Peer Support Worker - Perinatal Services
Job Description
Job summary
Do you have lived experience of perinatal mental health?
Would you like to use this experience to help others?
We are delighted to be advertising this new opportunity for a Peer Support Workers (PSW) that is motivated & enthusiastic with lived experience of perinatal mental health to join our team within the South Staffordshire Perinatal Service.
The PSW role has been developed specifically for people with lived experience of mental health difficulties. If you have lived experience of recovery from mental health difficulties, ideally including experience of secondary mental health services or perinatal mental health difficulties, then this role could be for you.
As a PSW, your time will involve direct contact with service users on a 1:1 basis as well as in group settings. You will be a valued member of our multidisciplinary team, attend weekly team meetings & be provided with supervision & training. You will be part of a multidisciplinary team including Consultants, Clinical Psychologists, Nursery Nurses, Occupational Therapists, MH Nurses & Team Managers.
As a PSW, you will be acting as a role model by using your own lived experience of recovering from mental health issues, to inspire hope & help service users to develop a belief in their own abilities to deal with various situations; the confidence to have control over their own motivation, behaviour, & social environment; & the ability to successfully achieve their goals in life.
Main duties of the job
- To work directly with an identified caseload of individuals and their carers through a range of methods including, video/telephone call, text and in person face to face sessions.
- To work with identified individuals and members of the wider MDT to ensure care plans are truly co-produce
- To draw on own lived experience to offer understanding, support and hope to individuals accessing the service and promote independence and recovery.
- Contribute to the overall care of an individual, helping to identify any early warning signs of deteriorating wellbeing by monitoring an individual's mental health, level of functioning and mental state, escalating any areas of concerns to the relevant senior staff member.
- Drawing on personal experience to help individuals to identify their strengths and triggers and supporting them to establish the things that are important to them in their life, identifying goals and the steps they wish to take to achieve them.
- Supporting individuals to identify and overcome any barriers which may impact their recovery.
- Champion a recovery orientated service including promoting involvement, engagement, participation and co-production opportunities.
About us
By joining Team MPFT, you will be helping your communities and in return for this, we will support you by;
- Supporting your career development and progression
- Excellent NHS Pension scheme
- Generous maternity, paternity and adoption leave
- Options for flexible working
- Up to 27 days annual leave (increasing with service up to 33 days) and the opportunity to purchase additional leave
- Extensive Health and Wellbeing support and resources
- If you work in our community teams, we pay for your time travelling between patients
- Lease car if you complete more than 500 business miles per annum, fully insured and maintained (including tyres), mileage paid at lease car rate
- Salary sacrifice car - fully insured and maintained (including tyres), your gross pay is reduced by the cost of the vehicle before tax, NI and pension deductions are calculated, mileage paid at business rates
- Salary sacrifice bikes up to £2k
- Free car parking at all trust sites
- Free flu vaccinations every year
- Citizens Advice support linked with a Hardship Fund for one off additional support up to £250 (if the criteria is met)
And more. We are proud to be a diverse and inclusive organisation and there is a choice of staff networks that help you meet like-minded people.
Please note, we may be required to close this vacancy early if we receive a high volume of applications
Job responsibilities
Peer support is recognised as a key component of modern mental health and wellbeing provision.
A key feature of this post is to promote individual person centred recovery by drawing on the peer support workers own personal lived experience of mental health challenges and of accessing mental health services, particularly within the perinatal period.
As a pivotal and highly valued member of the team, peer support workers will have a case load of identified patients and their families who they will work with on both an individual basis and by delivering group interventions, working in collaboration with the wider multi-disciplinary team.
Male applicants are welcomed to apply
For further information please refer to the attached job description and person specification.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Own personal experience of accessing Perinatal mental health services.
- English language literacy and numeracy skills to the standard necessary to provide clear, understandable records on computerised system and fulfil job description.
- Health Education England Peer Support Work training or equivalent experience and willingness to complete this.
Desirable
- Other evidence of training or development relevant to working within mental health settings (statutory or voluntary).
Experience
Essential
- Previous experience of offering formal/informal peer support to people who are navigating recovery / experiencing mental illness from a range of different backgrounds and cultures.
- Experience of working independently and as a part of a team (paid or voluntary).
- Experience of using own history in a boundaried approach to support others in similar situations.
Desirable
- Previous experience of being in a peer support role (paid or voluntary).
- Previous experience of being involved in involvement, engagement and co-production opportunities.
- Previous experience of facilitating or taking part in peer support groups or settings.
Skills
Essential
- Basic knowledge of the principles of peer support.
- Knowledge of recovery focused ways of working and ability to demonstrate these in practice.
- To take a compassionate approach in all that you do.
- Understanding the challenges which co-exist alongside common mental health illnesses.
- Understanding of a strengths based approach to reframe challenges as opportunities for finding new solutions.
- Commitment to modelling recovery principles in own wellbeing.
- Ability to challenge any stigma and discrimination which may exist.
- Ability to positively share your own experience of mental ill health and recovery with the people you work with.
- Able to relate to a wide range of people, with excellent interpersonal and team working skills.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
- Ability to facilitate groups.
- Ability to contribute to the co-production and co-delivery of training.
- Using self-awareness and reflection during dedicated supervision time to ensure professional development.
- Ability to adopt a flexible and creative approach to working with individuals.
- Good time management skills and ability to manage own caseload with guidance from senior colleagues.
- Recognise the importance of confidentiality.
- Ability to understand and evaluate risk to maintain safety.
- Standard knowledge of IT systems, proficient in applications.
Desirable
- A basic understanding of coproduction and community asset development.
- Understanding of personal values and beliefs.
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Certificate of Sponsorship
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab) .
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 ...
