News + Events
Peer Support Role Vacancy with Positive Women Victoria
19/05/2022
Peer Support Role Vacancy
After seven dedicated years, Heather Mugwagwa, well-known to many members and clients, will be finishing up with PWV. We’ll miss Heather, and are in awe of her amazing contribution to the organisation, which has transformed PWV and helped us connect with and support so many women. Heather’s last day will be June 3 … she will be in touch with members shortly to say farewell in her own words. Be assured you will continue to have continued access to peer support from our team!
Employment opportunity
It does mean PWV now has a vacancy for a Peer Support Worker and is taking applications for the role. You’d join Peer Support Workers Melissa Iddles and Bernadette Roberts, Communications and Engagement Coordinator Heather Ellis, and Executive Officer Kirsty Machon, to complete our small team.
To be eligible for the role, you must be living with HIV, and confident to draw on your own experience of living with a positive diagnosis to support other women. The peer support role isn’t a counselling or social work role. You’ll provide emotional assistance, guidance, and share information.
Peer support aims to build connections, reduce isolation and stigma, increase confidence and self-esteem, share knowledge, and help women to access care and services. The role entails working with members and clients of PWV to help them to develop strategies and pathways to support their wellbeing, through face-to-face meetings and at our events.
We’ll support you with all you need as you learn the role, but you’ll need to be:
- Willing and confident to communicate with women in person, as well as through technologies including FaceTime/Zoom, SMS, text message and email (a phone and computer are provided by PWV)
- Willing to attend PWV member events as part of the PWV team
- A great communicator, willing to talk about HIV with women from diverse cultural and language backgrounds and with diverse live experiences and views, without judgment
- In a comfortable place with your own HIV diagnosis, with an ability to set boundaries and understand that other experiences of living with HIV may be different from your own.
To find out more about the role, please carefully read the attached Position Description. You need to apply in writing, and address the skills, qualities and experiences you have that suit you to the role.
The position is 3 days per week (22.8 hours). PWV is based in offices in Southbank, Melbourne. There is some flexibility to work some hours from home, but travel to the office to work with the team, and travel to meet clients, will be required.
If you’d like to know more about what’s involved in the job, please read the attached documentation, and then contact Kirsty Machon for a confidential discussion. Email: kirsty@positivewomen.org.au or phone (03) 9863 8747