Job summary
Tees Esk and Wear Valley NHS Foundation Trust are pleased to announce that we are currently recruiting Peer Workers for our Male and Female Secure Inpatient Wards in roles will be based at Roseberry Park Hospital.
Peer support is when people with shared experiences connect to build safe, trusting and non-judgmental relationships where we learn and grow together. Peer workers are people who have experience of mental health challenges and accessing services for mental health care, and are employed, trained and supported to work to the TEWV Peer Support Values and use their experiences to support others.
For this role, we are looking for people who have:
Personal experience of accessing secondary or inpatient mental health services - including in Secure Inpatient Services or Prison.
Relevant experience of mental health challenges. Lived experience including homelessness and use of drugs and alcohol are also welcomed.
1. Personal experience of using your lived experience to support others, for example in a paid role, in volunteering, or in a user led environment.
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.
We welcome and value applications from people with personal lived experience of Secure Inpatient Services, Prison, contact with the criminal justice system or experience of being under experiences of having your liberty or freedom of movement/decision making impacted by restrictions.
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.
From there your work will involve:
2. Providing 1:1 peer support to people on the ward (this may involve supporting family / carers too)
3. Setting up and facilitating / co-facilitating peer support groups
4. Working into team meetings to support service users' voices to be heard and bring lived experience expertise into team processes.
5. Supporting service development within the teams you work in
6. Building connections with a range of people and organisations within the system (including other peer support workers / providers).
To support you with this work you will receive ongoing regular 1:1 and group 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 otherdiverse 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.
Date posted
12 March 2025
Pay scheme
Agenda for change
Band
Band 3
Salary
£24,071 to £25,674 a year pro rata, per annum
Contract
Permanent
Working pattern
Full-time, Part-time
Reference number
346-FMH-024-25
Job locations
Roseberry Park Hospital
Marton Road
Middlesbrough
TS4 3AF
Job description
Job responsibilities
These Peer Worker roles will involve working to support current service users both 1:1 and in groups as appropriate. Drawing 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-judgmentally 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 Worker 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 Workers 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.
Please note - Individuals successful at application stage will attend a recruitment day to give them an opportunity to learn more about the role and to demonstrate their values and skills. There will be a shortlisting process after the recruitment day to identify candidates for interview.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
7. AS Level, NVQ Level 3 or equivalent (or willingness to undertake within required timescale) OR equivalent experience of providing peer support in a community or inpatient setting
8. Numeracy, Literacy and ITQ level 2 (or equivalent)
9. Completed Trust Trauma Informed Peer Support Training course (passing within agreed timescale)
Experience
Essential
10. Personal experience of mental health challenges that are relevant to the specific role advertised
11. Personal experience of accessing inpatient mental health services
12. Experience of paid, voluntary or informal peer support with people with mental health conditions or learning disabilities.
Desirable
13. Experience of delivering peer support in a paid or voluntary role
Knowledge
Essential
14. Understands the importance of maintaining integrity to peer support role
15. Awareness of the needs of individuals from diverse social, ethnic and cultural backgrounds
16. Passionate about the values of peer support and understands what the role adds to a team
Skills
Essential
17. 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
18. Ability to communicate information (verbal and written) effectively in a manner appropriate to the individual and situation
Personal Attributes
Essential
19. Commitment to supporting service users voices to be heard