Job Description

The Kingfisher is a new service providing specialist mental health inpatient and outreach support to adults with learning disabilities and/or autism. The inpatient service is located at the Blackberry Hill Hospital site in Fishponds, Bristol. We are looking to recruit peer support practitioners to work as part of the Kingfisher Team. There is a choice of part time or full-time hours to be negotiated. The minimum hours we are looking to employ is 12. Full training will be provided for this role. Applicants must have a clinical diagnosis of a learning disability and or autism and have received support from mental health services. The services we are interested in the applicants having used are:



Inpatient care on a mental health ward.

Having been allocated a Care coordinator in a mental health team.

Having had a care plan.

Having had care from a Psychiatrist.

Having used a team such as the Recovery Team or the Early Intervention in Psychosis Team.



Please state this clearly in your personal statement in the online application form. We are offering an online meeting on teams (dates to be confirmed) to share information about the application process, a short presentation about the role and to answer questions. Please contact awp.peerlxp@nhs.net to register your interest for the teams meeting. More detailed information will be provided to applicants invited for interview.



The peer support practitioner roles involve sharing your experiences of managing your own challenges related to autism, learning disability and mental health in a safe way that will help patients make decisions for their own recovery and give them hope that recovery is possible.

This might look like:

Being a role model Spending time listening to someone Sharing what helped you recover Validating experiences Helping someone say something they want to say Being a voice of lived experience in team meetings and helping staff to understand the lived experience perspective.

We are AWP (Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust): a diverse organisation with over 5,000 dedicated staff providing inpatient and community-based mental health care.



We provide services from a range of locations to approximately 1.8 million people living in Bath and North East Somerset (B&NES), Bristol, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Swindon, across the county of Wiltshire and in parts of Dorset.



Our outstanding people promote mental health and wellbeing. The expertise and resources within AWP are dedicated to a person-centred approach for those who use our services and for all employees. We recognise that happy and fulfilled employees give better care.



AWP is committed to support and create a positive research and evidence-based environment and culture, which can have a beneficial impact on everyone who works for the organisation and the care we provide to those who use our services.



At AWP we actively encourage applicants from all backgrounds; we are particularly keen to encourage applications from people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, those with disabilities and from the LGBTQ+ community. We want people to bring their unique blend of experiences, backgrounds, perspectives and knowledge to AWP, as diversity makes us stronger.



To work as a member of a team which consists of other Peer Support and AWP clinical staff to deliver groups and courses.

To provide peer support to people staying at the kingfisher.

To assist in the delivery of groups to patients.

To represent lived experience perspectives to staff.

A willingness to share personal lived experiences in an appropriate manner.

To take an 'along-side' style when peer supporting people

To help Patients in identifying appropriate ongoing support which may aid their wellbeing.

To work under the supervision of a line manager and supervisor.

To contribute to the evaluation of peer support provided at the Kingfisher, to understand if it is helpful to receive this help.

To communicate and manage difficult, challenging conversations in a calm, skilled and sensitive manner.

To exercise good personal time management and be punctual, with consistent reliable attendance at work.

To be aware of, teach others and challenge issues that are stigmatized and discriminatory.

To work to AWP policies and guidelines.

To complete the AWP Core training package for Peer Support

To attend Trust wide Peer support and lived experience practitioner community of practice when available.

To receive peer practice supervision.