Job summary
- Main area
- Liaison and Diversion - Thames Valley
- Grade
- Band 4
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week
- Job ref
- 371-MHS733
- Employer
- Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Upton Hospital
- Town
- Slough
- Salary
- £27,857 - £30,570 per annum (inc. of HCAS)
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 09/04/2025 23:59
Employer heading
Lead Peer Support Worker
Band 4
Job overview
Lead Peer Support Worker – Thames Valley
The Criminal Justice Liaison and Diversion Team are looking for a Lead Peer Support Worker who would like to use their lived experience to support others.
Do you have the lived experience of the criminal justice system?
Have you faced life challenges such as mental health or substance misuse problems and are focussed on recovery?
Do you have some practical experience of working in a health, social care or other support organisations, in a paid or voluntary role?
Recognised with a number of awards, including a Gold Award from the Lived Experience Charter, Thames Valley Commendation, Berkshire Healthcare ‘Team of the Year’ and runner-up for the Howard League for Penal Reform ‘Liaison and Diversion Service of the Year’.
Main duties of the job
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By using your own experience of going through the Criminal Justice System, treatment and recovery you will be supporting service users with vulnerabilities going through the Criminal Justice System.
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You will be a positive role model helping to understand, inspire, motivate, guide and support our service users to engage with services and work on their recovery. You will evidence and show visible recovery; showing that change is possible.
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You will offer emotional and practical support to our service-users by using your own lived experience of the criminal justice system and the challenges and fears this can create which will enable them to achieve a positive future.
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Lead on recruiting and supervising peer support volunteers in the team.
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Working flexibly, visiting custody suites, magistrates’ courts, and other locations in the community, you will enjoy travelling across multiple sites and have access to your own car.
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This post is for 9-5 Monday to Friday.
Working for our organisation
Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is a specialist mental health and community health services trust. Rated ‘outstanding’ by the CQC, we’re committed to providing the best possible care to people across Berkshire. As an employer, we’re committed to offering an inclusive and compassionate environment where our people share in a sense of belonging and are supported to flourish.
Our values at Berkshire Healthcare are:
- Caring for and about you is our top priority
- Committed to providing good quality, safe services
- Working Together with you to develop innovative solutions
Your wellbeing is important to us. Some of the benefits of working for us include:
- Flexible working options to support work-life balance
- 27 days’ annual leave rising with service + opportunity to buy and sell
- Generous NHS pension scheme
- Excellent learning and career development opportunities
- ‘Cycle to Work’ and car leasing scheme including electric vehicles
- Access to a range of wellbeing tools and services
- Discounts at hundreds of popular retailers and restaurants
- Staff networks for race, diversity, disabilities, the environment and armed forces community to support equality
- Generous maternity, paternity, adoption and special leave
- Free parking across Trust sites
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
The “must haves” for this role:
- Must have lived experience of the criminal justice system
- Must have direct lived experience and being stable in recovery from substance misuse addiction, mental ill health or other vulnerabilities
- Must have an awareness of modelling appropriate behaviours, having the capacity to cope when unsupervised; setting clear boundaries and seeking support and guidance to support and protect own recovery, health and wellbeing
- Must have good listening skills and effective communication skills; to be able to engage appropriately with service users, carers, and colleagues, and partnership agencies.
- NVQ level 3 in Health & Social Care or equivalent and relevant health related training to diploma level equivalent or equivalent work experience at band 3 level.
For further information about the role, please see attached job description and person specification.
We strongly encourage you to review how you meet the criteria in the person specification and write about this point-by-point in your supporting statement for the best chance of being shortlisted.
We’re committed to equal opportunities and welcome applications from all sections of the community. Our commitment to inclusion is reflected in our accreditations: Race Equality Matters Silver Trailblazer, Neurodiversity in Business Corporate Member, Disability Confident Leader, Carer Confident Level 2, and the Armed Forces Covenant Gold Award. Reasonable adjustments will be provided to candidates as needed.
We welcome a conversation about flexibility and any other questions you may have. Please don’t hesitate to call: Lucy Bashir on 07584 556882 or email: [email protected], who’ll be delighted to help.
Please note, if we receive a high number of applications, we may close this role earlier than the advertised closing date, so please submit your application as soon as possible.
Person specification
Education/Qualifications/Training
Essential criteria
- NVQ level 3 in Health & Social Care or equivalent and relevant health related training to diploma level equivalent or equivalent work experience at band 3 level
- Minimum of 12-18 months relevant work experience in supporting vulnerable clients within a health and social care or voluntary sector
Desirable criteria
- Post graduate psychology qualification
Continuous Professional Development
Essential criteria
- Evidence of attendance at relevant conferences/training courses
- Evidence of qualifications
- Evidence of recent reading research around speciality
- Completed Care Certificate or willingness undertake Care Certificate training
Desirable criteria
- Experience of teaching/training individuals and groups.
- Experience of working in a health and social care setting.
Previous Experience
Essential criteria
- Lived experience of the criminal justice system, mental health and / or drug and alcohol services.
- Having recent lived experience and demonstratable recovery of 3-5 years of no longer being in contact with criminal justice system.
- Experience of supporting people with health and social care needs.
- Ability to identify appropriate resources with the service user, using a collaborative style of working.
- Experience of the principles of recovery, person-centred planning, and safeguarding.
- Relevant work experience in health and social care setting minimum of 18months at band 3 level.
Desirable criteria
- Previous experience of working in Liaison and Diversion.
- Experience of working within the criminal justice system.
Knowledge, Skills & Abilities
Essential criteria
- Willingness to share personal experiences in an appropriate way and maintain clear boundaries.
- Empathy, patience and sensitivity to be able to support people whilst maintaining boundaries.
- Willingness to seek support and guidance. The ability to form and sustain a trusting relationship with service users/carers and Peer Mentors.
- Well- developed listening skills and effective verbal communication skills to be able to engage appropriately with service users, carers, and colleagues, statutory and voluntary agencies, both face to face and by phone.
- The ability, with supervision, to manage own workload in an effective and timely manner.
- Demonstrate ability to use initiative appropriately, making decisions within the guidelines set.
- Able to demonstrate a general understanding of mental health issues with a positive non-judgemental approach towards people within the criminal justice service.
- Well-developed IT skills including competent use of Microsoft Office, and the use of electronic record keeping systems.
- Able to demonstrate an understanding of confidentiality and work within local policy framework.
- Demonstrates an appreciation of the values that underpin the delivery of care.
- Team-working skills within a multi-disciplinary group.
- Able to demonstrate an appreciation of equal opportunities/diversity issues.
- Possess an enthusiasm for learning and development.
- Flexible and adaptable to change.
Desirable criteria
- Experience of supervising staff, volunteers or peer mentors.
Additional Requirements
Essential criteria
- Required to demonstrate a recovery capital and period of desistance 3yrs+ from misusing substance (inc alcohol) and a minimum of 2+ year completing any licence conditions/requirements.
- Full driving license and access to a car.
- Able to travel freely and flexibly across the local area in order to work effectively with service users and peer mentors.
- Have experience of at least one of the key vulnerabilities identified as the target group for Liaison and Diversion.
- Must be abstinent from all illicit substances, and in active recovery for at least 3 years.
- Two professional/character checkable references.
- Ability to deal sensitively and decisively with conflict management.
- Ability to deal with frequent exposure to highly distressing situations.
- Ability to balance competing priorities and multi-task.
- In addition to DBS there is additional requirement to secure police vetting for this role.
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Applicant requirements
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
Application numbers
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Lucy Bashir
- Job title
- Lived Experience & Service User Engagement Manager
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 07584 556882
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