Research Assistant

Location: Melbourne | Eastern Metropolitan

Job type: Not provided

Organisation: Monash Health

**Salary**: Salary not specified

Occupation: Nursing

Reference: 54354

**About Monash Health**

**About Monash Mental Health**

Monash Health Mental Health Program provides a range of community, bed-based and specialist services covering the Casey, Cardinia, Greater Dandenong, Kingston and Monash LGAs - a population of nearly one million. It has an operational budget of $130 million and employs approximately 820 EFT, representing over 1000 staff.

The Program has a number of clinical units including three area mental health services (Casey, Dandenong and Clayton), an Early in Life Mental Health Service (comprising infant, child and adolescent), a Young Persons’ Mental Health Service (18 - 25 years), Psychology Specialist Services (PsySS), a Drug & Alcohol service, and five Prevention and Recovery Care Services (PARCS) across the Monash Health Network Catchment. The Program has a 24hr Psychiatric Triage Phone service covering all ages. There is also a Gender Dysphoria Clinic which is based at Clayton Campus. Southern Synergy, a part of the Mental Health Program, supports the Program’s research and quality improvement activities. The clinical service is supported by an aligned operational structure to enable the provision of high quality service through the creation of clinical-operational partnerships - to support staff, patients, carers and their families - as well as a strong professional structure that supports the governance of the health professional workforce. Together, we seek to deliver quality patient-centred health care and services that meet the needs of our diverse communities.

**About the Team and the Role**

The Mental Healthcare and Adult Autism Project (MHAAP) is a specialist service supporting autistic consumers with co-occurring mental health difficulties. The MHAAP service provides diagnostic services, education and capacity building to mental health clinicians across Monash Health to better support and understand autism in adulthood. MHAAP were recently awarded a seeding grant to evaluate the feasibility of adult autism assessments in tertiary mental health services. As a result MHAAP has an exciting opportunity for a Consumer Research Assistant available on a fixed-term contract working flexibly over 6-months. The Consumer Research Assistant will conduct interviews with consumers, carers, and clinicians to understand their experiences of conducting and undergoing an autism assessment in an Australian tertiary mental health program. This role is based at Dandenong but may require work across other Monash Health sites.

**In this role your primary responsibilities will include**:

- Liaising and consulting with consumers and clinicians through a range of activities, primarily interviews, to ensure their broad views and experiences are understood and communicated to the MHAAP service
- Contributing a living experience of autism and mental health challenges to quality improvement, policy, service design, and evaluation
- Contributing a living experience of autism and mental health challenges to the development and delivery of autism and mental health training programs
- Identifying opportunities for systemic advocacy activities that promote consumer wellbeing, engagement and participation.

**What You Need**:

- Living experience of autism and mental health difficulties
- Ability and willingness to share own living experience as appropriate to support others
- Enthusiastic, compassionate & able to work collaboratively
- Australian working rights
- Relevant Qualification in health/ social sciences
- Familiarity and/or demonstrated experience in qualitative research
- Current Victorian Driver’s License
- A working with children check

Monash Health recognises the value of equal employment opportunity and is committed to patient safety and promoting fairness, equity and diversity in the workplace. At Monash Health we are relentless in our pursuit of excellence and work to our six guiding principles.

**What We Offer**:

- access to Monash Health in-house learning portals to further expand your acute clinical skills & knowledge base
- mentorship & career guidance
- support to attend relevant forums & conferences
- a supportive learning environment, should you wish to undertake postgraduate studies

In addition, you will have access to benefits including salary packaging to increase your take-home pay, access to onsite staff discounted car parking and gym, uniform and the Employee Assistance Program (EAP).

**How to Apply**

Monash Health recognises the value of equal employment opportunity and is committed to patient safety and promoting fairness, equity, and diversity in the workplace. At Monash Health we are relentless in our pursuit of excellence and work to our six guiding principles.

Offers of employment can only be made once all required probity checks have been completed. These inclu