Peer Worker - Carer ICYMHS CAT

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Fantastic Opportunity to Join the ICYMHS CATT Team at Austin Health

• Part Time Roles Available
• Carer Peer Worker Level 2-3
• 7-Day Rotating Roster
• Purposefully Share Lived Experiences to Offer Hope and Support to families, carers and supporters.
• Multidisciplinary Team Approach to Care
• Support Access to Mental Health and Community Support Services

About Austin Health

Austin Health is a leading public health service in Victoria, delivering world-class healthcare to a diverse community across a range of services. Our commitment to providing exceptional care spans across several hospitals, including Austin Hospital, Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital, and the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness & Research Centre. Our vision is to improve the quality of life for our community through innovative, compassionate, and holistic care.

About the Role and You

The ICYMHS CATT (Crisis Assessment and Treatment) Team within Austin Health plays a crucial role in providing timely and effective assessment, treatment, and post-discharge assertive support for young people presenting with high acuity mental health needs. As a Carer Peer, you will be an integral and highly valued member of the multidisciplinary team, offering mutual support and practical assistance to the families, carers and supporters of young consumers in crises using your own carer lived experience.

Role specific:

• Lived experience of caring for a family member or loved one with mental health and/or substance use challenges.
• A strong understanding of the Victorian public mental health system.
• At least 2-3 years’ experience working as a carer Peer Worker/Lived Experience role in Emergency Departments or Crisis Assessment teams.
• Recognition and understanding of your own experiences in crises as a carer and the ability to use this experience to support others.
• Knowledge of carer peer support principles, with a commitment to providing support from a mutual perspective, sharing lived experiences to inspire hope.
• A deep understanding of relational recovery and an ability to work from a tripartite approach.
• Providing empathetic and informed peer support, information and referrals to families, carers and supported whose lives are impacted by mental health and/or substance use challenges, being mindful of the principles of purposeful disclosure.
• Supporting carers to discover their own solutions and empowering them to take ownership of the journey.
• Encouraging and facilitating referrals to internal and external services, family/carer/supporter support groups and education, and access to hardship funds, where appropriate.
• Participation in regular self-reflection, group and operational (line management) supervision and professional development in line with individual work plan, as directed by the team leader/manager and discipline lead.
• Participating in regular carer perspective supervision including self-reflective practice and identification of needs.
• Willingness to participate in ongoing training role.
• Seeking support, debriefing and actively following up challenging or concerning issues with the Team leader/manager and/or Discipline lead.
• Informing the team leader/manager and/or Discipline lead, when duty of care issues arises.
• Encouraging carers and families to provide feedback to the service.
• Ensuring the data collection and reporting requirements are complete to a hgh standard and in a timely manner.
• Participating in regular peer-to-peer learning through community of practice.
• Developing and maintaining appropriate networks and resources to enable the referral of families, carers and supporters to broader community services.
• Working closely with the team to provide an accessible and supportive services for families, carers and supporters in crisis.
• Effective communication skills and the ability to engage with families, carers and supporters in everyday, non-clinical language.
• A commitment to ensuring safe, best-practice care that puts consumers and carers at the heart of the decision-making process.

What You Need

• Completion of Intentional Peer Support (IPS) training and/or Certificate IV in Mental Health or Mental Health Peer Work (or equivalent qualification).
• Australian working rights.

Our benefits

Working at Austin Health means enjoying a strong sense of purpose, engaging in meaningful work every day. Our people also receive a variety of rewarding benefits, including:

• Greater take-home pay through generous salary packaging benefits, for living expenses, meals and holiday accommodation
• A suite of wellness initiatives designed to support you, including discounts on fitness memberships and health insurance, and a comprehensive wellbeing program
• Mentoring and career development opportunities
• Onsite childcare, easy access via public transport and car parking

Work with us!

If you're dedicated to delivering compassionate, patient-centred care and want to make a real difference in the lives of young people, we encourage you to apply. Join us at Austin Health and be part of a dynamic team committed to transforming lives through mutual support, understanding, and recovery. 

We are committed to cultural safety and health equity for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander People. We celebrate, value, and include people of all backgrounds, genders, identities, cultures, bodies, and abilities. We welcome and support applications from talented people identifying as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander, people with disability, neurodiverse people, LGBTQIA+ and people of all ages and cultures.

If you feel this role is right for you, we encourage your early application. Applications will be reviewed as they are received, and interviews may take place prior to the closing date. This means we reserve the right to close a job ad prior to the advertised closing date.

All appointments are made subject to a satisfactory National Police Check and if required, a Working With Children Check. If you require any reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process, you are welcome to reach out to the hiring manager: Sue Wells at Sue.Wells@austin.org.au and Program Manager Nathan.hall@austin.org.au

Interested in finding out more about this opportunity? Read the position description for further details.

Application closing date: 20 March 2025