Lived Experience Support Worker, Ref:0176Zs

Withyou; Liskeard; On-site; GBP 25,000 - 30,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

28 days annual leave

Birthday/occasion day off

Enhanced maternity, paternity and adop

Volunteer leave

Pension scheme

Blue Light Card

Flexible working

Refer a Friend £500 bonus

Job summary

WithYou is recruiting a Lived Experience Support Worker for our Cornwall-based Liskeard office. The role supports clients with drug and alcohol recovery, drawing on personal lived experience to engage and motivate service users.

The position is part-time (18.75 hours/week) with a salary of £27,250 per annum pro rata, including a £1,000 allowance. Closing date: 30 September 2026. Please submit CV and cover letter to [e-mail].

Qualifications

• Must have lived experience of drugs or alcohol and be willing to use it to help others.
• Relevant experience (voluntary or paid) in health and social care sector.
• Able to build trust while maintaining professional boundaries.
• Able to work effectively with people from diverse backgrounds.
• Able to work in a team and also use your own initiative.
• Desirable: driving licence and access to a vehicle.
• 3 years of references and an enhanced DBS check will be required.

Skills

Lived experience

Health & social care experience

Relationship building

Independence

Interpersonal skills

Willingness to share personal journey

Driving licence (desirable)

Job description

Join our team as a Lived Experience Support Worker in Liskeard.

Are you a compassionate and motivated individual who wants to change people’s lives? Our Liskeard Community Drug and Alcohol service is looking for a Lived Experience Support Worker to join them in providing high quality recovery care to a diverse client group. If you are looking for a role where you can connect with and support people who are using drugs or alcohol using your own lived experience, and are passionate about changing people’s lives for the better, we’d love to hear from you.

As a Lived Experience Support Worker in Cornwall you’ll join us on a salary of £27,250 per annum pro rata (this includes a £1,000 per annum allowance). This role is permanent and part time working 18.75 hours per week.

In Cornwall, you’ll be part of a dedicated local team supporting people across our communities to make positive, lasting changes. At WithYou, we’re committed to supporting our staff just as much as the people we work alongside. You’ll have access to a supportive and inclusive team environment and a range of wellbeing benefits to help you thrive both professionally and personally. If you’d like to find out more about joining our Cornwall service, please get in touch with our Recruitment Team at [e-mail].

Please note that having experienced your own journey with drugs or alcohol and being willing to use that experience to help others is essential for this position.

The closing date for applications is 30th September 2026. Please note: This role may close earlier than the stated deadline if we receive a high volume of applications, so we encourage you to apply as soon as possible.

All applicants must submit a CV along with a cover letter explaining why they should be considered for this role and more information about your lived experience with addiction. Applications will not be accepted without a cover letter.

We are looking for a Lived Experience Support Worker to join our North and East team. You will be based at our Liskeard office. This role is suitable only for candidates who have had personal lived experience of drug and alcohol issues and who are willing to draw on this experience in their day to day work. This is likely to involve disclosure of this personal experience.

We are part of a large integrated drug and alcohol service working with some of Cornwall's most excluded and disadvantaged people. Successful candidates will work as part of the adult community team, alongside in-house services which include outreach, hospital, clinical, criminal justice and a residential rehabilitation facility.

The successful candidate will work alongside Recovery Workers, using your knowledge and experience to encourage people to use the service and support them when they are not, working with individuals to achieve their goals. Using your lived experience, you will support our clients with their journey either into recovery or maintaining their recovery.

Our Lived Experience Support Workers are an active and integral part of our teams, bringing ideas and solutions so we can develop and improve our recovery communities and helping our clients to get onto the path to recovery. In your role, you will reach people through outreach, harm reduction, structured interventions and activities and will show through your own experience, knowledge and learning that change is possible.

We’re looking for a compassionate and motivated individual, with an exceptional ability to build meaningful relationships:

• You will have been on your own journey with drugs or alcohol.
• You will have relevant experience (voluntary or paid) in the health and social care sector and/or clear motivations for applying.
• You will be able to develop relationships of trust whilst maintaining professional boundaries.
• Ability to work effectively with people regardless of their backgrounds.
• You will have the ability to be part of a team and also be able to use your own initiative and work alone.
• Ability to build effective relationships with colleagues and other agencies.
• 12 months not in treatment and 24 months away from problematic substance misuse.
• Willingness to use personal experience to engage and motivate service users.
• Driving licence and access to a vehicle is desirable.

Above all, we are looking for someone who is passionate about what we do and has a positive and engaging approach to our clients and key stakeholders.

DE&I

As an organisation, we continue to build an inclusive culture that encourages, supports and celebrates the diverse voices and experiences of our staff. We know that representing the communities we serve is key to us meeting our vision of a future where everyone lives a life free from the harm associated with drugs and alcohol. We welcome the unique contributions that you can bring and we encourage people from underrepresented communities and backgrounds to apply to join our team, including people with lived experience, people with disabilities, people from racialised communities, LGBTQ+ people, people of all ages and armed forces veterans.

As part of our commitment to the Armed Forces Covenant we provide a guaranteed interview scheme for candidates that are veterans and meet all the essential criteria for a role. With You is also a Disability Confident Employer and we offer a guaranteed interview scheme for candidates with a disability and meet all the essential criteria for a role.

If you have a disability, a learning difficulty such as dyslexia or a medical condition which you believe may affect your performance during any aspect of our selection process, we’ll be happy to make reasonable adjustments to enable you to perform at your best.

Please note that you will be required to provide 3 years worth of references and where applicable, undergo an enhanced DBS check, to be considered for a role at WithYou.

Please review our

• 28 days annual leave, plus bank holidays
• An extra day off for your birthday or a special occasion of your choice
• Enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption leave
• 2 days paid volunteer leave per year
• Auto-enrollment into We Are With You’s pension scheme
• Access to a Blue Light Card - giving you great savings on big high-street and online brands
• Flexible working opportunities and access to a range of services and resources to support you with your wellbeing
• We have an excellent Refer a Friend scheme which offers you a £500 bonus for any recommendations, any role! Our scheme allows you to recommend your friends and family to work with us and earn a £500 bonus payment for every successful referral you make. Please note, the Refer a Friend scheme is only applicable once your recommended friend has been employed for 6 months