Peer Support Worker

• Fixed-term Full-time (40 hours per week); 12 months parental leave cover until October 2027

• Service operates 24 hours, 7 days a week on a rotating roster (you MUST be able to work a mix of AM and PM shifts across all 7 days and be open to Awake shifts)

• Service hub is located in Rototuna, covering the Waikato region

• Ember Support Worker Pay Rates: $25.00 - $30.00 per hour (depending on qualification held and its equivalence to the NZ Certificate in Health and Wellbeing L4, with stepped increases based on tenure)

About Ember Korowai Takitini | Nga Matapono

Ember Korowai Takitini blends professional expertise and lived experience to offer a range of services and supports for anyone with mental health, addiction, or intellectual disability needs.

At Ember we support people to live the lives they choose, and we challenge the systems that hold them back.

We desire a society that better understands and responds to mental distress, addiction, and intellectual disability

Ember offers:

• Additional leave, including recreation days and study leave

• A comprehensive Health & Wellbeing programme, including health checks, flu vaccinations, and Employee Assistance Programme (EAP), and more

• Training opportunities for upskilling, personal & professional development, and career progression.

• The opportunity to make a meaningful impact every day in a values-led organisation

About the Service | Ko Te Whare O Waikato Services

Our Waikato services are responsible for delivering individual and clinical support programs for whaiora with high and complex needs from adult mental health and forensic mental health services.

Together, our Waikato Services form a talented, effective, and multi-disciplinary team who pride themselves on their ability to utilize their different skills, knowledges, and experiences (both personal and professional) to support their whaiora. By empowering their whaiora to build daily routines and by offering them on-going tools and encouragement, Our Waikato Services team support them to develop, grow, and flourish as individuals and within their communities.

About the Role | Nga mahi

Peer support is a challenging and deeply meaningful role that requires resilience, self-awareness, and the ability to genuinely connect with others. In this role, you will draw on your own lived experiences with mental health and/or addiction challenges as well as on the skills and knowledge you’ve gained working in community mental health settings to support and inspire the people you work alongside.

As a Peer Support Worker, you will:

• build authentic, trusting relationships and use your personal story to offer hope, understanding, and practical insight

• support tāngata whaiora to explore new perspectives, recognise patterns, and strengthen self-belief

• work collaboratively to find personalised solutions that enable tāngata whaiora to develop support networks and to live independently and participate in their community

• walk alongside tāngata whaiora as they try new approaches, discover their own strengths, and move toward the life they want

You will have | Nga Pukenga

• Your own personal lived experience of mental distress and/or AOD challenges. By “lived experience” we mean that you have the experiential knowledge — the learning, wisdom, and insight — that comes from having personally faced your own mental health distress and/or addiction, and worked toward recovery. This is required for this role.

• A New Zealand Certificate in Health and Wellbeing (Level 4), or equivalent

• A current Full New Zealand Driver’s license (required)

• A valid/current work visa, residency, or NZ citizenship (required)

• Experience working in the area of mental health and/or addictions with a client-centered, recovery-focused approach

• A passion for walking along side those in need, supporting on-going goals on the pathway to recovery (required)
  

Ready to make a difference?

If this sounds like you, apply now with your CV and cover letter telling us why you’re the right fit for this role.

“He aha te mea nui o te ao? Maku e ki atu, he tangata, he tangata, he tangata”

What is the most important thing in the world? It is people, it is people, it is people.

Ember is an equal opportunity employer. We welcome and embrace diversity and inclusion in the workplace and are committed to providing a safe and supportive environment for all. We particularly welcome applications from our Māori, Pacific and Rainbow communities.

We will interview candidates as applications come through rather than waiting until the advertisement closes. The vacancy may be filled earlier if a suitable candidate is identified.