Main area Peer Support Worker Lead
Grade
Band 7
Contract
Permanent
Hours
Full time - 37.5 hours per week
Job ref
373-CSS1122
Site Chester Based but Trust wide post
Town
Chester
Salary
£46,148 - £52,809 per annum
Salary period
Yearly
Closing
27/01/2025 23:59
Job overview
Lead the organisations development of peer support, both voluntary and paid roles. Providing expert advice and strategic leadership supported by national guidance, sourcing the appropriate training, advice and support to Peer Support Workers and to the teams and ward that host these posts. Providing recruitment leadership and support, supervision and appraisals and take a transformational role in embedding peer support and lived experience across the organisation.
The Peer Support Worker Lead role is an integral part of the warm and welcoming Patient and Carer Experience Team, dedicated to improving the experience of both patients and staff across the organisation. Working alongside the Volunteer Lead, the Volunteer to Career programme Lead, EDI Coordinator and with the Patient and Carer Experience Team, this role is at the heart of fostering inclusivity, ensuring that everyone—regardless of background, lived experience, or role—feels valued and supported. By embedding peer support and lived experience into every level of service, the team is committed to creating a compassionate and empowering environment that champions diversity, enhances recovery journeys, and strengthens connections between patients, carers, and staff.
Main duties of the job
The role focuses on leadership, strategic planning, and operational management to integrate lived experience into organisational practices and culture. You will lead the development of peer support roles, both voluntary and paid, providing expert advice and strategic leadership aligned with national guidance. A key aspect of the role involves designing and implementing training and career pathways for peer support workers, ensuring they are well-prepared to deliver impactful and high-quality support. This includes overseeing recruitment, selection, supervision, and appraisal, fostering a culture of development, learning, and accountability. In this role, you will monitor and report on risks, incidents, and the impact of peer support roles across the organisation. Addressing integration and pastoral issues within teams hosting peer workers will be crucial to the programme’s success. As a transformational leader, you will play a pivotal role in embedding peer support throughout the organisation, contributing to audits, policy development, and service reviews to enhance care quality and practices. Drawing on your lived-experience expertise, you will provide valuable insights to inform strategic leadership and service delivery, while sourcing training and support for peer workers and hosting teams. Participation in local, regional, and national events related to peer support and lived experience is essential.
Working for our organisation
CWP provides health and care services for local people, including mental health, learning disability, community physical health and all-age disability care – including the provision of three GP surgeries.
Our aim is to help people to be the best they can be, adopting a compassionate, person-centred approach to everything we do. We were recently rated as Outstanding for Caring by the Care Quality Commission with a Good rating overall.
We offer a variety of roles at all levels, so whether you are just starting out in your career or looking to use your skills and experience in a new role, CWP is the right employer for you.
CWP are committed to making our recruitment practices as inclusive as possible for everyone. We are committed to promoting equality and diversity and developing a culture that values differences.
To support this, we offer up to three weeks induction, dependent on role, with our Prepare to Care programme for all new starters. This programme welcomes you to CWP and provides you with information and training to support you in your role.
We welcome applications from people who have direct experience of accessing our services.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Please download a copy of the job description for full details.
Recruitment selection processes are based on competence (see Person specification) and values.
CWP recruits people that can demonstrate the Trust’s Values and Behaviours in their everyday life. Therefore, if you are invited to interview, you will be undertaking a Values Based Interview/Assessment, which explores not only what you do but how and why you do it.
Before applying, we encourage you to review the Trust’s Values and Behaviours which are ‘the 6 Cs’ Communication, Competence, Courage, Care, Compassion and Commitment. The supporting information section in your application should therefore reflect your understanding of the Trust’s Values and associated behaviours. You will be expected to provide us with examples from work experience and/or personal life which demonstrate these values through your behaviour.
An applicant guide to help and support you through your recruitment journey can be accessed at the bottom of this page. Further help and support for completing your application can be accessed via our website https://www.cwp.nhs.uk/completing-application-guidance.
If you need any further guidance to help you complete your application, contact our recruitment team via email – or by calling 01244 393100.
If you have a disability that meets the definition set out in the Equality Act 2010, and you can show that you meet the ‘essential’ criteria described in the person specification for an available position, please answer ‘YES’ to the question: ‘Do you wish to be considered under the Guaranteed Interview Scheme?’
Please inform the team if you have any special support needs to be considered as part of the interview and selection processes.
CWP is proud to be an accredited Veteran Aware organisation helping to provide and share best practice in NHS care for our armed forces community. As a veteran aware organisation, CWP is committed to delivering on the principles of the Armed Force Covenant and has a ‘Silver’ award with the MOD Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (DERS).
The trust offers a Guaranteed Interview Scheme to any armed forces community applicants who meet the essential criteria for the post and encourages applications from armed forces reservists or cadet force adult volunteers.
Please note applicants will be required to pay for their DBS check. Costs are deducted from salary following appointment. You are encouraged to enrol for the DBS Update Service. A small annual fee of £16 per year applies.
New entrants to the NHS will commence on the minimum of the scale stated above.
Applicants are advised to apply early as if a large number of applications are received for this post we reserve the right to close the vacancy prior to the advertised date.
If you experience any technical difficulties or need help when making an application please contact our Recruitment Team on 01244 393100.
Good luck with your application. We hope to welcome you to Team CWP very soon.
Person specificationQualifications Essential criteria
* Educated to degree level with additional appropriate experience to Masters level or equivalent experience
Desirable criteria
* Coaching or mentoring training
Knowledge and Expertise Essential criteria
* Understanding & demonstrable experience of implementing the national agenda for peer support including the Health education and NHSE training and development approaches and programmes.
* Ability to work effectively in partnership with clinical and operational managers and staff, through bringing challenge, reflection and support to that relationship
* Ability and demonstrable evidence of working with people to use their lived experience effectively, and in developing and embedding peer support across service areas.
* Evidence of their ability to communicate sensitively with people making adjustments where necessary
* Ability to work autonomously, organise time and prioritise activities
* Specialist knowledge and practical experience of peer support development and delivery
* Ability to manage complex interpersonal issues to support and promote recovery focused working across the Trust and partner organisations
Desirable criteria
* High level communication skills (written and verbal) including an ability to negotiate, influence, communicate and work in settings in which the atmosphere may be highly emotive or challenging
Experience Essential criteria
* Personal lived experience, or experience in caring for someone with lived experience of ill health issues or disorders.
* Experience of initiating programs of peer support work and in managing and developing peer support workers
* Experience of working alongside staff from a range of disciplines such as community and inpatient services.
* Experience of utilising own lived experience perspectives and insights in a strategic leadership role
* Experience of involvement in service redesign or development using a QI approach.
* Evidence of applying interpersonal skills in promoting and implementing recovery based working
* Evidence of developing policy guidance and protocol to underpin projects
* Evidence of understanding, producing and analysing and reporting complex data sets or information
* Experience of line management including recruitment, appraisal, training and discipline
* Experience of talking and presenting to variety of audiences
Desirable criteria
* Experience of research methods, audit or other service evaluation techniques
* Evidence of undertaking evaluation/research/audit activities
* Able to present complex data in an accessible format to a variety of audiences
Applicant requirements
The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Further details / informal visits contact
Name Cathy Walsh
Job title
Associate Director Patient and Carer Experience
Email address
Telephone number
07901913557
Additional information
Please email in the first instance as more readily contactable than phone. If you consider yourself Neurodivergent and need help to complete your application form, please contact or telephone 01244 393100.
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