Peer Community Support Worker

New Horizons is seeking a Full-Time Permanent Peer Community Support Worker to join our team within the Housing & Accommodation Support Initiative (HASI) Program in the Northern Beaches area in Sydney. If you're passionate about making a real difference in our local community and want to leverage your lived experience to empower others, we encourage you to apply.

At New Horizons, we believe in the power of shared experience. We are committed to creating a unified organisation where our teams work seamlessly together to deliver exceptional service that truly enhances the lives of our customers. We align our work with our organisation's values, fostering a culture of collaboration, trust, and accountability. As part of our team, you'll be empowered to take initiative and use your talents to transform lives through services that embrace challenges with creativity and adaptability.

What is Peer Work at New Horizons?

Peer work is a special kind of support where the person helping has their own lived experience of mental health challenges, recovery, or using services. A peer worker is someone who has "been there too" and now uses that experience to walk alongside others, not as an "expert" to fix, but as someone who understands the journey.

Our dedicated Peer Workers are an integral part of our multidisciplinary teams, collaborating with other professionals to provide holistic and well-rounded support. They bring:

Lived Experience: Personal understanding of mental health challenges and recovery.

Empowerment: Supporting individual voice and choices, helping customers regain control over their lives.

System Navigation: Knowledge of the mental health system to help customers find their way through services, rights, and self-advocacy.

Hope and Realness: A powerful message of "recovery is possible" shared honestly, without pretending the journey is perfect or easy.

Specifically, this role provides psychosocial supports and works in partnership with people living with mental ill-health to live and recover within the community in the way that they want to. We empower our customers by supporting them to build independence, identify and achieve goals, engage in activities of daily life, and encourage genuine connections within the community, fostering a relationship built on mutual understanding.

The Day-to-Day

Collaborating with customers to develop individualised, person-centred support plans that incorporate their identified wellbeing needs, strengths, and goals.

Providing support to customers to improve their independence by assisting with skill development, transport, social activities, supporting with finances, attending appointments, cooking, medication and personal care, as well as other supports as required.

Supporting and encouraging our customers to participate in activities of their choice, such as social, leisure, sporting, educational, employment activities, etc.

Keeping customer records up to date daily using online systems and electronic databases.

Developing and maintaining professional relationships and networks with customers, families, caregivers, and key stakeholders.

Supporting customers to navigate the sector to access any additional service they may require.

Seeking out innovative ways to enhance the recovery journey and overall customer experience with New Horizons.

What You'll Bring to the Role

We're looking for someone with a positive, authentic, inclusive personality who brings their whole self to work every day.

A strong set of values that guides your work, incorporating our organisational values of passion, integrity & respect.

Great computer skills with proven ability to use Microsoft Office and customer relationship management systems.

Minimum Cert IV in Peer Work, or equivalent industry experience as a Peer Worker.

Valid NSW Class C driver's licence, with the ability to drive vehicles in this licence class, including large cars and vans.

Current Police check (not more than 3 months old), WWCC and NDIS WC to meet New Horizons employment criteria prior to commencing with us.

What We're Offering

New Horizons pays above the award & penalty rates

Salary Packaging: Take advantage of the tax benefits available only to employees who work for a not-for-profit organisation through lower tax deductions.

Entertainment card to package an additional $2,650 in tax free pay

Employee Assistance Program: Access confidential counselling services.

Fitness Passport

Professional Development: Grow through internal and external learning, workplace mentoring, and professional development opportunities, including secondments.

Work-Life Balance: Access flexible work arrangements, long service leave, and/or parental leave.

Supportive Culture: Work in a supportive culture and working environment where you feel heard and respected.

Reward program that recognises your achievements

How to Apply

Please submit your updated resume.

Please note that as part of our employment checks, we will request a Current police check (not more than 3 months old), a NSW Working with Children Check (WWCC) and an NDIS Worker Screening Check.

To help make the process speedy we encourage you to have/apply for the checks upon application as there can be some delays in obtaining these checks through the relevant services.

New Horizons values diversity and encourages applications from people from all walks of life. Our vision is to see happy, inclusive communities work together in collaborative and inclusive ways to create opportunity and improve quality of life. Our workforce proudly reflects the local communities we connect with and support. New Horizons acknowledges all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the traditional custodians of the land.

Ready to join a team where your lived experience is valued and helps others on their recovery journey?