Mental Health Worker - Ongoing & Talent Pool

Mental Health Worker

Ongoing and Talent Pool – Liverpool only

• Ongoing –Full-Time 35 hours per week
• Talent Pool
• Mental Health Worker Clerk 6/7 (between $104,011 - $113,562 plus super & annual leave loading)
• Location –  Liverpool

About us

Legal Aid NSW helps people with their legal problems. We can help people with most areas criminal law, family law and every day civil law legal issues. We give legal advice, help at court and do family dispute resolution. We can do this over the telephone or at one of our 28 offices.

About the role

The Domestic Violence Unit (DVU) is a specialist family and domestic violence service at Legal Aid NSW, established in 2015. The DVU is a statewide interdisciplinary team of lawyers, specialist domestic violence case workers, mental health workers, and financial counsellors. Together, they provide trauma-informed services to clients by assisting with their legal and non-legal needs.
 

As a Mental Health Worker, you will:

• Support and assist eligible clients to make informed decisions about their mental health, minimising the negative impacts and re-traumatisation associated with engaging in family law matters involving family violence.
• Provide support, referral assistance, risk assessment, safety planning, and support in attending Court, as well as other services and clinical expertise.

About you 

The successful applicant will have experience working with clients who have psychosocial and identified mental health needs, particularly those impacted by domestic and family violence. Additionally, experience in supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients and demonstrating cultural sensitivity is highly regarded. You will be passionate about adopting a person-centred approach to positively impact the lives of others. You will have demonstrated experience and understanding of mental health issues and the challenges individuals face.

You will have the ability to work independently and collaboratively within the team, providing practical support, advocacy and resources when needed. You will have strong verbal and written skills to be able to plan, implement, deliver, and evaluate plans for key stakeholders. You will have demonstrated experience in providing emotional, practical and general support using your interpersonal skills to assist key stakeholders.

We may use this recruitment to create a talent pool for similar ongoing or temporary vacancies we have over the next 18 months.

WHY YOU SHOULD JOIN LEGAL AID NSW!

We are committed to diversity and inclusion

We are committed to creating a culturally safe and genuinely inclusive organisation and workplace for everyone who works and interacts with us. We strive to be a place where people from diverse backgrounds want to work, where voices and cultures are valued and where people feel valued, welcomed, respected and heard.

We want a workforce that reflects our clients, so we can deliver a service that meets the needs of the community. We welcome applications from people with diverse backgrounds — including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people with disability, the LGBTQI+ community, culturally diverse people and other diverse communities. 

We acknowledge, support and accommodate the diverse access needs of people with visible and invisible disabilities. If you need an adjustment to participate in the recruitment process, or you’d like information about what we can do to help you, please contact our team at erecruitment@legalaid.nsw.gov.au.

Other benefits of working with us

• You will have access to training, development and mentoring opportunities.
• We are an accredited Flex Ready certified employer and are recognised as leaders in the area of flexible work. Most of our staff work flexibly — for example, from home some of the time or in a way that helps them balance family and work life.

The essential requirements for this role

You must have:

• 5 years minimum relevant experience
• Diploma Level 5 and above (2 years min study)
• Or Professional qualification and registration or eligibility for registration for Occupational Therapist, Social Worker, Registered Nurse, Psychologist, or Bachelor of Health Science
• Working With Children Check
• Must hold valid NSW drivers license

How to apply

You MUST submit your application online through iworkfor.nsw.gov.au. If you submit your application late or by email it will NOT be accepted.

Your application must include:

• your resume (no more than 5 pages)
• cover letter (no more than 2 pages). In your cover letter, please respond to the following targeted questions:

1. Give a brief example of trauma informed practice and ways it can be applied to working with clients with mental health issues. 
2. Provide a brief example (1 or 2) of where you worked as part of a multidisciplinary team or environment (e.g. with lawyers, police and/or non-government agencies) to support clients with a mental health issue. Please cover in your example the knowledge and skills you bring in working with clients with mental health issues.

Make sure your application is complete and you have answered all questions before you submit it.

Closing Date: Tuesday 18 February at 11:59pm   

Do you need help to apply?

It’s important to properly prepare before you apply for a role. Here is some other information to help you: 

If you have questions about the role, you can contact the Hiring Manager – Amanda Gale on email: amanda.gale@legalaid.nsw.gov.au

• If you are an Australian Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander and are thinking about applying, you can contact the Aboriginal Services Branch to arrange a confidential conversation about any questions you may have.
• The Role Description sets out the responsibilities of the role.
• The focus capabilities and key accountabilities in the role description indicate what is expected at that level. Being familiar with these will help you understand what the panel will be looking for in the successful candidate. 
• Applying for a Role
• Working at Legal Aid NSW