Peer Support Worker | Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust

Pennine Care NHS FT; Rochdale; On-site; GBP 22,000 - 26,000; Full time

Job summary

A mental health service provider in the United Kingdom is hiring Peer Support Workers to utilize their lived experience of mental health challenges to aid service users. These roles involve supporting individuals with personal care goals, facilitating community access, and offering emotional support based on personal stories of recovery. The ideal candidates will be proactive, enthusiastic, and passionate about mental health recovery. Benefits include flexible working and generous leave.

Benefits

Generous annual leave

Flexible working opportunities

Access to Continued Professional Development

Health and Wellbeing activities

Qualifications

• Experience of navigating mental health difficulties and recovery.
• Must be proactive and enthusiastic.

Responsibilities

• Work directly alongside service users on a 1:1 and/or group basis.
• Share lived experience to inspire hope and optimism.
• Support service users to achieve their personal care goals.
• Facilitate access to community groups and activities.

Skills

Lived experience of mental health challenges

Active listening skills

Empathy

Self-awareness

Job description

Do you have lived experience of mental health difficulties? Would you like to use this experience to support others?

We are delighted to be advertising this new opportunity for two full-time roles for Band 3 Peer Support Workers. We are looking for individuals who are proactive and enthusiastic with lived experience of mental health challenges to join our male low secure units, Prospect Place (Rochdale) & Tatton Unit (Tameside).

The Peer Support Worker role has been developed specifically for people with lived experience of mental health difficulties. If you have lived experience of recovery from mental health difficulties, including experience of inpatient/ward based mental health services and drug and alcohol difficulties, then this role could be for you.

As a Peer Support Worker, you will work directly alongside service users on a 1:1 and/or group basis. This will primarily be on the ward but sometimes you may also work with service users out in the community when they are utilising Section 17 leave.

As a Peer Support Worker, you will be acting as a role model by sharing your own lived experience of navigating mental health difficulties, inspiring hope and optimism to demonstrate that a positive and meaningful life is possible. You will empower service users to take greater control and responsibility over their own care and to successfully achieve their personal goals.

Part time and flexible working could be considered for this role.

Key Responsibilities

• The post holder will demonstrate an attitude which respects and values service users’ and their carers and have a clear understanding of professional boundaries.
• To act as a positive role model, showing professional and caring attitudes and behaviour towards service users, their families and carers and colleagues, always demonstrating the Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust values.
• To use active listening skills to help service users develop self‑understanding and identify their personal recovery goals.
• Ensure your peer’s goals are integrated and are reviewed on a regular basis, liaising with the multi‑disciplinary team as necessary.
• To communicate effectively with individuals and their carers.
• Model personal responsibility, self‑awareness, self‑belief, self‑advocacy and hopefulness via the telling of your own recovery journey to inspire and install confidence in peers.
• To raise awareness of a strengths‑based approach and associated language and to model positive, strengths‑based, non‑discriminatory, non‑jargon, trauma‑informed language in all areas of work.
• Participating as a co‑facilitator on more structured and formal group‑based interventions.
• Through interaction with service users advise staff of changes in risk, mental health and/or behaviour.
• Prioritise, manage and monitor own workload and handle the day‑to‑day organisation of workload with the support of the Team Manager.
• To accompany service users to appointments/meetings of their choice and perform a range of practical tasks, aligned to recovery goals and promote choice at all times.
• To facilitate access to community groups and networks that enable service users to participate in community activities, in order to maximise opportunities for taking on socially valued roles and a positive identity.
• To be available for 1:1 sessions with service users when not engaged in structured/planned activities.
• To support individual service users to collaboratively write up their care plans with qualified practitioners and identify their needs, goals and hopes for the future.
• To support individual service users to work on identified needs in their personal care plans, utilising and celebrating their strengths and reviewing their progress.
• To offer support to attend clinical review meetings and empower service users to feedback progress on their recovery goals; to offer support to empower individuals to work towards leading on their own clinical review meetings.
• Share and teach coping, self‑help and self‑management techniques within the peer relationship.
• Use own initiative, personal experience and job‑related training to decide on the approach and interventions required when working with a service user in delivering peer support, with supervision from the multi‑disciplinary team.
• Support other members of the multi‑disciplinary team in promoting a recovery‑oriented environment and in identifying recovery‑focused activities facilitating the sharing of information/education as required.

Benefits

• Generous annual leave entitlement for Agenda for Change and Medical and Dental staff.
• Flexible working opportunities to support your work/life balance.
• Access to Continued Professional Development.
• Involvement in improvement and research activities.
• Health and Wellbeing activities and access to an excellent staff wellbeing service.
• Access to staff discounts across retail, leisure and travel.

We are proud to provide high quality mental health and learning disability services, both inpatient and in the community across five boroughs of Greater Manchester – Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside and Glossop.

Our vision is for a happier and more hopeful life for everyone in our communities and our staff work hard to deliver the very best care for the people who use our services. We’re really proud of our #PennineCarePeople and do everything we can to make sure we’re a great place to work.

All individuals regardless of race, age, disability, ethnicity, nationality, gender, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, religion or belief, marriage and civil partnership are encouraged to apply for this post. We would also encourage applications from individuals with a lived experience of mental illness, either individually or as a carer.

This advert closes on Monday 15 Dec 2025