About this role
Job summary
As a highly valued member of the multi-disciplinary team, the Peer Support Worker (PSW) will provide formalised peer support and practical assistance to service users in Milton Keynes in order for them to regain control over their lives and progress on their own unique recovery journey.
Through sharing the wisdom of their own lived experience of recovery, the PSW will inspire hope and belief that recovery is possible in others. Within a relationship of mutuality, they facilitate and support information sharing to promote choice, self-determination and opportunities for the fulfilment of socially valued roles and connection to local communities.
The PSW will take a lead role in embedding recovery values within the service setting in which they work. You will act as an ambassador of recovery for the Community Mental Health Hub and with external agenciesand partner organisations.
As a core member of the multi-disciplinary team, the PSW will work with service users on a 1:1 and/or group basis.
Main duties of the job
Please note only candidates who have personal experience of mental health difficulties and have accessed secondary mental health services should apply.
Secondary mental health services are specialist NHS services providing assessment, treatment, and recovery-focused support for individuals with more complex or severe mental health needs. These are often Community Mental Health Teams.
In your personal statement, please give some specific details about your lived experience, so that we can tell that your application is genuine - we encourage you to include names of services you have accessed.
As a core member of the multi-disciplinary team, the PSW will work with service users on a 1:1 and/or group basis. They will also have the opportunity to co-work with other colleagues.
The PSW will promote their role, through the provision of information and a range of learning opportunities for the multidisciplinary teams and others across Milton Keynes.
The PSW will support the co-facilitation of Recovery College courses.
The PSW will develop partnership working within the local community as well as with third sector organisations.
About us
CNWL is committed to providing high-quality, evidence-based treatment options and is a learning organisation which promotes staff competence and training and values clinical governance, audit and research.
Our values are:
Compassion: Our staff will be led by compassion and embody the values of care outlined in our Staff Charter.
Respect: We will respect and value the diversity of our patients, service users and staff, to create a respectful and inclusive environment, which recognises the uniqueness of each individual.
Empowerment: We will involve, inform and empower our patients, service users, carers and their families to take an active role in the management of their illness and adopt recovery principles.We will ensure our staff receive appropriate direction and support, to enable them to develop and grow.
Partnership: We will work closely with our many partners to ensure that our combined efforts are focused on achieving the best possible outcomes for the people we serve.
Job description Job responsibilities
To work with the multi-disciplinary team to deliver support to those individuals accessing the community service. To assume a coaching role supporting service users in developing personal recovery plans; this can be delivered individually or in groups. To assist service users to identify their strengths, personal interests and goals. To provide opportunities for service users to direct their own recovery process. To facilitate the individual to move through and beyond the community service. To model/mentor a recovery process and demonstrate coping skills, using own experience of recovery. To act as a role model to service users to inspire hope, share life experiences and lessons learned as a person in recovery. To support service users to negotiate an Advanced Directive with all people involved in their care and others who provide support. To contribute to the assessment, planning, implementation and review of care with the multi-disciplinary team. To work together with the service user and where possible their carers in the drawing up of care plans encouraging and motivating service users to take an active role in their own care plan. To assist individuals in managing their mental health on a day to day basis including providing support with activities of daily living such as care of self, budgeting, personal care, caring for their home and leisure activities. To positively promote and support independent living for service users in the community by maintaining extensive knowledge and links with community resources and actively supporting service users to access them e.g. in relation to employment, community living and leisure. To assist in the development and implementation of educational and peer facilitated support groups and activities which complement the team plan. To accompany service users to appointments, therapeutic or social community-based activities as appropriate. To support service users in seeking to connect/ reconnect with family, friends, significant others and in learning how to improve or eliminate unhealthy relationships. To assist service users to maintain a connection with their life outside of services. To accept and respect service users' personal beliefs, uniqueness and identity. Please note: This vacancy does not meet the criteria for Skilled Worker sponsorship, unless you meet the criteria by temporary exemption from current changes to immigration rules put in force on 22/07/2025. Separate provisions are applied to workers who have been sponsored and held continuously Skilled Worker visa since prior to 04/04/2024."
As such, if you dont meet the Transitional Provision (above) we are unable to consider your application unless you can provide documentary evidence of your right to work in the United Kingdom. If you believe you are eligible for sponsorship or already hold a valid right to work in the UK, please ensure you provide full details of your immigration status in the Pre-Screening Immigration section of your application form.
Please note role eligibility also depends on whether the role meets the salary threshold for the relevant occupational code (SOC CODE).
For further info please visit: Skilled Worker visa: Overview - GOV.UK
Person Specification
Training and Qualifications Essential
Commitment to obtain underpinning knowledge through work based learning and mandatory training, (including accredited peer support worker training if not previously undertaken) Acceptable level of written literacy and numeracy Basic IT skills i.e. word and email
Desirable
Accredited certificate in Life Coaching Accredited peer support worker training
Other Essential
A preparedness to work flexible hours through prior arrangement as the needs of the job dictate (e.g. some evenings and weekends) Ability to travel between locations using own transport
Experience Essential
Own personal lived experience of recovery from mental health challenges Own personal experience of accessing secondary mental health services Paid or unpaid working experience within a multidisciplinary team in health and social care Willing to positively share your own life experiences and personal experience of mental ill health, trauma and/or distress constructively with service users and carers Experience of actively supporting individuals to identify and work towards achieving personal goals in a related social care or health setting (paid or unpaid) Developed plans for managing own recovery
Desirable
Paid or unpaid, peer support worker experience Involvement in service redesign or development
Skills & Knowledge Essential
Able to demonstrate understanding of intentional Peer Support Ability to demonstrate first person experiential knowledge of personal recovery Ability to demonstrate knowledge of personal recovery as it may relate to others Evidence of good interpersonal skills and an ability to form peer relationships with service users and carers Effective listening skills Ability to communicate on all levels and to a broad scope of individuals, both internally and externally to the Trust An ability to act calmly and to respond in a professional manner to distress, disturbance and unpredictability
Desirable
Basic Health and Safety awareness/first aid Moving and handling awareness Awareness of local services Knowledge of benefits/employment systems Ability to demonstrate a good understanding of mental health issues
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.
Employer details Employer name Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust
Address Milton Keynes Community Mental Health Hub
226 Queensway
Milton Keynes
MK2 2TE
United Kingdom
Employer's website https://www.cnwl.nhs.uk/work (Opens in a new tab)