Senior Peer Worker

Tees Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust; Barnard Castle; On-site; GBP 28,000 - 35,000; Full time

Job summary

A healthcare provider in the UK is seeking a Senior Peer Worker to deliver peer support in custodial settings, supervise Peer Workers, and promote trauma-informed approaches. Candidates should have personal experience of mental health challenges and relevant qualifications in peer support. Strong relationship and communication skills are essential.

Qualifications

• Educated to degree level or equivalent in peer support.
• Completed Trust Trauma Informed Peer Support Training.
• Experience of delivering supervision or co-supervision.

Responsibilities

• Provide peer support autonomously within designated teams.
• Facilitate peer support groups with a compassionate approach.
• Deliver 1:1 supervision to peer workers.

Skills

Peer relationship skills

Communication skills

Ability to deliver training

Understanding of trauma informed approaches

Education

Degree or equivalent experience

Completed Trust approved Peer Support Training

Job description

Senior Peer Worker

The closing date is 06 October 2025

Tees Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust is recruiting a Senior Peer Worker to join our Health and Justice services. The role will initially be based at HMP Deerbolt, with scope to expand across nearby sites to support incoming Peer Workers. This post is designed to deliver peer support in custodial settings and provide supervision to Peer Workers across the Health and Justice pathway.

Peer support involves people with shared experiences building safe, trusting, non-judgemental relationships where we learn and grow together. Peer Workers are individuals with lived experience of mental health challenges and accessing mental health services. They are trained and supported to work to TEWV's Peer Support Values, using their experience to support others.

We are looking for candidates who have:

• Lived experience of mental health challenges
• Experience of accessing secondary, tertiary, or inpatient mental health services, including health and justice services.
• Experience working as a Peer Worker or in a lived experience role

We welcome applications from people with personal experience of prison, secure inpatient care, or other forms of confinement. The post is subject to TEWV pre employment checks & Standard Plus Prison Vetting. If clearance is not obtained, this may affect appointment, but we will offer individualised support to help candidates navigate the vetting process.

Main duties of the job

These are challenging but rewarding roles supporting people with a wide range of experiences.

Your time in post will start with attending our peer support training alongside other people starting peer support roles with us. This training is delivered by people with their own lived experience who also have direct experience of working in peer roles themselves.

• Working autonomously into designated teams or sites to provide peer support
• Setting up and facilitating / co-facilitating peer support groups
• Working into designated team processes to support service user voice to be heard and bring lived experience expertise into team or service processes
• Delivering 1:1 supervision to peer workers and peer practitioners
• Facilitating or co-facilitating co-reflection spaces for peer workers and peer practitioners
• To support you with this work you will receive ongoing regular line management and peer work supervision, and will be able to access a range of other peer connection and development structures.

About us

We value diversity and want to have a wide range of identities represented in the peer workforce. We welcome applications from people with lived experience of distress and mental health services from the characteristics protected by the Equality Act 2010 (age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation) and other diverse groups.

We also value a diversity of experiences with mental health services in the peer workforce and welcome applications from people with helpful, difficult or mixed experiences of mental health services.

Job responsibilities

Within this role you will draw on your own experience of mental health challenges. You will walk alongside others on their journey in a supportive peer relationship built on our core peer values of authenticity, relationship, validation, respect, mutuality and empowerment. You will listen non-judgementally to create safe spaces where people feel heard. You will approach the peer relationship with compassion and curiosity. You will recognise and value peoples strengths, diversity and expertise in themselves. You will be aware of the impacts of trauma and committed to the importance of working in ways which are sensitive to the needs of trauma survivors.

You also will be an integrated and valued member of the team. Peer roles involve contributing peer values and the knowledge, skills and expertise that come with lived experience of mental health challenges and mental health services. Important parts of this role also include working within the team to help service users voices be heard and to promote recovery values and trauma informed approaches. Peer roles will be supported to challenge both individual and structural instances of stigma and discrimination related to mental health and other forms of exclusion.

Please see the uploaded job description or approach us for an informal chat if you would like further details on the post.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Educated to degree level OR has equivalent experience developing and delivering Peer Support in a community or NHS setting.
• Completed Trust Trauma Informed Peer Support Training course (passing within agreed timescale)
• Completed Trust approved Peer Support Training
• Numeracy, Literacy and ITQ level 2 (or equivalent)
• Completed an accredited Peer Support training course

Experience

• Personal experience of mental health challenges or a learning disability that is relevant to the specific role advertised
• Personal experience of accessing secondary (or inpatient) mental health services
• Experience of working as a peer worker or in another lived experience essential role
• Experience of delivering peer support in a paid or voluntary role, or in a user led environment
• Experience in delivering supervision or co-supervision to peers
• Experience of actively engaging in a supervision or co-supervision system
• Experience of social exclusion, stigma and / or discrimination
• Psychiatric hospital admission
• Experience of peer support or user led environments outside the NHS
• Experience of delivering training sessions on peer support

Knowledge

• Passionate about the values of peer support and understands what the role adds to a team
• Understanding of trauma informed approaches
• Understanding of trauma informed approaches and trauma informed peer support, and a demonstrated ability to apply this knowledge to practice and to support others to develop their practice
• Health and Safety legislation and its application in practice
• Clinical Governance and Clinical Supervision.
• Care Programme Approach
• Safeguarding and its application in practice
• Understanding of the day to day issues effecting service users with mental health conditions or learning disabilities
• Research and development methodology
• Understanding of the needs of individuals from diverse social, ethnic and cultural backgrounds

Skills

• Able to share elements of own life experiences, and engage compassionately with experiences of others, in a way appropriate to the role and peer relationship
• Communicate complex and sensitive information in a manner appropriate to the individual and situation
• Good peer relationship skills and ability to describe such skills verbally and in writing
• Peer record keeping and report writing
• Ability to relate as a peer to the needs of the service user group
• Work collaboratively as part of a multidisciplinary team
• Manage own caseload and prioritise effectively
• Delegate tasks appropriately
• Apply latest research evidence and evaluative thinking in practice
• Ability to lead peer support group sessions
• Ability to deliver effective teaching and training sessions (within agreed timescale)
• Breakaway techniques (within agreed timescale)

Personal Attributes

• Commitment to supporting service users voices to be heard
• Commitment to anti-discriminatory practice
• Able to work in accordance with the Staff Compact and Trust Values and Behaviours

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.

Tees Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust