Peer Services Guide in Redcliffe

Role: Peer Service Guide

Location – Redcliffe, Queensland

Hours – 0.6 FTE (45 hours per fortnight across five days)

Contract – Fixed term position, with strong possibility of extending

Apply a Lived and Living Experience framework as part of a new pilot to connect primary care doctors (GPs) and mental health services. Drawing upon lived and living experience of mental health challenges, distress, recovery and navigating systems to walk alongside participants to strengthen hope, choice, self-determination, connection and confidence.

About the role:

This role will sit within a ‘teamlet’ comprising of a Team Leader, Mental Health Practitioner and a Peer Services Guide. These roles will work together as part of the Mental Health Care Partners (MHCP) Pilot to strengthen integration between primary care and specialist mental health services. Together, they will deliver a blend of clinical and non-clinical support through GP in-reach, outreach, shared care planning, service navigation and multidisciplinary coordination.

The Peer Services Guide is a designated lived experience role that provides relational, non-clinical and person-driven peer practice to participants engaged with the MHCP program. Lived experience and the expertise developed through recovery are central to this designated role. The Peer Services Guide brings a distinct lived experience perspective to the multidisciplinary team while working within the values, ethics and scope of peer practice.

The role will require the Peer Services Guide to work with participants and GPs to enhance care outcomes, including supporting participants to prepare for and participate in appointments, case conferences and conversations with GPs and other service providers, strengthening their voice and self-advocacy rather than speaking on their behalf. Support will extend to facilitating warm referrals to suitable specialist mental health, community and social support services and walking alongside participants to build upon and strengthen existing supports, community connection and strategies that support their recovery and wellbeing.

Role Criteria:

• Personal lived or living experience of mental health challenges, distress or significant life interruption, and the expertise developed through your own recovery journey and experience navigating mental health or related service systems. Lived experience is an essential qualification for this designated role.
• Demonstrated ability to intentionally use lived experience and lived expertise to build genuine, purposeful peer relationships, while maintaining appropriate boundaries, role clarity and personal wellbeing.
• Demonstrated understanding of lived experience peer practice and its core principles, including mutuality, intentional disclosure, self-determination, dignity of risk, recovery and power-sharing.
• Demonstrated experience providing person-driven peer support to people experiencing complex mental health challenges or distress, including one-to-one engagement, supporting people during periods of distress, outreach, and navigation of mental health and related service systems.

Additional requirements:

• A current open QLD driver’s license and own vehicle.
• Working with Children card and Working with People with a Disability check (or the ability to obtain one) is mandatory.

About Communify:

Communify is committed to supporting people across all life stages and experiences to lead active, health and socially connected lives. We provide programs and services in areas of aged care, children, family and individual support, mental health, disability, housing & homelessness, drug & alcohol recovery and NDIS. Through our Neighbourhood Centres and Community development Programs we also offer Emergency Relief, Social Inclusion activities, Food security, Multicultural Support, Community Gardens and Venue Hire.

Incentives include:

• Salary Packaging providing tax benefits.
• Personalised Employee Assistance Program (EAP).
• Strong commitment to regular and meaningful supervision.
• Professional development budget and dedication to supporting the learning and growth of staff members.
• Diverse and inclusive values-based organisation that prides itself on being flexible and supportive.

About Communify’s Medicare Mental Health Centre:

Communify’s Medicare Mental Health Centres (MMHC) are safe and welcoming spaces that provide high-quality mental health supports delivered by a multi-disciplinary team of professionals and people with a lived experience of mental health. Funded by Brisbane North PHN, the centres provide free, integrated support over extended hours for individuals with moderate to severe mental health concerns and complex life circumstances, as well as support for carers and families.

A key element of the Redcliffe MMHC is the Lived/Living Experience (Peer) Team and the Peer first, Peer throughout, and Peer last model integrated into the MMHC. We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive workforce. We strongly encourage applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, people with disability, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, and people of diverse genders and sexual orientations. If you require adjustments during the recruitment process, please let us know.