About Australian Association of Peer Workers (AAPW)
The Australian Association of Peer Workers (AAPW) is a peer-led professional membership body for mental health and suicide prevention peer workers. It is a national entity, auspiced by the National Mental Health Consumer Alliance (the Alliance), in partnership with the Indigenous Australian Lived Experience Centre and Mental Health Carers Australia.
A membership body dedicated to strengthening, supporting and advocating for the mental health and suicide prevention peer workforce across Australia.
The Role
This role leads the communications, engagement, and member experience functions of the Australian Association of Peer Workers (AAPW). You’ll drive initiatives that attract, support, and grow a strong national membership of mental health and suicide prevention peer workers, while ensuring members feel connected, informed, and represented. This role offers the opportunity to shape a new national organisation at a critical moment for Australia’s peer workforce.
You’ll oversee AAPW’s public communications across digital and sector platforms, coordinate member services and events, and ensure peer workers have access to meaningful opportunities for connection, advice, and support. A key part of the role is gathering insights from members and the broader peer workforce to shape AAPW’s priorities, advocacy, and strategic direction. You will also lead jurisdictional and national co‑design activities, ensuring lived experience voices are embedded in all AAPW initiatives.
Key Responsibilities
- Manage day‑to‑day communications and engagement activities, including digital content, newsletters, social media, surveys, campaigns, and stakeholder communications.
- Oversee and continuously improve the Peer Worker Advice and Referral Line, including design, coordination, and administration.
- Plan and deliver member forums, events, and engagement activities that strengthen connection and participation.
- Lead member‑informed advocacy activities, including policy submissions, position papers, consultation responses, campaigns, and sector advocacy initiatives.
- Coordinate jurisdictional and national co‑design processes across all project streams, ensuring meaningful involvement of consumers, carers, peer workers, and stakeholders.
Essential Criteria
- Tertiary qualifications in a relevant field (communications, peer work, community development, social science, public health, public policy) and/or equivalent experience.
- Minimum five years’ experience in a designated Lived Experience role (peer work, leadership, policy, project, academic, First Nations, consumer, carer, or suicide prevention roles).
- Ability to communicate effectively with members, the peer workforce, and the broader community to support engagement and membership growth.
- Experience in a communications role, including leading communication strategy development and delivery.
- Experience contributing to advocacy, policy development, consultations, or sector reform related to peer work or lived experience leadership.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, including experience preparing submissions, reports, and public‑facing content.
- Experience coordinating communications across newsletters, social media, campaigns, websites, and stakeholder channels.
- Experience facilitating or supporting co‑design, consultation, engagement, or advocacy processes with diverse stakeholders.
- Experience coordinating engagement activities such as forums, working groups, surveys, consultations, or member initiatives.
- The role is national in scope and operates as a remote / virtual workplace . Willingness and ability to undertake regular interstate travel is essential.
- Reliable internet connection and work from home resources are essential.
Designated Lived Experience Role
We are seeking someone who brings personal or carer lived experience of mental health challenges, and recovery, and/or a lived experience of suicidality or suicide, and who has drawn on that experience in meaningful ways to support others, lead change, and influence systems.
This requirement is a genuine occupational requirement under relevant anti-discrimination legislation across Australia, including section 66(s)(c) of the Equal Opportunity Act 1984 (WA).
If you are unsure whether your experience aligns with this requirement, we encourage you to reach out for a confidential conversation. We are committed to a safe, inclusive and respectful recruitment process.
Beaumont People uses a trauma-informed recruitment approach. Applicants will not be asked to disclose personal details of their experiences. A simple self-declaration will be used to confirm eligibility, with optional opportunities to reflect on how lived experience informs leadership practice.
Application Process
To be considered for this position please apply now with your resume and submit your Expression of Interest via the online EOI https://forms.office.com/r/SckjYKUWYU – Copy and paste this link into the browser to access and fill out form.
Join us in making a difference and be part of AAPW. To be considered for this position please apply now with your resume. If you have any further questions, please contact Holly at holly.mccann@beaumontpeople.com.au
Beaumont People is exclusively partnering with Common AAPW on this recruitment, so please send all enquiries to the above email. There is no closing date for this role, please apply as soon as possible as all applications will be reviewed as they are received.
At Beaumont People, we are committed to creating a recruitment experience where people feel welcomed, respected, and supported. We value diverse perspectives and life experiences, and we focus on what people can bring, not where they come from or how their journey has unfolded.
We are especially mindful of the barriers faced by people from marginalised or underrepresented communities and are intentional about creating fair, accessible, and inclusive processes that support genuine participation.
We encourage open conversations about support needs. If adjustments or accommodations would help you engage fully in the application or assessment process, we are very happy to discuss what might be helpful.
