Join our Team
Lived Experience Led and/or Social and Emotional Wellbeing - Peer Practitioner
- Use your learnings from lived/living experience of mental health challenges to hold space and opportunity for healing
- Fixed term 12 month roles | Multiple Part time opportunities
- Geelong Location
Mind strongly encourages applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, people with a lived experience of mental ill health and recovery, and applicants from all cultures, genders, sexualities, bodies, abilities, spiritualities, ages and backgrounds.
Mind Australia is one of Australia’s largest providers of community-managed psychosocial services, supporting people experiencing mental health and wellbeing challenges to find help, hope and purpose in their lives. Operating for more than 45 years and employing more than 1,300 staff around Australia, Mind is a leading employer of people with lived experience of mental health challenges, recognising their unique ability to connect with and motivate clients and guide recovery.
About the role
Lived Experience Residential Service will provide free short-term support in a home-like setting for people experiencing mental health crisis and distress. This innovative trial service is designed and run by a highly experienced and skilled peer workforce. Lived Experience Residential Service will offer up to eight beds for anyone aged 18 and over experiencing high levels of distress.
We are seeking to create a team of Lived Experience Led and/or Social and Emotional Wellbeing Peer Practitioners for 12‑month fixed‑term, part‑time positions based in the Geelong area. You will utilise your learnings from lived/living experience of mental health challenges, languages of pain and other intersectional identities to hold space and opportunity for healing for those accessing the Lived Experience Residential Service.
Key responsibilities
- Demonstrate knowledge and abilities gained from both an individuals lived/living experiences, collective impacts and Lived Expertise, and be able to support the development of these approaches across the reach of Mind’s work
- Walk alongside people during their stay, ensuring that even in the moments where a person is experiencing deep distress you continue to be honest, and open, holding connection and relationship at the heart of your interactions
- Work to coordinate holistic care with acknowledgement of power dynamics being guided by autonomy and choice of the person you are supporting
- Connect with your team leads and your colleagues to support you in your practice and participate in collective care and solidarity
- Work from an Intentional Peer Support or Social and Emotional Wellbeing framework (for identified Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander Peer Practitioners)
What you’ll bring
- Completion of Intentional Peer Support Core and/ or Advanced Training and/or Social and Emotional Wellbeing Framework expertise and practice experience
- Certificate IV in Mental Health Peer Work, is desirable but not required
- Completion of other relevant Consumer Discipline trainings are desired but not required eg: Consumer Perspective Supervision, Alt2Su, Hearing Voices etc.
- Has a lived/living experience of mental distress and recovery and understanding of, and ability and willingness to, contribute this Lived Expertise in working towards greater social impact.
- Ability to share learnings from your personal story in an appropriate and purposeful manner to support, empower, speak about the times of hopelessness and the importance of hope, and support the recovery of clients.
What we offer as an organisation working to provide culturally responsive and competent working environment:
- Willingness to be with and listen to feedback from the workforce and communities with the intention of taking accountability
- Undertaking relationship building across Geelong region with culturally relevant organisations and Elders with the intention of providing culturally safe and responsive services
- Ongoing development of a Reconciliation Action Plan
- Ongoing advocacy to develop more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander roles
- Cultural leave
- Flexibility to adapt to challenges related to when cultural obligations intersect with the obligations of the service and role (gender, sexuality, religious/spiritual beliefs, language spoken, cultural and family contexts)
- Ongoing development of mentorship programs to support the development of culturally relevant practice
- Working towards developing an organisation wide intersectionality lens
Benefits
- Salary packaging up to $15,899 p.a. allows you to allocate a portion of your pre-tax income to cover living expenses (e.g. rent, mortgage, child care, car leasing expenses etc.)
- Option to access Meal and Entertainment allowance up to $2,650 p.a. via Salary Packaging.
- Access to our Employee Assistance Program (EAP), provided by Converge International, for you and your immediate family members.
- Fitness Passport - Access to our corporate health and fitness program, providing you and family with access to a wide choice of fitness facilities.
Interested?
To apply visit Mind Careers - reference number 498740. Online applications must be submitted by 11pm Wednesday 4 March 2026. Please contact the person below for more information.
Rana Te Huia – Lived Experience Service Establishment Manager
rana.tehuia@mindaustralia.org.au
We are committed to making reasonable adjustments to provide a positive, barrier-free recruitment process. If you require any support or reasonable adjustments to complete your application, please contact us at hr@mindaustralia.org.au
Position Description
The successful applicant is required to complete comprehensive reference and background checking prior to employment, including a Working with Children Check and NDIS Workers Screening Check.
