• Full Time, fixed term opportunity till 30 June 2024 based at Newcastle, NSW
• $34.04 to $36.50 per hour (SCHADS - Schedule B Level 3.1 to 3.4) depending on experience, + 10% Super + Salary packaging benefits + 17.5% leave loading
• Make your mark with a reputable NFP organisation!

About Wellways

Wellways Australia exists to help all Australians lead active, fulfilling and inclusive lives in their community. We achieve this by supporting and working with individuals, families and the community to help them imagine and achieve better lives. We advocate for change to ensure people have access to the best possible care and information when they need it. We provide a wide range of services and assistance for people with mental health issues, disabilities, youth and older Australians and those requiring community care.

Wellways is committed to reconciliation, lived experience and inclusivity. We strongly encourage and warmly welcome people from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, people with a lived experience of mental health and disability and people who identify as LGBTIQA+ to apply. Even if you only meet some of the criteria, we'd love to hear from you.

About YCLSS

Youth Community Living Support Services (YCLSS) is a NSW government funded initiative that delivers time-limited specialist community based psychosocial support services designed for young people aged 15 to 24 (inclusive), with serious mental illness, who have, or are at risk of developing, functional disability because of their mental health. The service is delivered in five targeted locations across NSW in close partnership with Local Health Districts, with a focus on coordinated and integrated care. YCLSS offers young people flexible hours and various types of support to ensure the participants current needs and goals are met. All services are provided within the context of a recovery model and in a way that empowers individuals to live in the community with optimum self-determination and independence.

The main aims of the program are to:

• support the personal recovery of young people with mental illness through tailored community psychosocial support; and
• minimise the risk of young people developing chronic disability and requiring frequent hospital admissions, long inpatient stays and long-term care.

About the Opportunity

As an integrated member of the YLCSS team, Peer Recovery Workers walk alongside participants, providing intensive support to participants to address key development areas that support transition into adulthood: social skills, leadership, decision making, teamwork, healthy lifestyle, community service, responsibility, self-identity, self-esteem, and resilience. Essential to achieving these objectives is supporting the participant to identify and nurture natural supports that sustain recovery and assist in the development of self-management skills.

Intentionally drawing upon their own lived experience of mental health problems and recovery, Peer Recovery Workers share their personal experiences of recovery to engage and empower program participants in their own recovery journey. Peer Recovery Workers also provide positive role models of hope and recovery and share their experiences to assist families, clinicians and the community better understand the participant perspective. Additionally, Peer Recovery Workers facilitate Wellways' peer learning programs.

What you will need:

• A contemporary understanding of mental health issues and recovery orientated mental health practice
• Lived experience of mental health problems and recovery, either as a person with mental health issues or in a caring role
• Completion of the Certificate 4 in Mental Health, Certificate 4 in Mental Health Peer Work or Certificate 4 in Community Services, or equivalent practical experience working in a lived experience role.
• Capability to develop rapport and activity engage with young people, including people from diverse backgrounds and with diverse orientations
• Current Driver Licence and the ability to undertake regular travel
• Right to Work within Australia
• Satisfactory Police Records Check [less than 12 months old] / Working with Children Check / NDIS Worker Screening Check, prior to commencement
• Completion of NDIS Quality and Safeguards Module 'Quality, Safety and You'
• Evidence of full COVID Booster vaccination or valid medical exemption

Benefits & Culture

Wellways supports an inclusive approach in both the workplace and community where everyone can imagine and achieve their goals to their fullest potential. This is your opportunity to join a nationally recognised organisation with over 1,800 staff members across 93 sites where you can gain access to ongoing support and opportunity for career development.

• Join a brand new and supportive team
• Salary packaging up to $15,899 per annum
• An Employee Assistance Program which aims to support and empower employees and their loved ones

For a full list of our staff benefits, visit our careers page.

How to Apply

For a confidential discussion about the role, we encourage you to contact Jenna Katchel at 0481 451 803.

The health and safety of Wellways participants and employees is our highest priority and all Wellways roles are covered by directives that require mandatory COVID vaccinations. Successful applicants will be required to provide evidence of COVID-19 vaccination or valid medical exemption prior to commencement.

Wellways Australia Limited is committed to the safeguarding of children and vulnerable people. All applicants applying for roles within Wellways must undergo a screening process prior to their successful appointment.