About Gidgee Healing

Gidgee Healing (‘Gidgee’) is an Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Service, representing the health needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanderer people across the Northwest, and Lower Gulf regions of Queensland. We are committed to supporting Aboriginal communities’ own solutions to living long healthy lives; strengthen their culture; and regain their spirit. Our mission is to provide holistic and culturally appropriate health services, underpinned by a philosophy of community participation, and with a strong focus on care coordination.

We provide a broad range of primary health care and aged care services, and we are now the largest Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Service provider by land area in Queensland. Our vast service footprint spans approximately 640,000 km2, including some 11,000 Indigenous people. Our service includes two Hospital and Health Service regions (Central West and Northwest) and shares its boundary with the Western Queensland Primary Health Network (WQPHN).

About the role

The purpose of this role is to provide strengths-based culturally safe support and mentoring to young people from Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander backgrounds requiring assertive mental health support. The Social and Emotional Wellbeing Worker will provide support to young people and their families/friends within a goal-orientated, young person-centered approach to mental health treatment, therapeutic interventions, and care coordination. The position seeks to reduce stigma and identify and address barriers that may impact Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander young people’s engagement to access mental health care. A component of this position will be around increasing understanding of the impact of mental and physical health issues and providing young people with a positive experience of help-seeking in collaboration with the headspace Mount Isa team and Gidgee Healing services.

This position supports young people who often fall through the cracks of the mental health system who struggle to engage with services and who present with diverse mental health concerns and other psychosocial factors and their families/carers. In this role, you will be well supported through a goal-orientated multi-disciplinary team environment and work closely with all staff and the headspace Mount Isa clinical team, to facilitate flexible coordinated mental health support and therapeutic interventions. You will uphold the values of Gidgee Healing and provide quality services within the scope of the position and associated delegations.

Desired Skills and Experience

• This is an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander identified role.
• Ideally hold a minimum Certificate IV Mental Health or equivalent health training and experience and/or relevant and equivalent experience working within a health, education, or youth setting.
• Demonstrated ability to engage meaningfully with Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander young people and their families with a passion, energy, and determination to make a difference to the social and emotional wellbeing of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander young people and their families.
• Ability to work independently and seek guidance and support when necessary as part of a multidisciplinary team with a “can do” attitude and a hopeful and optimistic outlook.
• Experience providing flexible outreach services to young people and families/carers.
• Demonstrated skills in risk assessment and care coordination in the provision of culturally appropriate mental health care including therapeutic interventions to young people experiencing mental health and/or substance use and/or other social difficulties within an evidence-based model.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills (written and verbal) to effectively liaise, build relationships and partnerships, consult, and negotiate with a wide variety of stakeholders.

General Criteria

• Demonstrated adherence to legislation, policies, and procedures and a commitment to EEO, WHS, risk management, and quality improvement practices.
• Working with Children Clearance (Blue Card).
• National Police Criminal History Report (less than three months old) with an acceptable outcome.
• Evidence of COVID-19 Vaccination status
• Queensland Driver’s Licence.
• First Aid Certificate (or willingness to obtain within agreed timeframe)

The filling of this position/these positions is intended to constitute a special/equal opportunity measure under section 8(1) of the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Cth), s 105 of the Anti-Discrimination Act 1991 (Qld)

For further information on this position please contact Human Resources at 07 4749 6510 or [email protected]