Peer Support Worker

St Giles Trust; Warwick; On-site; GBP 25,000 - 30,000; Full time

Job summary

St Giles Trust is seeking a compassionate and proactive Peer Support Worker to join their Forensic Community Mental Health Team in Coventry and Warwickshire. This role involves providing essential one-to-one support for clients facing mental health challenges and engaging with various agencies to ensure effective care and follow-up. Ideal candidates will have personal experience related to the criminal justice system and relevant qualifications, along with strong communication and interpersonal skills.

Benefits

Competitive salary

Generous leave allowance

Staff pension

Flexible working options

Mentoring programme

Advice and counselling service

Clinical therapist sessions

Life insurance (4x annual salary)

Duvet days

Season ticket loan

Employee perks programme

Eye care vouchers

Qualifications

• Direct or indirect personal experience of the criminal justice system.
• Experience with mental health issues and vulnerable groups.
• Understanding of creating and using support plans.

Responsibilities

• Provide emotional and practical support to clients with mental health conditions.
• Develop support and risk management plans based on assessments.
• Liaise with St Giles teams and other agencies for effective client support.

Skills

Excellent IT skills

Interpersonal skills

Communication skills

Prioritisation skills

Education

Relevant qualification or working towards one

Job description

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Are you a proactive, organised, and compassionate individual with a proven record of working collaboratively with multi-agency partners and providing vital support, advice, and advocacy to vulnerable people?

If so, St Giles is looking for a highly motivated Peer Support Worker to engage with and provide one-to-one peer-led support to people who are not only experiencing mental health conditions but who also present with risk and behaviours that bring them into the forensic arena.

About St Giles Trust
An ambitious, well-established charity that helps people facing adversity to find jobs, homes, and the right support they need. Central to our ethos is our belief that people with first-hand experience of successfully overcoming issues such as offending backgrounds, homelessness, addictions, and gang involvement hold the key to positive change in others.

About this key role

Based within the Forensic Community Mental Health Team in Coventry and Warwickshire, you will provide emotional and practical support to your referred clients, and assess, with reference to St Giles Trust/Forensic Community Mental Health Team assessment practices, each individual, producing support and risk management plans based on these assessments. We will rely on you to liaise closely with other St Giles teams regarding referrals, avoiding duplication, and to support those referred to access and engage with suitable support agencies, while also developing strong relationships with statutory agencies.

An important element of this role is to deliver a holistic support service, working independently or with colleagues as the situation dictates, to each of your clients, as well as ensuring you close cases efficiently and positively, identifying a success plan for the client including agencies that can be used for ongoing support or if serious problems develop in the future.

What we are looking for

• Relevant direct or indirect personal experience of the criminal justice system
• Experience of working and engaging positively with people who have a history of substance use, mental health issues, offending, or other vulnerable groups, reluctant to discuss their needs, and people who are angry and confused
• To have a relevant qualification to a good standard or be working towards one
• An understanding of the need to use support plans to enable people to successfully access accommodation and support services
• Excellent IT, prioritisation, interpersonal, and communication skills, both verbal and written
• A flexible, collaborative, and professional approach to your work

As an organisation that works with children and adults at risk, we are committed to safeguarding, protecting, and promoting the safety of our clients. Successful applicants will require an Enhanced Child and Adult DBS Check with Child Barred list.

We actively encourage people with personal experience of the criminal justice system or lived experience of the issues facing this client group to apply for this role.

In return, you can expect a competitive salary, generous leave allowance, staff pension, flexible working, a mentoring programme, an advice and counselling service, clinical therapist sessions, life insurance (4x annual salary), duvet days, season ticket loan, employee perks programme, eye care vouchers, and much more.