Peer Support Worker

Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust; Rawtenstall; On-site; GBP 26,000 - 27,000; Part time

Job summary

Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust in Rawtenstall is seeking a part-time Band 3 Peer Support Worker to join the Pennine Community Mental Health Rehabilitation Team (CMHRT).

You will contribute lived experience to support service users as they leave hospital and transition to community living, working with a multidisciplinary team for recovery.

The role offers flexible working and values lived experience as a key asset in facilitating recovery and engagement.

Qualifications

• NVQ Level 3/Diploma in Health & Social Care.
• Knowledge of working with individuals with complex mental health issues including co‑morbidities such as substance use.
• Understanding of how community networks and peer support can benefit recovery.
• Understanding of safeguarding both children and adults.
• Knowledge and experience of recovery assets in the community.
• Experience of working with a wide ranging and diverse client base and collaborating with various professionals.

Responsibilities

• Support service users to direct their own recovery through collaborative goal setting with teams and carers.
• Help service users identify strengths, interests and goals, guiding participation in activities.
• Assist service users to maintain positive relationships and address unhealthy ones.
• Provide community support and maintain continuity of contact when inpatient if appropriate.
• Model and mentor recovery skills using lived experience.

Skills

Empathy and compassion

Active listening

Collaborative teamwork

Person-centered approach

Education

NVQ Level 3/Diploma in Health & Social Care

Job description

Site L7F9 L4723 Community Living Skills Team (25-65) Town Rawtenstall Salary £25,760 - £27,476 per annuum, pro rata Salary period Yearly Closing 20/09/2026 23:59

Our Vision is to provide the best mental health, learning disability, autism, community, and physical health services for the populations we serve.

As an integrated Trust, Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust (LSCFT) delivers a comprehensive range of services, including:

• Primary and secondary mental health care for children and adults, including specialist inpatient child and adolescent mental health provision, perinatal mental health, and forensic services with low and medium secure care.
• Specialist mental health inpatient care for individuals with learning disabilities, alongside specialist community support for children and adults with learning disabilities and autism, including intensive support.
• Extensive community physical health and well-being services for children and adults, covering prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, and long-term condition management.

The Trust was first established in 2002 and employs approximately 7,500 staff who provide care from more than 400 sites. The organisation offers opportunities for medics, mental health, general nurses, children’s nurses, allied health professionals, psychology, administration and clerical staff, apprentices and volunteers, as well as those specialising in learning disabilities and community physical health services.

Mental Health Peer Support Workers (MH PSWs) give support, companionship andencouragement to people experiencing mental health difficulties. A quality that makesthem stand out from other staff is that MH PSWs draw directly on their own lived experiences of mental health difficulties or caring for someone else who is experiencing such difficulties. MH PSW roles are based on direct lived experience of mental health difficulties, or experience as a carer for someone with mental health difficulties

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a part time band 3 Peer Support Worker to join our newly developing Pennine Community Mental Health Rehabilitation Team (CMHRT). Our Peer Support Worker will work as a valued integrated member of the team and provide a lived experience of mental health rehabilitation and recovery knowledge to support service users as they leave hospital and whilst living in the community supported by the CMHRT.

Main duties of the job

Role is not eligible for sponsorship

• To support service users to direct their own recovery process through encouraging them to work collaboratively with teams, and where possible, carers, to identify their own goals and needs.
• To assist service users to identify their strengths, personal interests and goals, and support them to access and participate in activities which meet these, whilst demonstrating acceptance of and respect towards service users' personal beliefs, uniqueness and identity.
• To support service users to maintain and/or develop positive relationships with others and learn how to improve or eliminate unhealthy relationships.
• To provide support to service users in the community and maintain continuity of contact if they are an inpatient, as appropriate to the role
• To model / mentor a recovery process and demonstrate coping skills, using own experience.

Working for our organisation

LSCFT values diversity and inclusion, recognising that talent from varied backgrounds creates a flexible, creative, and effective workforce. We actively challenge discrimination and welcome applications from all, regardless of age, disability (including those with experience of accessing or caring for someone who has accessed mental health or learning disability services), ethnicity, gender, religion, belief, or sexual orientation.

Our aim is to reflect the communities we serve, so we particularly encourage applications from under-represented groups. If you’d like to discuss your application, please ask.

We also welcome individuals with lived experience relevant to the role or service area, as your insight brings authenticity to our services.

LSCFT support flexible working, we believe that a positive work/life balance benefits NHS employees through improved health and wellbeing. We would consider working patterns such as term time, part time, compressed hours and flexi-time.

The wellbeing of our people is at the heart of everything we do. We offer a wide range of resources, tools and support to help you thrive both in and out of work.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please see attached the job description and person specification for more information about this role.

Person specification

Qualifications

• NVQ Level 3/Diploma in Health & Social Care

Knowledge

• Knowledge of working with individuals with complex mental health issues including co - mobilities such as substance use.
• Understanding of how community networks and peer support can benefit recovery
• Understanding of safeguarding both children and adults.
• Understanding and knowledge of recovery assets in the community.

Experience

• Experience of working with a wide ranging and diverse client base, along with various professionals from other services

You are advised to consider applying for LSCFT vacancies as soon as possible as in some instances vacancies are closed as soon as a sufficient number of applications have been received. If you are not invited to interview within four weeks of the closing date then please assume that on this occasion you have been unsuccessful, as it is not possible to contact all unsuccessful candidates.

Please note that further communication from LSCFT will normally be to the email address given on the application form. You should also ensure that email addresses and telephone numbers are provided for your referees, to enable LSCFT to contact them.

Please ensure that you read the person specification as your application will be measured against this document.

If you use AI to assist with your application, you must declare this. Undeclared use may result in withdrawal. Please ensure your application reflects your own skills and experiences. While AI tools can assist, they may produce generic or inaccurate content. We encourage you to provide personal examples that demonstrate how you meet the essential criteria.

For all posts which require a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check please be aware of the Disclosure and Barring Service Code of Practice, a copy of which is available by logging on to the DBS website. If the post is subject to DBS disclosure, a charge will be made to the successful candidate(s).

Employer certification / accreditation badges

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Application numbers

This vacancy may close early if it receives a high number of applications. You are therefore advised to consider applying for this vacancy as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.