Current Job Opportunities

Working as part of the national team of Development Officers, the Development Officer for this position will work a five-day week covering the geographical locations of Midlands Louth & Meath. The essential role of the Development Officer is to deliver on the core objectives of Mental Health Ireland’s Strategy. This will include supporting the establishment, operation and development of the network of local Mental Health Associations, the coproduction and delivery of Mental Health Promotion projects, Recovery education / recovery orientated Initiatives and delivery of training to community and corporate organisations and members of the public. The Development Officer will represent Mental Health Ireland in the Midlands Louth & Meath in collaboration with the HSE and other related stakeholders in the community both statutory and voluntary with the objective of working to improve the mental health and wellbeing of the population. The Development Officer will report to the National Development Manager (Community) and work closely with both the national office team and the Development Officer team to coproduce projects, campaigns and communication and to share expertise and unique local initiatives. The role demands flexible working hours which will necessitate some attendance at out of hours meetings/events related to the duties of a Development Officer.
The applicant must have the necessary experience and capacity for lone working and to work on their own initiative. Members of the Development Officer team are also required to lead on National Projects and Programmes from time to time.
The successful candidate will have a minimum of 5 years’ experience working in a relevant mental health and related community/voluntary sector.

You will be required to have:
• Proven experience in mental health and mental health promotion.
• A recognised third level qualification in health and/or social care or equivalent.
• A demonstrable understanding and knowledge of mental health promotion underpinned by recovery principles.
• A proven track record of working in a team environment.
• Experience of promoting and sharing knowledge and skills that can benefit an organisation as a whole.
• Promoting an open knowledge-sharing environment that builds knowledge, skills and service for the benefit of the organisation as a whole.
• Experience of volunteering and working with volunteers.
• Proven experience coproducing and delivering training and group facilitation.
• Commitment to the mission values & strategy of Mental Health Ireland.
• Knowledge of the health and social policy context in which Mental Health Ireland operates.
• Experience and accreditation in Train the trainer.
• Knowledge of how mental health services are delivered by the HSE and other providers.
• The ability to represent Mental Health Ireland across a diverse range of audiences and to build effective relationships with Mental Health Associations, HSE, service user groups, community/ voluntary organisations, cross sectoral stakeholders and the media.
• Demonstratable exceptional communication, networking and interpersonal skills, both verbal and written.
• Strong analytical skills with an ability to access information accurately, quickly and to strategically implement.
• Excellent organisational and ICT skills (Information Communication Technology).
• A high level of motivation, experience and capacity for lone working and working on one’s own initiative.
• To have their own car, a clean driving licence and indemnify Mental Health Ireland on their Insurance policy in line with revenue requirements.

How to apply: To apply for this position, please submit a cover letter setting out your reasons for applying for the position along with your Curriculum Vitae to recruitment@mentalhealthireland.ie Download the full Job Description below. Closing date for applications is 12 noon on 1st September 2025. Applications received outside this time will not be considered. Shortlisting will be carried out based on the information received in your CV and letter of application. Interviews will be held on week commencing 8th September 2025. For informal enquiries, please contact our National Development Manager, Mr. Conor Geoghegan conorg@mentalhealthireland.ie Please ensure to include the relevant Job Reference Number 2025-015 in your letter of application and CV.

The continued development of recovery orientated services is a key priority of mental health services. The development of ‘A National Framework for Recovery in Mental Health 2024–2028’ sets out an understanding of recovery and recovery orientated services, the core values that underpin it, and the actions and measures that support such a service. This is also in line with Mental Health Ireland’s strategy 2025-2027 – Empowering, Educating and Connection Communities (Priority Area 1, Objective 1.)
Discovery College West is a Recovery Education initiative for young people aged between 12 and 25 that aims to promote positive mental health and wellbeing, facilitate prevention and early intervention, and foster mental health recovery in this population. It is a community facing recovery education service, open to all in that age cohort across Roscommon, Galway and Mayo. The reach is therefore broad and to date has included CAMHS, AMHS, local schools and youth organisations/ services. The project was initially successfully piloted in Roscommon in 2019, leading to the appointment of a Discovery College Peer Educator in October 2022.
Discovery College West, which is the first of its kind in Ireland, introduces a brand-new recovery focussed way of learning, where workshops are created and facilitated by young people who have lived experience of mental health difficulties, family members of those who use the services, and mental health professionals from CAMHS and AMHS. All aspects of Discovery College West take place in a relaxed peer supported environment where everyone is equal, and all contributions are respected. As the workshops promote group interaction and are experiential, participants learn not only from the facilitators, but also from one another.
The Recovery Education Facilitator (REF) will support the coproduction and co-facilitation of the workshops, the co-ordination of day-to-day operations, communications, administration, and evaluations of this initiative.
The REF will also be one of the primary investigators in the new EIRE (efficacy and impact of recovery education) research project. This study will use a form of co-production termed ‘Participatory Action Research’ (PAR) to aid in the development of a measurement tool. The aim is to create a novel measurement tool that can examine the impact of Recovery Education.

How to apply:

To apply for this position, please submit a cover letter setting out your reasons for applying for the position along with your Curriculum Vitae to recruitment@mentalhealthireland.ie Download the full Job Description from the Mental Health Ireland website. Closing date for applications is 12 noon on 19th September 2025 at 12pm. Applications received outside this time will not be considered. Shortlisting will be carried out based on the information received in your CV and letter of application. Interviews will be held week commencing 2nd October 2025. Applications received outside this time will not be considered For informal enquiries, please contact Chloe Costello, Peer Recovery Educator Discovery College West 087 4423766 or chloe.c@mentalhealthireland.ie Or Orla O Duinn, Occupational Therapist Manager / HSE lead for Discovery College West 087 6502715 or Orla.oduinn@hse.ie

Please ensure to include the relevant Job Reference Number 2025-013 in your letter of application and CV.

This post will be delivered in partnership with HSE Health and Wellbeing Mid West and Mental Health Ireland. The post holder will work together with statutory and community partners in the Mid West to enhance mental health promotion activities across our community. Mental Health Ireland (MHI) is a national voluntary organisation promoting mental health, wellbeing & recovery using a process called coproduction to ensure that the voices of the end user are heard at all stages of programme development, delivery, and evaluation. The HSE Mid West Health Region manages and delivers all public health and social care services for Limerick, Clare and North Tipperary serving a population of 413,059. Health and Wellbeing take a whole of population approach to supporting people to stay healthy and well throughout their lives. The Health & Wellbeing Division in the Mid West is responsible for working with a wide range of statutory and non-statutory bodies to represent and advance a whole of government approach to implementing public health policy. Health and Wellbeing has a particular focus on members of our communities who are the most marginalised and experience inequalities in respect of their health and health outcomes. Mental health promotion is an integral part of health and wellbeing, as promoting good mental health is essential to improve overall population health. There is compelling international evidence that interventions aimed at enhancing positive mental health can result in enduring impact on multiple areas of functioning and also reduce the risk factors for developing mental health difficulties. The HSE’s mental health promotion plan, Stronger Together, takes a lifespan approach to promoting mental health and wellbeing across the population. In Dec 2024 the Department of Health launched the national mental health promotion plan, Pathways to Wellbeing 2024–2030. This plan marks an important milestone in the mental health policy journey that the Department of Health has embarked upon. This plan builds on the important work carried out through Stronger Together and will deliver actions across government which improve people’s mental health and wellbeing through universal supports for all, and targeted supports addressing the needs of those most at risk of experiencing mental health difficulties

The role of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Officer is to promote mental health on three levels:

• Individual level through the delivery of agreed evidence-based programmes.
• Community level through developing strong partnerships across the communities of the Mid West to understand and respond to their mental health promotion needs.
• Structural level – using the strategies above to introduce a strong mental health and wellbeing focus to the established structures in the region with the aim of agreeing a multi sectoral programme of work.

The Mental Health and Wellbeing Officer will work with local HSE Health and Wellbeing multi-disciplinary team, the Mental Health Ireland Development Officer and local community partners to:
1. Develop a Stronger Together & Pathways to Wellbeing local implementation plan for the Mid West (2024 – 2030).
2. Work with HSE Health and Wellbeing, MHI and local community partners to deliver on agreed elements of the plan.
3. In conjunction with the Health and Wellbeing multidisciplinary team and community partners, deliver a suite of standardised evidence based mental health promotion programmes, with a particular focus on:
a. HSE Minding your Wellbeing programmes
b. HSE Balancing Stress programme
c. Act-Belong-Commit community-based mental health promotion initiative
4. Contribute to the development of evidence-based standardised mental health promotion training models as appropriate
5. Support and strengthen existing relations with the community and not for profit sector to ensure key priorities under Stronger Together and Pathways to Wellbeing are achieved.

The Mental Health and Wellbeing Officer will report to the HSE Health Promotion and Improvement Manager and work collaboratively with the Mid West MHI development officer and other relevant members of Mental Health Ireland and HSE team to coproduce projects, campaigns and communication and to share expertise and unique local initiatives. The role demands flexible working hours which will necessitate some attendance at out of hour’s meetings/events. The applicant must have the necessary experience and capacity for lone working and to work on their own initiative. Members of the Development Officer team will support on National Projects and Programmes.

How to apply:

To apply for this position, please submit a cover letter setting out your reasons for applying for the position along with your Curriculum Vitae to recruitment@mentalhealthireland.ie Download the full Job Description below.

Closing date for applications is 12 noon on Friday 19th September 2025. Applications received outside this time will not be considered. Shortlisting will be carried out based on the information received in your CV and letter of application. Interviews will be held on week commencing 29th September 2025. Applications received outside this time will not be considered. For informal enquiries, please contact our National Development Manager (Programmes), Ms Jo Donohoe Jo@mentalhealthireland.ie Please ensure to include the relevant Job Reference Number 2025-010 in your letter of application and CV.