Senior Peer Worker

Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust; Eggleston; On-site; GBP 23,000 - 30,000; Full time

Job summary

A regional mental health service provider is seeking a Senior Peer Worker based at HMP Deerbolt. This role involves providing peer support in custodial settings and facilitating peer support groups. Candidates should have lived experience with mental health challenges and ideally experience as a Peer Worker or in similar roles. Training will be provided to develop skills in peer support and supervision.

Qualifications

• Lived experience of mental health challenges.
• Experience of accessing secondary and tertiary mental health services.
• Experience delivering peer support or supervision.

Responsibilities

• Provide peer support in custodial settings.
• Facilitate peer support groups.
• Deliver 1:1 supervision to peer workers.

Skills

Lived experience of mental health challenges

Experience delivering formal peer support or peer supervision

Experience working as a Peer Worker

Job description

Overview

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. 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 under the direction and guidance of the relevant Peer Lead within the service, this role will involve:

• 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 Peer Support

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.

Qualifications and Experience

• 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
• Experience delivering formal peer support or peer supervision

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.

Values and Practice

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 people's strengths, diversity and expertise in themselves. You will be aware of the impacts of trauma and committed to working in ways which are sensitive to the needs of trauma survivors. You 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.

Additional Information

We are able to offer sponsorship for a Health and Care Worker or Skilled Worker visa, subject to candidate and position eligibility. Please review the job eligibility guidance for skilled workers here: Skilled Worker visa: Your job - GOV.UK and for the Health and Care Worker visa here: Skilled Worker visa: eligible healthcare and education jobs - GOV.UK

Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust is committed to the protection of staff, service users and visitors to the Trust from second hand smoke and currently operates a no smoking policy which ensures all buildings and grounds are smoke free.

We are the Mental Health & Learning Disability NHS Trust for County Durham and Darlington, Teesside, North Yorkshire, York and Selby. From education and prevention, to crisis and specialist care - our talented and compassionate teams work in partnership with our patients, communities and partners to help the people of our region feel safe, understood, believed in and cared for. We nurture the recovery journey of anyone in need of our help. In Our Trust, everyone has a say in how they are supported and treated because we listen to every person in our care until they feel understood. Our patients, their families and carers work together with us towards better mental health. We\'re committed to new thinking that improves the wellbeing of our region. We connect with our communities and partners to get mental health care right, in areas that really need it. We won\'t rest until everyone in our region has the mental health care they need, to lead their best possible life.

Here at Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys Foundation NHS Trust, we want you to have a positive experience when you start your new role with us. To ensure you have great welcome, for all new starters joining the Trust, we offer two start dates per month on the 1st and 3rd Mondays of that month.