Transform your Mental Health Worker position into a Peer Worker position

• Do you have a lived experience of a mental health issue and are currently employed with Flourish Australia as a Mental Health Worker?

• Have you considered joining our growing peer workforce and do you want an opportunity to develop your career with us as a Peer Worker?

If you answered yes to these 2 questions, this is your opportunity to apply to have your existing position transformed to a Peer Worker position.

Background

Flourish Australia is seeking to grow the number of Peer Workers across the organisation as a whole. Organisational Accountability 3 in the RAF highlights Flourish Australia's commitment to growing and developing our Peer Workforce. Organisational Accountability 3 states:

“We have a clearly stated organisational commitment, and organisational ‘culture’ that identifies our workforce as leaders in recovery-oriented, strengths-based and person-led support services.”

Flourish Australia has also adopted a policy that requires Manager’s to ask the following question each time they recruit to a new position: “Why not a Peer Worker”?

About Being A Peer Worker

A Peer Worker uses their lived experience openly, appropriately and effectively to build professional relationships with the people they support who also have a lived experience of a mental health issue. You will also use your lived experience to inform and contribute to staff learning, service understanding, and delivering person-led, strengths-focused, recovery-based language, documentation, training and actions. You will use your lived experience to work as an advocate on an individual basis and, possibly, systemically also (as requested).

For more information about what it means to be a Peer Worker with Flourish Australia, please review the Position Description and read the Peer Worker information statement “What You Should Consider Before Becoming A Peer Worker”.

Selection Criteria

Before applying for a Peer Worker position you need to understand that being a Peer Worker means that you will be innately drawing on your lived experience in the every day duties of your work. You will be expected to walk beside people on their recovery journey and build a respectful, professional, appropriate relationship with them that is based around conversations which will draw on your experiences. This may be very challenging at times but, if you are the right person for the position, you will find it very rewarding.

To apply to transform your current position to a Peer Worker position, you must meet the following criteria:

Essential:

1. Identify as having a lived experience of a mental health issue.
2. Be willing to effectively, respectfully, and appropriately use your lived experience of mental health issues in your everyday work.
3. Be committed to achieving a Certificate IV in Peer Work within a mutually agreed time frame.

If you meet these 3 essential criteria and, importantly, understand what it means to be a Peer Worker, please continue with your application to transform you current position and employment conditions to a Peer Worker position. If you do not wish to transform your position, or if you do not meet these criteria, please do not continue with your application. Hours and pay will be the same as your current employment contract.

How to Apply

To apply for this position, please complete the questions below. On completion of your application, the convening panel member will contact you regarding whether you have been successful in gaining an interview.

Please note, you will be required to participate in a formal recruitment process. If for any reason you are unsuccessful with your application, that’s OK, nothing will change with your current employment with us.