Advanced Lived Experience Practitioner

Job overview

Working across all of our community and inpatient mental health service sites in the local area of Hillingdon, the role of the Advanced Lived Experience Practitioner will be to support the development and ongoing delivery of CNWL’s Peer Support and Lived Experience Practice provision within the Borough.

Across these sites, the postholder will work to ensure Peer Support Worker (PSW) roles are created and undertaken in line with our Trust wide policies and practices, that PSWs and Senior PSWs are suitably supported with their work, and that the Recovery agenda is maintained across sites.

The postholder will work to facilitate and maintain service user and carer involvement initiatives across the borough of Hillingdon.

In addition, the postholder will contribute as a leading stakeholder within the Recovery and Wellbeing College and will be responsible for occasional delivery of Recovery and Wellbeing College courses.

Main duties of the job

• Support to establish and cofacilitate a regular Service User and Carer Involvement Group in Hillingdon, ensuring that it remains a safe space and a platform for involvement and co-production opportunities in the borough.
• Deliver specialist group and 1:1 lived experience-based work where appropriate. This may include working alongside service users in developing crisis, recovery and wellbeing plans, Advanced Decisions/Statements and personal network maps, peer groups and other therapeutic groups within the community and inpatient services and facilitation of Recovery and Wellbeing College courses.
• Regularly contribute to trauma informed case formulations alongside the wider MDT.
• Engaging with local community and third sector providers within the borough of Hillingdon to foster positive working relationships.
• Provide person-centred, strengths-based support, informed by experiential knowledge of lived experience (direct personal experience of mental and emotional distress), supporting service users to maintain or regain a sense of agency and autonomy throughout contact with services.
• Work in highly sensitive and complex situations, at times with people who are experiencing very high levels of distress.
• To keep and maintain accurate, quality and up-to-date records (using the appropriate computer systems including SystmOne.).
• Engage in self-reflective practices and commit to continued personal development.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• Work in accordance with CNWL’s Trust Values, Aims and Objectives.
• To act as an ambassador for the Trust with external agencies and partner organisations.
• Work at all times to promote equality, diversity and individual human rights.
• Be efficient, responsible and maintain a high level of personal organisation; keeping accurate and appropriate records and providing information for monitoring and evaluation as required.
• To prioritise your own personal wellbeing, and to seek support if issues arise with work-life balance.
• Work flexibly, being prepared to perform other duties commensurate with the role which may include new areas of operation following consultation.
• Work alongside and ensure active service user and carer participation in all aspects of work including design, implementation and monitoring of activities.
• To participate in Trust mandatory training & development opportunities considered appropriate to the Advanced Lived Experience Practitioner role and as identified in the Personal Development Plan (PDP).
• To contribute and commit to undertaking an annual development review/ Appraisal.
• To receive regular line management supervision in addition to discipline specific supervision.