Peer Support Worker - Suffolk IPS Employment Service

Transformationunitgm; Ipswich; On-site; GBP 24,000 - 26,000; Part time

Job summary

A leading NHS organization is seeking a Peer Support Worker for a part-time role in Ipswich. The position focuses on supporting individuals with mental health needs to become 'work ready', assisting them through skills development and community support. This fixed-term contract allows for flexibility in hours and aims to make a positive impact on service users' lives through empowerment and practical assistance.

Benefits

NHS discounts for staff

Excellent training facilities and opportunities

Salary sacrifice schemes

Flexible working options

Qualifications

• Experience working within mental health or community support settings.
• Good understanding of shared lived experiences for motivating service users.

Responsibilities

• Establish supportive relationships to raise aspirations and access job opportunities.
• Assist service users in developing pre-vocational skills and confidence.

Skills

Communication

Empathy

Problem Solving

Education

NVQ 3 or equivalent

Health and Social Care related qualification

Job description

Main area Peer Support Worker Grade Band 3 Contract Fixed term: 9 months (31st March 2026 - possibility for extension) Hours Part time - 18.75 hours per week (Flexibility offered within a Monday - Thursday working week) Job ref 364-A-9033

Employer Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust Employer type NHS Site Ipswich, Suffolk Central, Suffolk Coastal Town Suffolk Salary £24,625 - £25,674 per annum pro rata Salary period Yearly Closing 24/06/2025 23:59 Interview date 18/06/2025

Band 3

About Us

EPUT provides community health, mental health and learning disability services to support more than 3.2 million people living across Bedfordshire, Essex and Suffolk. Also:

• We are among the largest employers in the in the East of England region, with more than 10,000 staff working across more than 200 sites.
• We run the COVID-19 vaccination programme across mid and south Essex and Suffolk and north east Essex.

EPUT was formed on 1 April 2017 following the merger of North Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (NEP) and South Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (SEPT). A new leadership team was established at the Trust in 2020.

Our vision and values

Our Vision

“To be the leading health and wellbeing service in the provision of mental health and community care”.

Our Purpose

“We care for people every day. What we do together, matters”.

Our Values

• We Care
• We Empower

Our strategic objectives

• We will deliver safe, high quality integrated care services.
• We will enable each other to be the best that we can.
• We will work together with our partners to make our services better.
• We will help our communities to thrive.

Our services

• Mental Health Services
• Community Health Services
• Learning Disabilities Services
• Social Care

Find out more about the services we offer in our service directory.

Job overview

Job Purpose / Summary:

Working within the Suffolk IPS Employment Service in support of local community mental health teams and primary care practitioners, you will be expected to ‘champion the employment agenda’, instilling the belief that people with mental health needs want to work and with the right support can work.

The role of the Peer Support Worker is focused around supporting an individual to become work ready. The Peer Support Worker will assist service users in raising aspirations and developing personal goals, with the aim to be supported into employment, by an IPS Employment Specialists.

The role will include 1:1 and group work and Peer Support Workers will support service users in developing pre-vocational skills. Pre-vocational interventions will be delivered by the Peer Support Worker and these will support service users to increase their confidence and work ability, develop a daily routine and engage in other opportunities that will enable them to become ‘work ready’

You will display excellent diary management in a combination of working in the community and clinical site

Main duties of the job

To establish a supportive and respectful relationship with service users, to raise aspirations to access employment opportunities.

To work primarily in direct work with service users on a 1:1 and in group settings as agreed with team service manager and team leader.

To help individuals to consider employment opportunities and identify their own achievable and meaningful recovery goals to compliment the work undertaken by the Employment Specialist.

To actively, practically and creatively support an individual to progress towards becoming ‘work ready’ through co-facilitating pre-vocational interventions on a 1:1 and group basis.

To support the implementation of groups; i.e. job clubs and employability workshops, to enable service users to write CV’s and create email addresses. In addition, to support service users in developing other areas of pre-vocational skills.

Draw upon own lived experience to inspire hope, model self-awareness and facilitate service users in developing their own resourcefulness for managing their health and wellbeing.

Facilitate and support access to community groups and networks that enable participation in activities, to maximise service user's opportunities for socially valued roles and positive identity

Working for our organisation

EPUT are looking for motivated staff who shares our Trust values of Care, Learn and Empower. In return, EPUT can offer you a range of benefits and development including;

• Season Ticket Loans
• NHS discounts for staff
• Excellent Training facilities and opportunities
• Buying and Selling annual leave scheme
• The opportunity to work bank shifts and expand knowledge and experience in other areas
• Salary Sacrifice schemes including lease cars and Cycle to Work
• Day One Flexible Employer

The Trust supports and actively encourages flexible working for all employees. We offer many options and you are encouraged to ask the recruiting manager what is possible for this role. If appointed, you will have the opportunity to apply for a flexible working request from the first day of your employment

Join our Staff bank

What is Staff Bank?

Our EPUT NHS staff bank is an entity managed by the trust that hires clinical and non-clinical healthcare professionals to take on shifts at our trust hospitals and community settings. Here at EPUT we maintain our own bank of specialist staff to ensure that we are able offer safe and effective care at all times.

All our permanent staff are automatically enrolled onto the staff bank however this does not mean you have to work any additional shifts, but the option is there for you if you wish.

If you are joining our Trust in a fixed term role, please indicate on your New Starter Paperwork that you wish to join our staff bank.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Key Responsibilities:

Please note that this role outline serves to provide you with an illustrative example of the duties and responsibilities you may be expected to undertake during the course of your normal duties. It is not an exhaustive list and you will therefore be required to undertake other responsibilities and duties that are considered to be commensurate with the band.

Core Functions

To establish a supportive and respectful relationship with service users, to raise aspirations to access employment opportunities.

To work primarily in direct work with service users on a 1:1 and in group settings as agreed with team service manager and team leader.

To help individuals to consider employment opportunities and identify their own achievable and meaningful recovery goals to compliment the work undertaken by the Employment Specialist.

To actively, practically and creatively support an individual to progress towards becoming ‘work ready’ through co-facilitating pre-vocational interventions on a 1:1 and group basis.

To support the implementation of groups; i.e. job clubs and employability workshops, to enable service users to write CV’s and create email addresses. In addition, to support service users in developing other areas of pre-vocational skills.

Draw upon own lived experience to inspire hope, model self-awareness and facilitate service users in developing their own resourcefulness for managing their health and wellbeing.

Facilitate and support access to community groups and networks that enable participation in activities, to maximise service user's opportunities for socially valued roles and positive identity.

Ensure that service user’s peer recovery goals are integrated into the Trusts care plan/CMHT process and are reviewed on a regular basis, through liaising closely with employment specialists and care co-ordinators as necessary.

To actively engage with colleagues and other professionals to ensure the needs of the client group are met through promoting recovery orientated, strengths based practice.

To attend and participate in multi-disciplinary team meetings.

To participate within Trust peer training and peer working networks. To be willing to develop self through specialist training opportunities, relevant to IPS, as agreed with team supervisor and team manager.

To have an awareness of Individual Placement and Support (IPS) model and how this is implemented within the service.

To actively take responsibility for own health and wellbeing through working upon own wellness plan/advanced statement and discussing/reviewing within supervision as necessary.

To contribute towards an individual’s Vocational Action Plan via effective communication with Employment Specialist involved in their support.

To continue to develop own understanding of government policy in the area of mental health and social inclusion, and to contribute to Trust policies and service development in line with this.

Any other duties as delegated by your Director or Chief Executive commensurate with the responsibilities of this post.

The above Job Description does not purport to be an exhaustive list of duties and responsibilities. The post holder will be expected to undertake additional duties as the requirements of the post changes.

OUR TRUST VALUES

You are responsible for ensuring that the below Trust values are adhered to daily in your work and whilst providing services to patients and their families: Open, Honest, Compassionate, Empowering.

You are responsible for ensuring that the values outlined in the NHS Constitution are adhered to daily and any matters of concern are raised with the relevant Line Manager or through the necessary processes within the Trust.

You are responsible for delivering a compassionate, dignified and respectful service to patients at all times.

DUTY OF CANDOUR

You must adhere to the principles of openness, transparency and the statutory duty of candour in your day to day work and conduct and encourage the same behaviours within the wider organisation.

Person specification

Skills : Experience

• • Experience of working within health, social care or the voluntary sector with people who have experienced mental health problems
• • Experience of developing local relationships with support services and understanding signposting
• • Experience of working to a high standard of administration procedures • Literate in IT/Computer Skills, including Outlook, Excel
• • Good oral communication skills based on fluency on the English language
• • Previous Experience of delivering Peer Support • Delivering Mental Health First Aid Training • Use of patient record systems to record client activity

Skills : Personal Qualities

• • Ability to assess and identify support needs • Able to construct and review person-centered action plans • Ability to be flexible, open and creative when problem solving, facilitating solutions to challenging situations
• • Commitment to working collectively and collaboratively with colleagues. • Excellent interpersonal communication skills leading to effective representation and promotion of the service
• • Ability to work independently, reliably and consistently whiles delivering support in line with Trust values, open, compassionate and empowering

Education / Qualifications

• • Good standard of education; NVQ 3 or equivalent
• • Educated to degree level; Health and Social care related qualification • Qualification in; Information, Advice & Guidance or Employability Service Sector • Trained IPS approach

Knowledge

• • Understanding of the needs and challenges faced by people experiencing mental health difficulties when looking for employment
• • Good understanding of the need for goal setting when delivering mental health support
• • Good knowledge of local and/or Government employment initiatives.
• • Knowledge of relevant Welfare Benefits, i.e. disability, employment and in-work benefits
• • Good knowledge of the link between mental health and employment
• • An understanding of the principles and practice of supported employment (IPS Model) • Knowledge of the Equality Act 2010

Additional Requirements

• • Ability to travel across sites and across Trust boundaries to attend meetings, etc. • Ability to work across community locations to the needs of service users.

Please note - staff who are formally at risk within the organisation will be given priority in securing alternative employment. Should it come to light that a post being advertised by the Trust is considered ‘suitable alternative employment’ to an individual who is at risk, the recruiting manager will be advised and the post will be withdrawn from NHS Jobs.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Applications for this role should be written by the applicant. If artificial intelligence (AI) programmes are used then the application may be rejected due to this document being an important part of the assessment process. This does not prevent applicants seeking appropriate support with applications should they need to for the purposes of any declared disability.

Important Professional References

Make sure that as a part of your application you have professional references with business contract information covering your last three year employment history. We are unable to accept personal or character references.

As a newly appointed employee you are responsible for incurring the cost of your initial DBS check relevant to your post, the amount will be deducted from your first salary with the Trust.

Applications for Job Share are positively welcomed.

Our Trust is an Equal Opportunities Employer. We particularly welcome applications from people with experience of using mental health services. We also hold the Disability two tick symbol and have made the pledge to commit to employing more people with learning disabilities, we encourage people with a disability to apply. If you require this application form in another format i.e. Braille or audio tape etc, please contact the Recruitment Department on 01375 364513 or email [e-mail] and we can arrange for this to be dispatched to you.

The Trust has the right to expire vacancies prior to the closing date if they so wish. The Trust makes every attempt to contact all applicants and we strongly advise that you check the email account which is registered with NHS Jobs regularly, we would advise however due to the high number of applications we receive that if you have not heard from us within three weeks of the closing date your application has been unsuccessful on this occasion.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults, and expect all staff to undertake this commitment. Applicants will be subject to robust safer recruitment processes.

Although Covid vaccinations are no longer a mandatory requirement within the NHS we continue to encourage and support the vaccination uptake as this remains the best line of defence against Covid19. The safety of our staff and patients is a top priority for us at EPUT.

If you would like to book a Covid vaccination or would like more information please contact us by emailing [e-mail] .

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.