Lived Experience Support Worker

South West Community Chaplaincy; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 23,000 - 32,000; Full time

Job summary

South East London Mind is recruiting Lived Experience Support Workers to work within two South London and Maudsley (SLaM) CMHTs in Southwark. Using personal lived experience of mental health challenges, you will provide recovery-focused, person-centred support to clients accessing community services.

The successful candidate will have lived experience, be able to build trusting relationships, and work as part of a multidisciplinary team to promote independence and wellbeing within the community.

Qualifications

• Must have personal lived experience of mental health challenges.
• Experience supporting vulnerable individuals, ideally within a health, mental health, or clinical environment.
• Ability to build positive and trusting relationships with clients.
• Strong communication, organisation and record-keeping skills.
• Person-centred, strengths-based approach to supporting recovery.
• Work effectively as part of a Multi-Disciplinary Team while also managing their own workload.

Responsibilities

• Manage and support a caseload of clients within the Southwark neighbourhood CMHT.
• Deliver recovery-oriented peer support using lived experience, empathy, and understanding.
• Help clients develop confidence, independence, resilience, and life skills.
• Provide information, advice, signposting, and support to access local services and community resources.
• Support clients with practical tasks, including attending appointments, engaging with groups and activities, collecting prescriptions, and communicating with healthcare professionals.
• Promote the principles and value of peer support within the Multi-Disciplinary Team.
• Maintain knowledge of local community services and resources and share this information with colleagues.
• Identify and report safeguarding concerns appropriately.
• Maintain accurate records and contribute to monitoring and evaluation requirements.

Skills

Lived experience

Empathy

Communication

Organisation

Record-keeping

Relationship-building

Job description

South East London Mind is recruiting Lived Experience Support Workers to work within two of the five neighbourhood South London and Maudsley (SLaM) Southwark Community Mental Health Teams (CMHTs). Using their own lived experience of mental health challenges, the post holder will provide recovery-focused, person-centred support to individuals accessing community mental health services. Working as part of a multidisciplinary team, they will support clients to improve wellbeing, build resilience, increase independence, and access community resources through a strengths-based, holistic approach.

Purpose of the Role

This role aims to empower individuals to take a more active role in managing their mental health and wellbeing, increase their independence within the community, and access the support and opportunities that are meaningful to them in their recovery journey.

Key Responsibilities

• Manage and support a caseload of clients within the Southwark neighbourhood CMHT.
• Deliver recovery-oriented peer support using lived experience, empathy, and understanding.
• Help clients develop confidence, independence, resilience, and life skills.
• Provide information, advice, signposting, and support to access local services and community resources.
• Support clients with practical tasks, including attending appointments, engaging with groups and activities, collecting prescriptions, and communicating with healthcare professionals.
• Promote the principles and value of peer support within the Multi-Disciplinary Team.
• Maintain knowledge of local community services and resources and share this information with colleagues.
• Identify and report safeguarding concerns appropriately.
• Maintain accurate records and contribute to monitoring and evaluation requirements.

The successful candidate will:

• Have personal lived experience of mental health challenges.
• Have experience supporting vulnerable individuals, ideally within a health, mental health, or clinical environment.
• Be able to build positive and trusting relationships with clients.
• Demonstrate strong communication, organisation, and record-keeping skills.
• Take a person-centred, strengths-based approach to supporting recovery.
• Work effectively as part of a Multi-Disciplinary Team while also managing their own workload.

Successful applicants will be expected to undergo an Enhanced Level Disclosure and Barring Service check.

Closing date: Wednesday 30th September (11:59pm)

Likely interview date: Wednesday 14th October

About Us

SEL Mind supports people with mental health problems and dementia in the boroughs of Bromley, Greenwich, Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark. We are proud of our diverse workforce and know that our organisation is made stronger by the variety of backgrounds, experience, and ideas within it. We promote a culture of inclusion and representation, and are working hard to build a workforce that even better reflects the communities we support.
SEL Mind is somewhere that you can be your authentic self without fear of discrimination on the grounds of ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, neurodivergence, gender, age, lived experience of mental health problems or anything else that is part of who you are.