Peer Support Worker

Ember Korowai Takitini • Hamilton, ON

1d • NZ$25 - NZ$30 • Onsite

About The Position

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. The organization supports people to live the lives they choose and challenges systems that hold them back, aiming for a society that better understands and responds to mental distress, addiction, and intellectual disability. This specific role is a fixed-term, full-time position covering 12 months of parental leave until October 2027. The service operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, requiring the successful candidate to work a rotating roster including AM and PM shifts across all days, and be open to awake shifts. The service hub is located in Rototuna, covering the Waikato region. The role involves drawing on personal lived experiences with mental health and/or addiction challenges, as well as skills gained from working in community mental health settings, to support and inspire individuals. This includes building trusting relationships, using personal stories to offer hope and insight, supporting individuals to explore new perspectives and strengthen self-belief, and collaborating to find personalized solutions for developing support networks and independent community participation.

Requirements

• 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.
• A New Zealand Certificate in Health and Wellbeing (Level 4), or equivalent
• A current Full New Zealand Driver’s license
• A valid/current work visa, residency, or NZ citizenship
• 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

Responsibilities

• 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.

Benefits

• 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

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: Associate degree