Peer Support Worker

Berkshire Healthcare Foundation Trust; Reading; On-site; GBP 37,000 - 48,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working

27 days annual leave + carry over/down

Career development opportunities

Cycle to Work and car leasing

Wellbeing tools

Retail discounts

Staff networks for equality

Generous leave provisions

Free parking across Trust sites

Job summary

Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is seeking a lived-experience advocate to join the Liaison and Diversion team in Berkshire. The role offers a tailored 18-month development programme to grow skills, confidence and accredited training, with flexible working options and opportunities to move into permanent positions on success.

The post supports individuals in the Criminal Justice System through recovery and engagement with health and social services.

Qualifications

• Must have lived experience of the criminal justice system
• Must have direct lived experience and be stable in recovery from addiction, mental ill health or other vulnerabilities
• Must clearly reference these experiences in your personal statement for shortlisting

Responsibilities

• Support service users with vulnerabilities through the Criminal Justice System using your lived experience
• Be a positive role model to inspire and guide service users towards engagement with services and recovery
• Provide emotional and practical support to service users to achieve positive futures

Skills

Lived experience of CJS

Empathy

Listening skills

Communication skills

Boundaries

Supportive role modelling

Job description

Have you ever been arrested, appeared in court on a criminal charge and/or been to prison?

Have you ever struggled with your mental health and/or have overcome difficulties with substance or alcohol use?

Could you use your experiences to support others?

Could you show the people we support in court, custody, and prison that change is possible?

If so, this is an exciting opportunity to join our award-winning Liaison and Diversion team and further develop your skills, experience and career.

Our tailored 18-month development programme will grow your skills and confidence and give you access to a range of accredited training to support your future career in healthcare.Many of our former peer support workers are now permanent members of our team and we have supported others into employment or further training.

We operate across the Thames Valley, but this post is predominately based in Berkshire, working for Berkshire Healthcare NHS Trust. You will be expected to provide one-to-one practical and emotional support to our clients and encourage them to access services which improve their health and wellbeing.

If you are stable in your recovery journey and can show us how you achieved this this could be an opportunity to start a new career in care.

The role can be part-time or full-time, part-time will be a minimum of 22.5 hrs/3days per week, and up to full time 37.5hrs per week. The post holder will be required to work flexibly to meet the needs of the service.

Main duties of the job

• By using your own experience of going through the Criminal Justice System, treatment and recovery you will be supporting service users with vulnerabilities going through the Criminal Justice System
• You will be a positive role model helping to understand, inspire, motivate, guide and support our service users to engage with services and work on their recovery. You will evidence and show visible recovery; showing that change is possible.
• You will offer emotional and practical support to our service-users by using your own lived experience of the criminal justice system and the challenges and fears this can create which will enable them to achieve a positive future

About us

Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is a specialist mental health and community health services trust. Rated 'outstanding' by the CQC, we're committed to providing the best possible care to people across Berkshire. As an employer, we're committed to offering an inclusive and compassionate environment where our people share in a sense of belonging and are supported to flourish.

Our values at Berkshire Healthcare are:

• Caring for and about you is our top priority
• Committed to providing good quality, safe services
• Working Together with you to develop innovative solutions

Your wellbeing is important to us. Some of the benefits of working for us include:

• Flexible working options to support work-life balance
• 27 days' annual leave rising with service + opportunity to buy and sell
• Excellent learning and career development opportunities
• 'Cycle to Work' and car leasing scheme including electric vehicles
• Access to a range of wellbeing tools and services
• Discounts at hundreds of popular retailers and restaurants
• Staff networks for race, diversity, disabilities, the environment and armed forces community to support equality
• Generous maternity, paternity, adoption and special leave
• Free parking across Trust sites

Job responsibilities

The must haves for this role:

Must have lived experience of the criminal justice system

Must have direct lived experience and being stable in recovery from an addiction, mental ill health or other vulnerabilities

**please make explicit reference to both of these within your personal statement in order to be shortlisted for this role**

Must have an awareness of modelling appropriate behaviours, having the capacity to cope when unsupervised; setting clear boundaries and seeking support and guidance to support and protect own recovery, health and wellbeing

Must have good listening skills and effective communication skills; to be able to engage appropriately with service users, carers, and colleagues, and partnership agencies.

For further information about the role, please see attached job description and person specification.

Please note: This role is not eligible for Skilled Worker visa sponsorship under current UK immigration rules. Applicants must already have the right to work in the UK.

Continuous Professional Development

• Willingness to undertake Care Certificate training.

Previous Experience

• Lived experience of the criminal justice system a minimum of being arrested and taken into police custody and demonstratable recovery of a minimum of 1 year of no longer being in-contact with criminal justice system
• Required to demonstrate a recovery capital and period of desistance 1-3yrs from using substance (inc alcohol) and a minimum of one year completing any licence conditions/requirements.
• Having direct lived experience of recovery from substance misuse, mental health or other vulnerabilities.

Knowledge, skills and abilities

• Willingness to share personal experiences in an appropriate way and maintain clear boundaries
• Empathy, patience, and sensitivity to be able to support people whilst maintaining boundaries.
• Willingness to seek support and guidance

Additional Requirements

• To be a UK citizen or have the right to remain status
• Flexibility to travel to all sites

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Employer name

Berkshire Healthcare Foundation Trust

Address

Lived Experience & Service User Engagement Manager