Senior Policy Advisor – Lived Experience

Senior Policy Advisor – Lived Experience, Advocacy and Reform

Crown Award - Clerk Grade 9/10

(contract end date: 2 January 2026)

Salary range: $120,859 to $133,183 pa and employer's contribution to superannuation and annual leave loading. 

The Mental Health Commission of NSW is seeking interested applicants for the position of Senior Policy Advisor – Lived Experience within the Advocacy and Reform Team. This is an exciting opportunity to join a small fast paced team that is committed to providing a high standard of project management, policy development and lived expertise to ensure the Commission achieves its required statutory functions and policy obligations. 

The Advocacy and Reform Team actively seeks the views of people with a lived experience of mental health issues and of caring, their families and kinship groups to help shape the reform agenda, reduce stigma and discrimination and promote general health and wellbeing.

The Commission is a small agency of about 30 FTE based in the Sydney CBD and working flexibly within hybrid workplace guidelines. 

ROLE OF THE ORGANISATION

The Mental Health Commission of New South Wales (the Commission) was established in July 2012. 

The Commission’s purpose is to monitor, review and improve the mental health and wellbeing of the community by undertaking strategic planning, systemic reviews and advocacy - all guided by the lived experience of people with mental health issues and caring, families and kinship groups. 

The vision of the Commission is: That the people of NSW have the best opportunity for good mental health and wellbeing and to live well in the community, on their own terms, having the services and supports they need to live a full life.

To improve the mental health and wellbeing of people living in NSW, it is essential that people with a lived experience of mental health issues and caring, families and kinship groups can participate in, influence and lead service design, delivery, monitoring, reporting, research, evaluation and improvement activities. This will achieve stronger services and better outcomes for all people in NSW.

PRIMARY PURPOSE OF THE ROLE

The Senior Policy Advisor – Lived Experience will join the Advocacy and Reform Team to provide leadership and input into the mental health and wellbeing reform program of work undertaken each year by the Commission. This includes developing and managing strategic projects which focus on elevating the voice of lived experience and caring, and advocating for systemic improvements, so the mental health eco-system supports people to live meaningful, healthy lives, free from stigma and discrimination. 

This role requires a resilient, highly energised individual who is capable of engaging and consulting with people with lived experience and caring, families and kinship groups and with local communities and organisations through their highly developed written and verbal communication and interpersonal skills.

This is a designated lived experience role and personal experience of mental health issues and recovery is required for this position. 

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

• Provide lived experience leadership and input into the mental health and wellbeing reform program of work undertaken each year by the Advocacy and Reform Team and across the Commission.
• Develop and maintain relationships with a range of stakeholders with a focus on people with lived experience and caring, priority population groups, lived experience peak organisations and other relevant mental health sector organisations.
• Investigate and develop innovative approaches and solutions to systemic issues and those identified in the Mental Health Commission Act (issues and population priority groups).
• Lead all aspects of complex projects, including design, contract management, implementation, and review phases, to achieve specified objectives, including the Commission’s commitment to co-design of projects.
• Undertake environmental scans and gap analyses to identify current and emerging priorities, with a focus on engaging with people with lived experience, caring, families and kinship groups.
• Prepare briefings, submissions and responses to requests for comment or information, draft speeches, correspondence, reports and issues papers.

ESSENTIAL CRITERIA

• Lived experience of mental health issues and recovery, and ability to meaningfully and purposefully use lived experience to influence system reform within the mental health service system. 
• Demonstrated experience working in a mental health service designated lived experience (peer workforce) roles, and ability to draw on understanding of the peer workforce and consumer and carer movements to inform work. 
• Demonstrated ability to engage with a range of stakeholders, including government and non-government organisations and with people with lived experience, carers and kinship groups.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills and the ability to organise and present complex information in a clear, logical and systematic way.
• Demonstrated advanced project management and writing skills.
• Demonstrated ability to develop, manage and evaluate projects.
• Demonstrated ability to display initiative; sound organisational skills, capacity to multi-task, meet deadlines and prioritise work in a high-volume work area.

How to apply

For applications to be considered, candidates must upload a current resume, a cover letter and responses to the 2 targeted questions below. The cover letter is to outline your capabilities and experience relevant to this role and should be no more than 2 pages.

The targeted questions are:  

1. What interests you about the role?
2. Describe a project you have led or supported which required you to engage with people with a lived experience. How did you approach the engagement process, what were the key challenges and how did you manage these challenges?

Part of the assessment process may include additional online capability testing, skills testing or work samples in accordance with the new Government Sector Employment Act 2013.

For more information on how to apply for a role in the NSW Public Sector please click here.

Click here for the role description LINK HERE 

For role related queries or questions please contact:

Deborah Howe, A/Director, System Reform at Deborah.Howe@health.nsw.gov.au.

Applications close: COB Sunday 12 January, 2025