Peer Support Specialist: Sponsorship Available

Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

Job Summary

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a motivated and compassionate Peer Support Specialist to join our team at the Hellingly Centre.

We are looking for someone whose personal values and behaviours are in keeping with our Trusts values:

People first: People are at the heart of everything we do

Future focused: We are optimistic, we learn and we always try to improve

Embracing change: We are bold, innovative and disciplined about making use of our resources to continuously improve

Working together: We provide services in partnership with patients, families and others

Everyone counts: We value, appreciate and respect each other

If you are passionate about using your lived experience to support others in their recovery, to achieve their goals and live more fulfilling lives, this could be the perfect role for you.

 

Main duties of the job

  • Effectively communicating the core values and underpinning principles of peer support to service users, carers and other professionals, aiding others’ understanding of peer support roles and their value within teams and service users’ care.
  • Working alongside the multidisciplinary team, establishing professional relationships with colleagues.
  • Establishing mutual and reciprocal relationships with service users by listening to their experiences and journey, including leading to their admission to hospital and support them to consider their current goals and hopes and plans for the future.
  • Working with service users individually and in groups, in a peer-led way, supporting them to meet needs holistically, e.g. education, welfare, employment, financial, leisure, housing and spiritual.
  • Utilising your lived experience to support individuals and sharing parts of your own recovery story, where appropriate, to inspire hope. Being a positive role model for others overcoming mental health challenges, including service users, other workers and families or carer.
  • Supporting and enabling individuals to resolve conflicts and regain control, responsibility, hope and enjoyment based on the principles of peer supported recovery.
  • Supporting service users to engage in participation, co-production and service development opportunities, through the Working Together Group and other means and working on service development projects aligned with these areas.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

  • A recognised Peer Support qualification
  • Health care or relevant NVQ Level 3 or equivalent skills acquired through experience or formal teaching qualification
  • Evidence of a commitment to lifelong learning

Knowledge

Essential

  • Experience of working with people with mental health difficulties
  • Experience of working with groups/activities
  • Comprehensive knowledge of Peer Support, Recovery and Wellbeing in mental health and ability to apply this throughout your work
  • Lived experience of mental health issues/difficulties
  • Managing personal mental health and recovery

Desirable

  • Experience of training others in technical/leisure/creative skills

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 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

Closing Date: 03 June 2026

To apply for this job please visit apps.trac.jobs.