Peer Support: Gender Affirming Primary Care
- Coast wide support
- Fixed term
- 4-8 hours per week (0.1-0.2 FTE)
- $64,575 per annum 1 FTE
West Coast Health (WCH) is a Primary Health Organisation, a non-government organisation (NGO) that exists to improve the wellbeing of the people of the beautiful West Coast. As a community trust we are governed by a Board of Trustees with representation from the health workforce, Māori health providers, iwi, and the local community. At WCH we are committed to growing and supporting primary care in our communities, providing top quality healthcare services, and working to eliminate health inequities.
We are looking for an individual with lived experience of gender affirming health care who is able to support individuals / tangata whaiora (people seeking wellbeing) in our community throughout the West Coast general practices. This peer support role will work in partnership with individuals / tangata whaiora, whānau, and groups to listen to their goals and help them navigate and engage with the health system to help meet their health care needs in respect to gender affirming care.
As a newly established role within the West Coast Health, the Peer Support Worker will work closely with other NGO’s (Qtopia), community rainbow and gender diverse groups, primary care teams, and other community groups to continually improve and refine the supports they offer within the community.
About the role
The work of the Peer Support worker helps support clients to move seamlessly between primary care, community services, and secondary care where required.
The aim of the Peer Support worker role is to improve population wellbeing, prevent poor health outcomes, and address inequities in health outcomes for individuals / tangata whaiora in the Rainbow Community. Peer Support workers achieve this through direct client contact and developing connections and relationships with supports across the community and the health system:
- enthusiastically engaged in a peer support model of care that supports whānau seeking gender affirming primary care in partnership with the general practice team(s) and local experts.
- partnership with the practices providing general affirming health care and the GP/NP local expert(s)
- forms a collaborative working relationship with NGOs (Qtopia) to work with people to support gender affirming care
- assistance with care coordination and access to outside resources
Successful applicants will receive comprehensive training and ongoing mentoring as part of West Coast Health with the support of Qtopia.
Who we are looking for
- Lived experience of Gender Affirming Health Care
- Ideally a person who has an apprenticeship in Peer Support (Level 4).
- Ideally a person who has experience working in general practice, primary care and/or community settings.
- Is self-motivated, can work autonomously and collaboratively as part of a team.
- Empathetic and open-minded with excellent communication skills.
- Demonstrated experience of working within a Te Ao Māori environment and understanding Tikanga Māori, and/or experience working within a bicultural context with diverse communities and/or organisations
- Committed to ongoing professional development/education.
- Full clean NZ Driver License.
- Proficient computer skills
Applicants for this position should have NZ residency or a valid NZ work visa for at least 12 months and must already be in the country to be considered for this role.
Please email Roz Stuart: roz.stuart@westcoastpho.org.nz for a copy of the position description and application form.