Job summary
- Main area
- Peer Support
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 3
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time
- Part time
- Job ref
- 354-FH-20521-C
- Employer
- Sussex Partnership NHS FoundationTrust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Chanctobury Building, Swandean or The Firs, Hellingly
- Town
- Worthing, West Sussex
- Salary
- £24,625 - £25,674 pa / pro rata for part time
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 22/05/2025 23:59
Employer heading
Peer Support Worker
NHS AfC: Band 3
Come and join us
We're looking for people who share our values (compassion, accountability and optimism) to help us provide high quality care to the patients, carers, families and local communities we serve. We specialise in providing NHS mental health and learning disability services.
So what can we offer you in return?
We're an organisation which puts people first. We'll do everything possible to help you feel respected, valued and included. We'll help you learn, acquire new skills and gain further experience to support your career development. And we'll provide the opportunity for you to bring your fresh ideas to work about how we can do things differently and continue improving.
You will also be joining a health and care system committed to working together to do the best we can for the communities we serve. Above all, at Sussex Partnership you'll have the chance to make a difference to the lives of the patients, carers and families across our communities.
As a Trust we are committed in making a difference. Your development is important to us, so don't forget to ask us during interview what opportunities we can offer. We can offer fully funded lifelong learning opportunities such as an apprenticeship from GCSE to Masters level.
If you like the sound of that, then come and join our team.
Job overview
The role of Peer Support Worker has been developed specifically for people who have lived experience of mental distress, or experience of caring for a friend or family member experiencing mental distress. Through sharing wisdom from their own experiences, peer support workers will inspire hope and belief that recovery is achievable.
The Forensic Healthcare Service is a dynamic service consisting of the Forensic Outreach and Liaison Service, low and medium secure services, a high dependency rehabilitation unit, and the Offender Personality Disorder Pathway Service with the National Probation Service.
The Forensic Outreach and Liaison Service (FOLS) is a community-based service in Sussex providing holistic support to individuals with a mental health issue that relates to their offending/risk behaviour.
Our service has a strong commitment to recovery, multi-disciplinary working, service user involvement, and equality.
Main duties of the job
As the Peer Support worker you will work collaboratively to assist in improving the wellbeing of service users within the FOLS team, as wekk as their families and carers.
Examples include:
- To support individuals who are overcoming mental health challenges in their journey to recovery and wellbeing.
- To be a positive role model for service users and use parts of your recovery story, where appropriate, to inspire hope.
- To support and enable individuals to resolve conflicts and regain control, responsibility, hope and enjoyment based on the principles of peer supported recovery.
- Using a peer approach, working with service users (both individually and/or in groups) to meet holistic needs (e.g. education, welfare, employment, financial, leisure, housing and spiritual), alongside the multidisciplinary care team (MDT).
- Supporting service users to engage in participation, co-production and service development opportunities
This role is a vital part of our plan to continually improve the service we provide and is aimed at people who have lived experience of using mental health care services. We are looking for people who can use their experience of mental distress, recovery and use of peer networks to inspire others.
We have a strong network of diverse and supportive peer support colleagues who meet regularly as part of peer networking across Sussex. We offer full training to new peer support workers, one-to one peer supervision and ongoing development opportunities
Working for our organisation
Sussex Partnership provides mental health and learning disability care for all age groups across Sussex.
Working in Sussex:
- Travel easily between coast and countryside, with a blend of picturesque villages and seaside towns there’s always new experiences to be enjoyed
- Embrace the city life with great access to visit Brighton and London
- With easy access to Gatwick and Heathrow and excellent railway links across the UK there is plenty of opportunity for adventure.
We’d love you to join our organisation that is rated ‘good’ overall and ‘outstanding’ for caring by the Care Quality Commission. Our staff agree, with 82% of people in our recent staff survey telling us that they recognise that high quality care is our top priority.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
To support others who are overcoming mental health challenges in their journey to recovery and wellbeing.
To plan, promote and deliver delegated activities in accordance with the service user’s needs to meet goals identified in the individual’s Recovery Plan.
For a full outline please see the attached job description and person specification.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- A recognised qualification in an area related to the workplace or equivalent technical/life skills
- Evidence of a commitment to lifelong learning
- Health care or relevant NVQ Level 3 or equivalent skills acquired through experience or formal teaching qualification (Band 4 only)
- A recognised Peer Support qualification (Band 4 only)
Desirable criteria
- Health care or relevant NVQ Level 3 or equivalent skills (Band 3)
Knowledge
Essential criteria
- Experience of working with people with mental health needs in a paid or voluntary capacity
- Experience of working with people with mental health difficulties
- Experience working as part of a team
- Experience of being supervised
- Lived experience of mental health issues/difficulties
- Managing personal mental health and recovery
- Knowledge of Peer Support, Recovery and Wellbeing in mental health and ability to apply this throughout your work
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Applicant requirements
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.
Application numbers
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Mardel Peppos
- Job title
- Service Manager
- Email address
- [email protected]
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