Peer Support Worker

Do you have a passion for working in the heart of your local community and are driven by making a difference? Then Citizens Advice Mid Mercia is the organisation for you. Our free and independent advice helps people solve problems in a confidential and impartial manner. Whatever the problem, we won't turn people away. We make a difference. Our trusted brand and the quality of our research mean we make a real impact on behalf of the people who rely on us. We are looking for a full-time Peer Support Worker to join our Living Well (Derbyshire Wellbeing) Service. Peer support workers are individuals who have personal experience with mental health challenges. They leverage these experiences and their empathy to support others and their families who are receiving mental health services. Peer support workers collaborate with other members of a person's care team to promote wellbeing and inspire recovery. As a member of the team and working alongside partners, your role will involve engaging and supporting people within their local community. You will provide support and recovery guidance to individuals and their families receiving mental health services. You will receive appropriate support to enable you to feel empowered to fulfil this role. We are looking for someone who:

• Has the ability to draw on their own lived experience of mental health challenges and provide insight into recovery from mental health issues to encourage and inspire others.
• Actively cares about making a positive difference and is motivated to improve mental health for people in their communities.
• Is being active in your own self-care and your own recovery.
Full training and support will be given to the successful candidate to enable them to carry out their role Responsibilities / Key Tasks:
• To support, provide companionship and encouragement to people experiencing mental health difficulties.
• Using your own lived experience of mental health difficulties and recovery journey to connect with a person to offer emotional and practical support: giving them a sense of hope and supporting them to gain a sense of control over their lives.
• Modelling personal responsibility, self-awareness, self-belief, self-advocacy and hopefulness.
• Support introductions and initial conversations to the service, providing peer support and engagement.
• Provide emotional and practical support to individuals on a 1:1 or group basis - building confidence and skills and grow their ability to self-manage their mental wellbeing.
• Support individuals to access appropriate community services or groups e.g. housing advice, debt support, education, etc.
What we offer in return:
• 28 days entitlement plus bank holidays pro-rata
• Full advice training is offered to all members of staff regardless of role to Advice Quality Standard (AQS)
• Opportunities for further training and continuous professional development
• Internal progression opportunities
• Supportive environment
• Remote/flexible working opportunities, subject to management approval
• Option to buy & sell holiday allowance, subject to management approval
• Paid DBS application, where applicable
• 5% pension contributions
• 3 month's full contractual pay for maternity, upon meeting qualifying criteria
We value the health & wellbeing of our teams, and this is very important to us. As such, we offer time out breaks and a counselling line for all staff and volunteers.

Disability Confident About Disability Confident A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. For more details please go to Disability Confident.