Peer Support Worker

Job summary

The Reconnect service sits within our wider Health and Justice service, supporting people with needs and vulnerabilities in all aspects of the criminal justice system. Reconnect reaches into 5 of the prisons within Staffordshire, undertaking holistic needs assessments and engagement work in order to support them on release from prison to get their health and social care needs met within the community and reduce the risk of reoffending. Reconnect sits within a national network of reconnect services, and works both within and outside of the prison estate. We are looking for an individual who has had previous experience of the criminal justice system, ideally someone who has been to prison to join our team. You will carry a caseload of service users, offering hope, a safe space to open up and opportunity to change. Using your own recovery journey to instil hope for a different life.

This is a unique chance to make a real difference in the lives of individuals within the criminal justice system, apply now or get in touch to hear more about the role!

Main duties of the job

IOH is a service which recognises that those in contact with the criminal justice system can offend for many reasons, and often have unmet needs which can impact on their offending behaviours. IOH mirrors all community pathways within the criminal justice system, from point of arrest, providing mental health treatment requirements as a sentencing option to the courts or supporting people reconnect in the community no release from a prison sentence. Key to achieving these aims is providing an enhanced offer in order to support these individuals have equitable access to the services which can meet their needs.

Peer support is based on the recognition that there is no better person to support the path towards recovery than someone who has walked the same path as that individual. As such we would actively seek peers who have lived experience of both the criminal justice system and a health and social care need, e.g. mental health, substance misuse, etc.

About us

As a Trust we remain bold and ambitious with plans for both service and system collaborative transformation over the coming years to improve the health and wellbeing of our local people through high quality care.

We pride ourselves onensuring our team has their wellbeing put first and as such provide a range of wellness opportunities including flexible working.

We are committed to the Greener NHS national ambition to becoming the world's first 'carbon net zero' national health system by 2045 (Greener NHS (england.nhs.uk). As part of this, sustainability is embedded in our strategy as one of our four key enablers. In order to deliver on this commitment, we recognise that we need a workforce that is as passionate as we are about achieving these goals, for the benefit of our service users, workforce, local communities and the planet alike. For 2024/2025, we have launched our "Proud to be Green" engagement campaign which is aligned to the targets set out in our Green Plan. As a Trust, you can be assured that we will commit to supporting you in working towards our net zero ambitions, set out in our Green Plan, through our sustainability programme".

The Trust is committed to ensuring that a diverse workforce is representative and inclusive at all levels. We would very much welcome applications from all under-represented groups including women, people with disabilities, people from global majority backgrounds, and those from the lesbian, gay, bi and trans communities.