer advocacy and support working from the Intentional Peer Support framework of practice.
• Support consumer involvement in decision making at an individual and team level
• Promote and hold space for the consumer perspective.
• Work from a non-judgemental approach in respecting others worldview.
• Actively work from and role model recovery-orientation and the strengths perspective
• Work with each consumer from the undersanding that recovery is diverse and unique.
• Attend consumer groups as necessary to build relationships with consumers
• Education training and orientation of staff graduates and students on the peer worker role.
• Facilitate peer-led groups at PARC
• Maintain personal and professional boundaries relevant to the peer support worker role
• Develop and maintain collaborative working relationships with internal and external shareholders
• Participate in the development of strategies (in conjunction with team and senior staff) to enhance the quality of service delivered at PARC.
• Contribute to the promotion and understanding and awareness of mental health issues
• Contribute to quality improvement policy and program development in the Mental Health Program from a consumer perspective.
• Contribute to community development including advocacy negotiation and development of community linkages
• Facilitate consumer access to complaint resolution processes.
• Work collaboratively with the Director Lived Experience Workforce and Strategy and the Lived Experience Workforce Coordinator to provide support and contribute to the development of the LLEW.
• Attend LLEW Discipline Meetings that fall on a work day and otherwise actively reach out to connect with LLEW peers internally and also externally where appropriate
• Attend external LLEW learning and networking events and communities of practice and LLEW training with approval from line-management
• Work collaboratively within the multi-disciplinary teams whilst ensuring that the work aligns to the framework and models of practice of the respective Lived Experience discipline (consumer/carer).

• A direct lived/living experience of mental health challenges and of accessing and navigating public mental health services in a way that has changed the course of your life
• Demonstrated capacity to skilfully use your knowledge and experience of mental health challenges and recovery to support consumers.
• Sound knowledge of recovery oriented practice in PARC settings or similar settings with a focus on working collaboratively with consumers and carers to build transferrable skills.
• Demonstrated experience in working as part of a multidisciplinary team.
• An understanding and working knowledge of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Act 2022 (including amendments) and other relevant legislation.
• Commitment to working collaboratively and effectively with multiple key stakeholders both internal and external to St. Vincents Hospital (including consumers carers family members and community agencies).
• An understanding of cultural diversity in the delivery of mental services and/or willingness to undertake professional development in this area.
• Highly developed interpersonal and communication skills including problem solving ability and conflict resolution skills as well as sound oral and writing skills.

• A current Victorian drivers licence.
• Understanding of Victorian public mental health services.
• Appropriate IT skills such as use of Microsoft office suite

• Qualification in a relevant area is desireable (e.g. peer support mental health health education welfare community development social sciences mad studies)
• Completion of Intentional Peer Support Core Training or other relevant peer support training such as the Hearing Voices Approach and Alternatives to Suicide (or willingness to complete).

Closing Date:

Reconciliation Action Plan:

At St Vincents we acknowledge the importance of creating a work environment that is welcoming safe equitable and inclusive for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Employees. As part of our Commitment to Reconciliation and Closing the Gap in employment related outcomes we encourage applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.

For further information visit https:// or get in contact at

View Reconciliation Action Plan

Code of Conduct:

View Code of Conduct