About this role
Job summary
Tees, Esk and Wear Valley NHS Foundation Trust are pleased to announce an exciting job opportunity. The North Yorkshire & York Perinatal serviceare looking for a Peer Practitioner to join their team. The successful candidate will work across York, Selby, Scarborough, Whitby and Ryedale.
The perinatal service provides community-based support to women and birthing people who are experiencing mental health difficulties:
during pregnancy
in the first year after they have had their baby
Peer support can be described as when people with shared experiences connect to build relationships that are:
safe
trusting
non-judgmental
Peer Practitioners are:
people who have experience of mental health challenges
people who have experience of accessing services for mental health care
employed, trained and supported to work to the TEWV Peer Support Values and use their experiences to support others.
You must have the Right to Work in the UK in order to be successfully appointed to this role. Please note, this role does not meet the required eligibility criteria for sponsorship under the Skilled Worker visa and therefore the Trust is unable to offer sponsorship for this particular role.
Main duties of the job
These are challenging but rewarding roles supporting people with a wide range of experiences.
For these roles, we are looking for people who have:
relevant experience of mental health challenges - for example, lived experience of mental health difficulties during pregnancy and after birth
personal experience of accessing secondary or inpatient mental health services
personal experience of using your lived experience to support others
Your time in post will start with attending our peer support training. This will be alongside other people starting peer support roles. The training is delivered by people with their own lived experience of mental health challenges. They also have direct experience of working in peer roles.
From there your work will involve:
providing 1:1 peer support to people accessing the service - this may involve supporting family / carers too
setting up and facilitating / co-facilitating peer support groups
working into team meetings to support service user's voices to be heard and bring lived experience expertise into team processes
supporting service development within the teams you work in
building connections with a range of people and organisations - including other peer support workers / providers
To support you with this work you will receive ongoing regular one to one and group supervision. You will be able to access a range of other peer connection and development structures.
About us
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.
Individuals who submit a successful application will attend a recruitment day. This will aim to give them an opportunity to learn more about the role and to show their values and skills. There will be a shortlisting process after the recruitment day to identify candidates for interview.
Job description Job responsibilities
These Peer Practitioner roles will involve:
working to support current service users - this will be on a one-to-one caseload basis and also in groups as appropriate.
drawing on your own experience of mental health challenges
walking alongside others on their journey in a supportive peer relationship
building relationships based on our core peer values of authenticity, relationship, validation, respect, mutuality and empowerment
listening non-judgementally to create safe spaces where people feel heard
approaching the peer relationship with compassion and curiosity
recognising and valuing peoples strengths, diversity and expertise in themselves
having an awareness of the impacts of trauma
committing 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 Practitioner roles involve contributing peer values as well as 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
promoting recovery values and trauma informed approaches
Peer Practitioners will be supported to challenge instances of stigma and discrimination related to mental health and other forms of exclusion.
Due to the nature of the role, it is essential that applicants can travel independently across the locality. Successful applicants will also be expected to be able travel independently across the area the Trust covers. This is primarily for peer work related training and development days. Adjustments will be considered in line with the Equality Act 2010.
Please see the attached job description
Please refer to the attached job description and person specification for further detailed information to ensure that you meet the role criteria, or approach us for an informal chat if you would like further details on the post before applying.
This job advert may close early if a high volume of applications have been received. If interested, please apply for this post as soon as possible.
Person Specification
Qualifications Essential
Foundation Degree or equivalent OR equivalent experience of providing peer support in a community or inpatient setting Numeracy, Literacy and ITQ level 2 (or equivalent) Completed / a willingness to undertake Trust Trauma Informed Peer Support Training course (passing within agreed timescale
Desirable
Completed peer support training
Experience Essential
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 delivering peer support in a paid or voluntary role, or in a user led environment
Desirable
Experience of actively engaging in a supervision or co-supervision system
Knowledge Essential
Passionate about the values of peer support and understands what the role adds to a team Understands importance of maintaining integrity to peer support role Understanding of trauma informed approaches and trauma informed peer support, and demonstrated ability to apply this knowledge to practice Understanding of the needs of individuals from diverse social, ethnic and cultural backgrounds
Desirable
Experience of facilitating peer support groups
Skills Essential
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 Ability to communicate information (verbal and written) effectively in a manner appropriate to the individual and situation Good peer relationship skills and ability to verbally describe these skills
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.
Certificate of Sponsorship Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
Employer details Employer name Tees Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust
Address Huntington House
York
YO32 9XW
United Kingdom
Employer's website https://www.tewv.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)