About Candella:

Candella is an innovative, rapidly growing, not-for-profit mental health organisation providing individual outreach services through the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).

For more information go to the Candella website: https://candel.la/.

We currently employ about 100 Wellbeing Facilitators on a casual basis to provide recovery-oriented mental health services to over 450 people throughout Melbourne. Our workforce is as diverse as the people we serve. We encourage applications from people who have a lived experience of mental health challenges, Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islanders, and people belonging to diverse cultures and identity groups.

We pride ourselves on having a high level of workforce satisfaction.

Our Wellbeing Facilitators say they value:

• The flexibility, diversity, and autonomy of the role
• Seeing the positive difference they are making in people's lives
• The positive, supportive, values-driven organisational culture
• Entitlements that are well above the industry standard ($39.21/hr, plus super, with additional penalty loadings on weekends and public holidays)

Everyone who works for Candella is an employee, not a subcontractor, so you don't need an ABN, and you will receive all the entitlements and protections available to employees under Australian employment law.

We also offer all staff generous salary packaging. Salary packaging means you don't pay income tax on a portion of your income. You can package up to $15,900 per year as a Candella employee.

Due to the high demand for our services, we are now recruiting Wellbeing Facilitators on a continuous basis in all locations throughout Melbourne and surrounding regions.

While we need more staff in all areas and we will consider all applications, our highest priority areas include: Outer Eastern Melbourne, Western Melbourne, Inner Eastern Melbourne, North East Melbourne, Northern Melbourne, and the Frankston/Mornington Peninsula region.

For successful candidates, our next face-to-face induction session for new employees will take place on Wednesday 25 March.

Our mission & approach:

At Candella, we turn up to work each day so that the people who use our services will end up with a better quality of life: more independent, more socially connected, healthier, happier, and with a greater sense of optimism and self-belief.

The word facilitate is key our approach. A facilitator is someone who greases the wheels of change, not someone who takes control or takes charge. We believe that all people have the right to set their own direction in life, and we give them the space to make progress on their own terms, in their own way, at their own pace. We are not here to fix people, or change them, or tell them what to do. We are here to help them on their way, whichever way that is.

If this resonates with you, keep reading, you may be kind of the person we are searching for.

About the position:

When you start with Candella, we will begin to connect you with requests for service from customers in your area. You can decide which requests to accept, and you can decide when to be available for appointments with customers. This means you have substantial control over where you work, when you work, and how much you work.

It is demand-driven work, so it can take some time to build up to your desired hours per week. Most new Wellbeing Facilitators attain their desired workload within 4 weeks of their induction.

You will work with each customer to provide individual support for an agreed number of hours per week. This means you will have your own case-load to manage, providing consistency of support for the customer and routine for you where possible.

To give you a sense for what your job might look like on a day-to-day basis, here are a few examples of work we have been doing recently with our customers:

• Increased confidence in social situations, through graded-exposure to increasingly challenging social situations
• Improved physical health by building a habit of regular gym attendance
• Increased access to social services by completing forms and making phone calls
• More secure tenancy by assisting to declutter the home over several months
• Reduced social isolation through assistance to join and attend community group programs
• Greater joy and fulfilment through assistance to participate in meaningful recreational activities
• Reintegration with the local community following long-term hospitalisation
• Increased independence by learning to use public transport

Candella is a mobile organisation, with no physical office locations. You will work mostly independently, but if you ever need extra support or guidance, you can call your assigned Lead Wellbeing Facilitator (senior practitioner) to discuss or debrief about practice issues.

We are committed to providing a safe and healthy working environment, with policies, procedures, and systems in place to maintain the physical and mental wellbeing of all employees.

About you:

• Available to commit to at least 20 hours work per week with Candella (but working fewer hours per week initially, as you gradually build up your clientele)
• A fairly consistent weekly routine, so customers you are working with can expect a mostly reliable and consistent service each week
• Customers choose Candella to build a relationship with a skilled worker that they can rely on. To continue offering this level of service we are looking for applicants who intend to commit at least 12 months in the role
• Highly developed interpersonal skills
• Prior experience in a mental health or community related role. If you do not have such experience, explain in your application how your professional/life experience gives you the ability to work effectively with people who are experiencing a range of serious mental health challenges
• Relevant training/education, such as:
  • A degree in Psychology, Social Work, or related field
  • A Cert IV in Mental Health, or related field
  • A certificate in Standard Mental Health First Aid (MHFA)
  • If you do not have any of these, we will consider your application if you state you are willing to obtain a Standard MHFA certificate at your own expense within your first three months of employment at Candella. Find out more about MHFA here
• Ability to manage your own roster/schedule and complete administration duties accurately and on time
• Confidence using technology, particularly mobile phone apps, to record and share information
• Apple or Android mobile phone that you can use to contact customers directly to arrange appointments
• Access to an insured and roadworthy vehicle, and a current Australian driver's licence
• Willingness to undergo a National Police Check and, if appropriate, an International Police Check and Working with Children Check