Advanced Lived Experience Educator

Job overview

Have you personally used inpatient mental health services and been subject to restrictive practices during your care? Are you an experienced peer or lived experience practitioner who can use your professional and personal experience reflectively, safely and purposefully to improve staff learning, safety and culture?

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 don’t 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

Main duties of the job

Please see attached JD and Person Specification.

The postholder will be an integral member of the Reducing Restrictive Practices Team and will also contribute to CNWL's wider peer and lived experience workforce. You will:

• Co-design and co-deliver trustwide RRP training, bringing a clear lived experience perspective to the prevention and therapeutic management of violence and aggression.
• Teach, assess and actively participate in the specialist physical elements of RRP training, while promoting de-escalation, prevention, dignity, agency and the least restrictive approach.
• Help create psychologically safer learning environments and respond appropriately when staff become distressed or affected by the subject matter, including signposting to further support.
• Use experiential knowledge to help staff understand how distress, power, risk, identity, trauma and restrictive interventions may be experienced by the person receiving care.
• Provide professional peer supervision, mentoring and development support to Senior Peer Tutors and Peer Tutors, with delegated management responsibilities where agreed.
• Consult with inpatient teams and services, including in complex or highly sensitive situations, and contribute to learning, reflective debriefs and improvement following incidents.
• Support link inpatient sites to develop, recruit and induct new peer and lived experience roles and to prepare teams to work effectively with those roles.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please see attached job description and person specification.

• To promote the principles of recovery and lived experience perspectives and practice within the Reducing Restrictive Practices Team, the Quality, Nursing and Safety Directorate, Trust training and across CNWL inpatient services.
• To meet regularly with Senior and Peer Tutors locally for individual supervision (professional supervision as delegated by manager/supervisor).
• To co-facilitate bi-monthly Trustwide group supervision for CNWL peer workers.
• To contribute to or ensure representation of lived experience perspectives in the context of Reducing Restrictive Practices at inpatient Senior Management Team and service development meetings.
• Scope and support inpatient services across linked sites to explore the introduction of Peer Worker roles within their workforce skill mix and co-facilitate information sessions to promote these opportunities to external applicants.
• To contribute to shortlisting, interviews or assessment centres and eventual induction of new staff into the Reducing Restrictive Practices Team.
• To ensure team-based Senior and Peer Tutors have a clear, up to date and expert offering by the Reducing Restrictive Practices team and the staff that attend training delivered by the Reducing Restrictive Practices Team.
• To propose policy, training delivery or service changes to the Reducing Restrictive Practices Team and inpatient services that contributes to cultures across CNWL are therapeutic, productive, accessible, inclusive, flexible and responsive to service user’s needs.
• Promote positive understanding, awareness and attitudes towards mental and physical health as part of day-to-day duties.
• Participate in and actively contribute to lived experience supervision, mandatory training and team meetings, and organisational events as required.
• Ensure excellent communication and liaison with colleagues within the wider services of the Trust, being an agent for change and a champion of recovery in all interactions both within and outside the organisation.
• Be committed to professional development through independent learning, keeping up to date with latest research and building connections with local and national lived experience networks.

Training delivery

• To deliver TMVA training across Trust sites, assist/support in coordinating of the training and ensuring its continuous evaluation and development. The physical aspect of the training involves teaching, assessing and actively participating in highly specialised bespoke techniques to ensure safety of all persons involved.
• To ensure a psychologically safe environment for the staff attending training, providing emotional support to staff who may express/exhibit emotional or psychological distress pre and post training as well during training.
• Assist in signposting individual who may require immediate support outside of the training environment.
• Consult and inform the Reducing Restrictive Practices Team Manager of any issues that may affect the efficient delivery of the training.
• To identify and address additional learning support needs that learners may have to enable them to access and complete courses.
• To ensure the content of courses reflect innovative and current practice, compromise a range of perspectives and is informative and culturally sensitive.
• Liaise with other lived experience roles and services across the country to ensure that training courses reflect best practice.

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.