Job Description

Tees Esk and Wear Valley NHS Foundation Trust are pleased to announce that we are currently recruiting Peer Workers for our Male Adult Mental Health Ward at Lanchester Road Hospital, Durham.
Peer support is when people with shared experiences connect to build safe, trusting and non-judgmental relationships where we learn and grow together. Peer workers are people who have experience of mental health challenges and accessing services for mental health care, and are employed, trained and supported to work to the TEWV Peer Support Values and use their experiences to support others.
For this role, we are looking for people who have:

• Personal experience of accessing secondary or inpatient mental health services.
• Relevant experience of mental health challenges
• Personal experience of using your lived experience to support others, for example in a paid role, in volunteering, in a user led environment or informally

These roles are currently Monday - Friday however due to changing needs on the wards, you may be required to work some weekends in the future.
You must have the Right to Work in the UK in order to be successfully appointed to this role. Please note, this role does not meet the required eligibility criteria for sponsorship under the Skilled Worker visa and therefore the Trust is unable to offer sponsorship for this particular role.
Main duties of the job
These are challenging but rewarding roles supporting people with a wide range of experiences.
Your time in post will start with attending our peer support training alongside other people starting peer support roles with us. This training is delivered by people with their own lived experience who also have direct experience of working in peer roles themselves.
From there your work will involve:

• Providing 1:1 peer support to people on the ward (this may involve supporting family / carers too)
• Setting up and facilitating / co-facilitating peer support groups
• Attending and contributing to team meetings to help ensure service users' voices are heard, that their needs are advocated for, and to bring lived experience expertise into team processes.
• Contributing to service development within the teams you work in. This involves offering ideas, feedback and lived experience perspectives.
• Building connections with a range of people and organisations within the system (including other peer support workers / providers).

To support you with this work you will receive ongoing regular 1:1 and group supervision and will be able to access a range of other peer connection and support structures.
About us
We value diversity and want to have a wide range of identities represented in the peer workforce. We welcome applications from people with lived experience of distress and mental health services from the characteristics protected by the Equality Act 2010 (age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation) and other diverse groups.
We also value a diversity of experiences with mental health services in the peer workforce and welcome applications from people with helpful, difficult or mixed experiences of mental health services.
Please note this recruitment takes place over a number of stages:
1. Written Applications: The first stage involves submitting your written application through our system. We will review these applications and shortlist a limited number of candidates to move on to the next stage.
2. Recruitment Day / Group Interview: The second stage is a recruitment day / group interview. This is an opportunity for you to learn more about the role and demonstrate your values and skills. After this day we shortlist candidates for the individual interview stage.
3. Individual Interviews: In the final stage, we conduct individual interviews to determine which candidates will be offered the position.
Details
Date posted
22 October 2025
Pay scheme
Agenda for change
Band
Band 3
Salary
24,937 to 26,598 a year pro rata, per annum
Contract
Permanent
Working pattern
Full-time, Part-time
Reference number
346-DDA-148-25-A
Job locations
Lanchester Road Hospital
Lanchester Road
Durham
DH1 5RD
Job description
Job responsibilities
These Peer Worker roles will involve working to support current service users both 1:1 and in groups as appropriate. Drawing on your own experience of mental health challenges, you will walk alongside others on their journey in a supportive peer relationship built on our core peer values of authenticity, relationship, validation, respect, mutuality, and empowerment. You will listen non-judgmentally to create safe spaces where people feel heard. You will approach the peer relationship with compassion and curiosity. You will recognise and value peoples strengths, diversity, and expertise in themselves. You will be aware of the impacts of trauma and committed to the importance of working in ways which are sensitive to the needs of trauma survivors.
You also will be an integrated and valued member of the team. Peer Worker roles involve contributing peer values and the knowledge, skills and expertise that come with lived experience of mental health challenges and mental health services. Important parts of this role also include working within the team to help service users voices be heard, to advocate for their needs, and to promote recovery values and trauma informed approaches. Peer Workers will be supported to challenge both individual and structural instances of stigma and discrimination related to mental health and other forms of exclusion.
Please see the uploaded job description or approach us for an informal chat if you would like further details on the post. Job description
Job responsibilities
These Peer Worker roles will involve working to support current service users both 1:1 and in groups as appropriate. Drawing on your own experience of mental health challenges, you will walk alongside others on their journey in a supportive peer relationship built on our core peer values of authenticity, relationship, validation, respect, mutuality, and empowerment. You will listen non-judgmentally to create safe spaces where people feel heard. You will approach the peer relationship with compassion and curiosity. You will recognise and value peoples strengths, diversity, and expertise in themselves. You will be aware of the impacts of trauma and committed to the importance of working in ways which are sensitive to the needs of trauma survivors.
You also will be an integrated and valued member of the team. Peer Worker roles involve contributing peer values and the knowledge, skills and expertise that come with lived experience of mental health challenges and mental health services. Important parts of this role also include working within the team to help service users voices be heard, to advocate for their needs, and to promote recovery values and trauma informed approaches. Peer Workers will be supported to challenge both individual and structural instances of stigma and discrimination related to mental health and other forms of exclusion.
Please see the uploaded job description or approach us for an informal chat if you would like further details on the post.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential

• AS Level, NVQ Level 3 or equivalent (or willingness to undertake within required timescale) OR equivalent experience of providing peer support in a community or inpatient setting
• Numeracy, Literacy and ITQ level 2 (or equivalent)
• Completed Trust Trauma Informed Peer Support Training course (passing within agreed timescale)

Experience
Essential

• Personal experience of mental health challenges or a learning disability that are relevant to the specific role advertised
• Personal experience of accessing inpatient mental health services
• Experience of paid, voluntary or informal peer support with people with mental health conditions or learning disabilities.

Desirable

• Experience of delivering peer support in a paid or voluntary role
• Experience of social exclusion, stigma and / or discrimination
• Psychiatric Hospital admission

Knowledge
Essential

• Awareness of the needs of individuals from diverse social, ethnic and cultural backgrounds
• Passionate about the values of peer support and understands what the role adds to a team
• Understands importance of maintaining integrity to peer support role

Skills
Essential

• Able to share elements of own life experiences, and engage compassionately with experiences of others, in a way appropriate to the role and peer relationship
• Ability to communicate information (verbal and written) effectively in a manner appropriate to the individual and situation

Personal Attributes
Essential

• Commitment to supporting service users voices to be heard

Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential

• AS Level, NVQ Level 3 or equivalent (or willingness to undertake within required timescale) OR equivalent experience of providing peer support in a community or inpatient setting
• Numeracy, Literacy and ITQ level 2 (or equivalent)
• Completed Trust Trauma Informed Peer Support Training course (passing within agreed timescale)

Experience
Essential

• Personal experience of mental health challenges or a learning disability that are relevant to the specific role advertised
• Personal experience of accessing inpatient mental health services
• Experience of paid, voluntary or informal peer support with people with mental health conditions or learning disabilities.

Desirable

• Experience of delivering peer support in a paid or voluntary role
• Experience of social exclusion, stigma and / or discrimination
• Psychiatric Hospital admission

Knowledge
Essential

• Awareness of the needs of individuals from diverse social, ethnic and cultural backgrounds
• Passionate about the values of peer support and understands what the role adds to a team
• Understands importance of maintaining integrity to peer support role

Skills
Essential

• Able to share elements of own life experiences, and engage compassionately with experiences of others, in a way appropriate to the role and peer relationship
• Ability to communicate information (verbal and written) effectively in a manner appropriate to the individual and situation

Personal Attributes
Essential

• Commitment to supporting service users voices to be heard

Skills Required