• Hours: Full time or part time
• Reports to: Program Manager – Culture in Mind
• Award: Health professionals and support services award 2020
• HP Level 3 - $42.33 - $48.14 per hour dependent on skills and experience
• Generous salary sacrifice packaging available.

Organisational Background

With a vision to build health equity and a mission to deliver, model and influence health and wellness services to create an inclusive and just health system, World Wellness Group (WWG) is a leading health social enterprise based in Woolloongabba, Brisbane. WWG operates the World Wellness Health & Medical Clinic focused on equitable healthcare for clients from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. The service specialises in supporting those made vulnerable and marginalised by the health system including migrants, refugees and people seeking asylum.

As a social enterprise, or a business with a social mission, WWG works to improve health equity for all clients, regardless of culture, language or financial capacity, and to assist the most disadvantaged members in our community. WWG is a registered health promotion charity, and all profits are used to fund health services for clients or innovative health programs that are not available elsewhere.

WWG Values and Principles

All WWG staff work within the WWG code of conduct and ensure all clients and colleagues are treated with dignity and respect, cultural safety and human rights principles and standards. WWG has developed a multicultural lived experience framework and encourages staff to keep lived experience at the forefront of their practice.

Mental Health and Wellbeing Services

Mental health and wellbeing services are at the core of WWG’s primary health care service. WWG delivers a range of services and programs across the spectrum of mental health from low intensity, mild to moderate psychological therapies and psychosocial support for those with complex mental health issues. This position is integral to how WWG delivers quality, culturally responsive mental health care and provides a unique opportunity to be at the forefront of the development of multicultural community based primary mental health and wellbeing services in Australia.

Multicultural Connect Line & Culture in Mind

The Multicultural Connect Line (MCL) was established as a telephone helpline and call back service in July 2020 in response to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on multicultural communities in Queensland. Since then, the MCL has evolved to a telephone psychosocial support service following integration with the psychosocial support service Culture in Mind (CiM). CiM provides psychosocial support to people with complex mental health issues.

The aim of the MCL is to deliver a range of psychosocial supports and brief interventions including assessment and supportive telephone counselling in a collaborative and multidisciplinary team setting. The MCL focusses on supporting people from multicultural backgrounds across Queensland by offering systems navigation and capacity building to access practical supports within a strengths-based approach to wellness, recovery, social inclusion and participation.

Position Objective

To work as part of a team offering support to people experiencing mental health challenges from multicultural backgrounds via a professional, specialist telephone service by engaging and supporting callers with supportive counselling, psycho-social assessment, and facilitating brief intervention. This role includes identifying callers at risk and consulting with the MCL Program Manager as required. This role involves supporting people across Queensland, and aims to have a focus on regional areas.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES

a. Essential

• Tertiary qualification in allied health, counselling, social work, psychology, occupational therapy or behavioural sciences (relevant overseas qualifications will be considered)
• Demonstrated experience in evidence-based counselling and support.
• Skills and experience working with people from multicultural backgrounds in psychosocial support settings such as human services and/or mental health settings.
• Current Blue Card and Police Check or willingness and ability to acquire.
• Open Qld driver’s license.

b. Desirable

• Experience working in a cross-cultural and inter-disciplinary team setting.
• Language(s) other than English.

c. Skill requirement

Collaborative Teamwork: Proven ability to work collaboratively in a team environment, including occasional availability outside standard business hours.

Communication Skills: Clear communication style, strong phone handling skills and active listening, proficient in writing computerised case notes and preparing brief intervention plans, reports, and other documentation within set timeframes.

Client Advocacy: Demonstrated understanding of client advocacy and strengths-based frameworks within a social justice context.

Interpersonal Skills: Well-developed interpersonal skills, including effective communication, negotiation, problem-solving, conflict resolution, and the ability to engage with others in a fast-paced environment.

Multicultural Mental Health Expertise: Knowledge and understanding of mental health issues in the multicultural population, including high-level expertise in multicultural mental health and the integration of health and human service theory into counselling practice.

Therapeutic engagement: Application of therapeutic experience to meet the distinct needs of those reaching out for support. This includes identifying and addressing assessed needs; for example, building rapport, reflective listening and understanding that these interventions often build trust and engagement to uncover multiple areas where support can be provided.

Community Resources: Knowledge of services and community resources relevant to the needs of the multicultural population, including resources outside of the Brisbane region.

Autonomy: Well-developed time and self-management skills to work with limited supervision while being a collaborative team member.

Resilience: High level of resilience to work in an environment exposed to high-risk scenarios, including domestic violence, suicide, and significant social disadvantage.

Psychosocial Assessment: Responsible for the assessment, communication, and response to psychosocial needs within the context of providing brief interventions.

Interdisciplinary Collaboration: Ability to work across an interdisciplinary team delivering clinical and non-clinical mental health and wellbeing supports.

Care Coordination: Ability to communicate clearly and concisely to facilitate coordination and continuation of care.

Implement trauma-informed and anti-racist approaches: Skilful support including handovers to other services to support a trauma-informed and anti-racist approach to service delivery.

Work within a Stepped Care Model: Ability to provide support in a stepped care model within the Brisbane region and support mental health in the context of a rural and statewide multicultural mental health context where there are few support services available to refer to.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

The Multicultural Connect Line receives and manages calls using online software and, may also provide some face-to-face support when required. The position provides supportive counselling, conducts comprehensive psycho-social assessments taking into account clients’ physical, psychological and social/cultural needs using evidence based therapeutic mental health interventions and develops a case plan. This includes timely reporting with clear communication and handover to the interdisciplinary team.

We are looking for staff who are skilled at:

• Conducting culturally informed psychosocial assessments over the phone.
• Engaging multicultural clients through therapeutic interventions to meet assessed needs.
• Collaboration and able to share information using electronic case note databases in a fast-paced environment.
• Building rapport over the telephone with callers, including those who are non-English speaking.
• Effective and efficient when working with interpreters and lived experience workforce of Multicultural Peer Support Workers.
• Demonstrating a strong understanding of health and social care systems across Queensland, in order to provide effective health-advocacy.
• Delivering client-focused advocacy and liaise with community and government agencies to establish pathways for appropriate service options for individual clients, working collaboratively with stakeholders as required.
• Ensuring appropriate referral of clients to specialised mental health/psychosocial supports when necessary; and able to grow capacity of mainstream services to respond to cultural and linguistic needs of people referred into those services.
• Providing emotional and mental health support to clients in a culturally responsive framework with a demonstrated understanding acculturation, trauma, and psychological stressors in a cross-cultural context.
• Demonstrating a strong track record in the provision of interventions to improve wellbeing over the phone and/or face to face including, however not limited to: counselling support, psychosocial support, social prescribing (including connections with their culture of origin or religious community), provision of navigation supports and relevant information.
• Participating and contributing to interdisciplinary team processes to determine clients' mental health support needs through accurate and timely data collection, case consultation and collaborative discharge planning, including the clear documentation of these actions in a client database.
• Contributing to the development of service planning, delivery, and evaluation within the frameworks established by WWG.
• Demonstrating a high level of skill when using digital technologies including, however not limited to Microsoft Teams, Office, Outlook and a client database.
• Demonstrating ability to talk and type concurrently to manage data capture for phone calls and maintain timely data entry.
• Scheduling and prioritise work with a flexible approach to competing priorities and deadlines.
• Managing a caseload and supporting a team working at different levels.
• Carrying out any other relevant duties as directed by the Leadership Team.

Human Resources

• Contribute to building a culture of engagement and respect.
• Value cultural diversity and other individual differences in the workforce
• Ensure team members are treated in a fair and equitable manner.
• Comply with all EEO obligations and responsibilities.
• Build capacity and skills in the multicultural peer support workforce.
• Empower team members and recognise and reward their contributions.
• Contribute to collaborative team issues and resolve grievances.

Operational functions

• Participate in any organisational technology changes.
• Participate in continuous improvement of workflow processes and procedures.

General Responsibilities of All Staff

• Comply with the World Wellness Group’s Code of Conduct, as well as any Code of Conduct of your professional association.
• Comply with confidentiality requirements of World Wellness Group, as well as the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) regarding client information, taking particular care that the information of clients may be highly sensitive in nature.
• Comply with ethical and legal requirements of both the Commonwealth and Queensland equal opportunity and anti-discrimination laws including the Human Rights Act 2019, Anti-Discrimination Act 1991 (QLD), Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth), Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Cth), Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth) and Age Discrimination Act 2004 (Cth) by treating staff and clients with respect and without bullying and/or harassment.
• Deliver effective use of World Wellness Group’s resources within level of responsibility of your position.

Occupational Health and Safety

• Maintain a safe and supportive working environment to protect others (staff, volunteers, clients) at risk of harm or injury.
• Exercise judgement about the behaviour of clients to ensure they do not put themselves or others (staff or other clients) at risk of harm or injury.

Documents Required

Appointment to this position requires a Blue Card and willingness to undergo a police clearance check

• Blue Card link: www.bluecard.qld.gov.au/applications/applications.html
• National Police certificate: www.police.qld.gov.au/corporatedocs/purchase/national-police-certificate/

Applicant acknowledgement:

I have read and understood the position description and personal requirements/capabilities that are attached to this position. I declare that I am capable and willing to meet the requirements as indicated and acknowledge the requirements to maintain such capabilities whilst performing in this position.

A position description is attached.