Community Peer Support Worker

Job overview

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 agencies and 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.

Detailed job description and main 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 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