About the role

This is a genuinely exciting opportunity for the successful candidate to lead a critical engagement and strategic advocacy function within a purpose-driven organisation working to ensure lived experience informs mental health policy, services and system reform.

Reporting into the CEO, you will lead the organisation's dedicated Engagement Team and build the capability, relationships and engagement channels needed to bring the voices of members and communities into the organisation’s advocacy agenda. You will help translate what people are experiencing into clear intelligence, priorities and positions that can support meaningful policy development and influence.

Initially, a key focus will be around structured capability building; particularly strengthening the foundations of the engagement function, providing clear leadership, sound judgement and practical direction to a developing team. Over time, there is genuine scope to take increasing ownership of strategic advocacy initiatives, mobilise networks around priority issues and help drive the organisation’s influence with government and the broader sector.

Duties and Responsibilities

- Directly manage the engagement function, including the existing Engagement Lead and Membership Engagement Officer, with a First Nations Engagement Officer also expected to sit within the team.
- Provide ongoing management, supervision and development to build the team’s judgement, reliability and capability.
- Create the culture, accountability and practical structure needed for the function to operate effectively.

- Ensure the organisation can listen to, draw insight from and mobilise its members and networks.
- Help design engagement activity that is practical, inclusive and well managed, including consultation, events, workshops and regional engagement.
- Work closely with the policy leadership to bridge the space between

what needs to change and what the ideas are (policy) and how to build support and influence decisionmakers to make that change (advocacy). * Represent the organisation alongside senior leadership in regular meetings with disability organisations, government and other sector stakeholders.
- Participate in confidential, high-level discussions with Queensland Government and Queensland Health, including work connected to the National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Agreement.
- Liaise with national bodies, including the National Mental Health Consumer Alliance.




- Help convert policy positions into practical advocacy activity—for example, equipping members and networks to share messages, contact local MPs and build broader support.

Skills, Experience and Attributes

This role will suit someone who brings solid judgement, relationship-building ability and a practical, proactive approach to engagement. You will be comfortable working across the space between policy and advocacy: ensuring people feel heard, their experiences are reflected in the organisation’s priorities, and communities are supported to take part in change.

- Lived or living experience of mental ill-health or suicidality
- Experience leading, supervising and building the capability of a small team.
- Prior experience in advocacy, engagement or policy-related environments, with an understanding of how community insight can inform priorities, positions and change.
- Experience mobilising networks and encouraging people to participate in consultations, events and advocacy activity.
- You will work proactively and independently to identify needs, following up and creating momentum rather than waiting to be directed.
- You are comfortable managing competing priorities, defining scope, anticipating risks and keeping projects on track.

Benefits and Culture

- This is a full-time permanent role working 24 hours per week, across the days and times to work within your personal needs
- Opportunity to make an impact, engaging with people with lived and living experience of mental ill-health to influence and inform improvement of the Queensland mental health system
- Join a team where equity, respect, empathy, and collaborative teamwork are embraced
- Eligible for salary sacrificing benefits

Equity of access:

Rise: Queensland’s Mental Health Lived Experience Peak (previously the MHLEPQ - Mental Health Lived Experience Peak Queensland) is focused on the abilities of candidates to do the best possible job and will therefore work proactively with candidates to overcome any barriers for the right candidate taking the job.



Such accommodation can include but will not be limited to:

- Environmental modifications where possible to ensure accessibility and an accommodating work environment
- Flexibility around the days and times you work
- Opportunities to step up and step back where required for self-care

About the Company

Rise: Queensland’s Mental Health Lived Experience Peak is a not for profit organisation funded by Queensland Health. Rise's role is to provide policy advice and system advocacy for, and with, consumers of the Queensland mental health system, and in particular those who are marginalised or disadvantaged. It operates on the principles of equity, access, cultural safety, recovery, and human rights. Rise uses the terms “mental health consumers” and “people with lived experience”, and follows people’s own preferences about how they describe themselves. The organisation does not use “mentally ill” or “the mentally ill” in our materials, and we put people before conditions and rights before risks

Lived experience is a genuine occupational requirement of this role because Rise is a consumer-led organisation and the authority of our advocacy rests on it. Rise do not ask candidates to disclose diagnoses or to tell their story in any particular way. Rise ask that you have personal lived experience of mental health challenges, psychological distress or mental health service use, and that you are able to draw on it, alongside the evidence of our members, in systemic advocacy. How and when you share that experience in the role is yours to decide.

Note: We are not asking you to disclose the specifics of your lived or living experience in your application or throughout the interview process, but rather the perspective that this experience brings.

We want the recruitment process to work for you. If you need adjustments at any stage, including alternative formats for this pack, extra time, a support person at interview, or a different way of presenting your application, please tell the recruitment partner and it will be arranged

Click on the APPLY button, or for a confidential discussion, please contact Kiara Camuglia on 07 3846 7730.

Please include a covering letter outlining your interest in the position.

Please note: Applications will close on Monday the 28th of September.

All Candidates will be notified of the outcome of their application by email or phone.

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