Richmond Advice and Information on Disability (Richmond AID) is an organisation of and for disabled people, working to improve access, choice, quality of life and independence for disabled people in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames and surrounding areas. We are looking for an enthusiastic, hardworking and highly motivated person to join our team.
Mental Health Peer Support Worker Job Description and Person Specification
Salary: pro rata of £25,000 to £26,500 depending on experience, incl OLW
Annual Leave: 25 days leave plus bank holidays
Closing Date: 11am on Tuesday 5th Dec 2023
Contract: Until Oct 2025
Hours: This post is full-time, 36 hours per week.
Location: Hybrid between home and office – Teddington, TW11 8HT. Please note you will be required to spend approximately 60% of your time at the office.
Interviews: will be held on an ongoing basis, please note we may close the position early if a suitable candidate is found.
About the role:
This project is part of the community mental health transformation programme (CMHTP), an initiative across England that aims to address the long-term challenges faced by people with severe and enduring mental health conditions and their carers in NHS community mental services.
A new model of care has been developed which will remove barriers between primary and secondary care, promoting better integration between services. This new model of care aims to reduce waiting times, reduce the number of people going into crisis, address inequalities and support transitions as well as offering holistic/personalised care and support to patients and their carers.
RB Mind as been commissioned by South West London and St George’s Mental Health Trust (SWLStG) to provide peer support and partners include Richmond AID, Age UK Richmond and Crossroads Care. Each partner organisation will have a specialist area. Crossroads will be supporting carers, Age UK will support older people and Richmond AID will have a focus on supporting people with neurodevelopmental conditions.
Richmond Borough (RB) Mind, as the lead provider, will develop this new service with partners to provide mental health peer support in the community to adults who are currently accessing mental health support or have done so in the past. The aim is to help people to access the right services to support their needs to recovery valuing lived experiences and using peer led approaches. Richmond AID’s peer support role will also have a focus on people that experience neurodevelopmental conditions such as people with autistic spectrum disorders, Aspergers, or people with ADHD.
The Peer Support Worker will work alongside a team of Peer Support Workers to provide one-to-one support and work with people referred by the Integrated Recovery Hub in Richmond to co-produce group peer support initiatives, as well as working with team members at Richmond Borough Mind and their partners to establish this new service.
About you:
You will be passionate about supporting people on their mental health recovery journey. You will have lived experience of mental health and have experience of using mental health support services.
The role will involve
- Working in partners and liaising with staff in Mind and & SWLSTG as well as peer supporters in other organisations
- Support clients on a one to one basis
- Carrying out support assessments
- Managing a caseload of clients
- Develop links with community resources
Many of the clients you support will have severe and enduring mental health conditions and may have suicidal ideation. Experience of working with, or an understanding of how to support, people with severe and enduring mental health conditions will be an advantage.
You will have excellent communication and IT skills, administrative skills and be fully competent on Microsoft applications. You will have the ability to work independently as well as part of a team.
About peer support:
Peer support is about people using their lived experience to support others in similar situations. Peers lived experiences of mental distress, caring for someone with a mental health condition, or accessing mental health services will be used to build rapport and support the recovery journey of others.
The peer relationship is one of shared responsibility, two-way interactions, mutual benefit, and self-determination. Peers will offer a listening ear and their own experience, as well as emotional and practical support.
To apply:
To apply for this role, please send your CV and a covering letter of up to 2 sides of A4 stating how you meet the Essential and Desirable criteria in Experience and Knowledge section of the Job description.
Please apply via the Charity Jobs website by clicking on the following link
https://www.charityjob.co.uk/jobs/richmond-aid/mental-health-peer-support-worker/937054?tsId=36
You can find more details about Richmond AID on our website www.richmondaid.org.uk.
Disabled Candidates:
The charity is an equal opportunities employer and particularly welcome applications from disabled candidates and has been awarded the Disability Confident Employer quality mark, meaning any disabled candidates that meet the minimum criteria will be invited for interview. Please advise if have a disability or long term health condition that you would like considering when you apply.
Regd charity No. 1074788. Company limited by guarantee, Regd in England No. 3612476.