Job Summary
Ref: PSW-241
Are you a proactive, organised and compassionate individual with a proven record of working collaboratively with multi-agency partners and providing vital support, advice and advocacy to vulnerable people?
If so, St Giles is looking for a highly motivated Peer Support Worker to engage with and provide one-to-one Peer led support to people who are not only experiencing mental health conditions but who also present with risk and behaviours that bring them into the forensic arena.
About St Giles Trust
An ambitious, well-established charity that helps people facing adversity to find jobs, homes and the right support they need. Central to our ethos is our belief that people with first-hand experience of successfully overcoming issues such as an offending background, homelessness, addictions and gang involvement, hold the key to positive change in others.
About this key role
Based within the Forensic Community Mental Health Team in Coventry and Warwickshire, you will provide emotional and practical support to your referred clients, and to assess, with reference to St Giles Trust/ Forensic Community Mental Health Team assessment practices, each individual, producing support and risk management plans based on these assessments. We will rely on you to liaise closely with other St Giles teams with reference to referrals, avoiding duplication, and to support those referred to access and engage with suitable support agencies, while also developing strong relationships with statutory agencies.
An important element of this role is to deliver a holistic support service, working independently or with colleagues as the situation dictates, to each of your clients, as well as ensuring you close cases efficiently and positively, identifying a success plan for the client including agencies that can be used for on-going support/ if serious problems develop in the future.
What we are looking for
1. Relevant direct or indirect personal experience of the criminal justice system
2. Experience of working and engaging positively with people who have a history of substance use, mental health, offending or other vulnerable groups, reluctant to discuss their needs, and people who are angry and confused
3. To have a relevant qualification to a good standard or be working towards one
4. An understanding of the need to use support plans, to enable people to successfully access accommodation and support services
5. Excellent IT, prioritisation, interpersonal and communication skills, both verbal and written
6. A flexible, collaborative and professional approach to your work
As an organisation that works with children and adults at risk we are committed to safeguarding, protecting and promoting the safety of our clients and successful applicants will require an Enhanced Child and Adult with Child Barred DBS Check.
We actively encourage people with personal experience of the criminal justice system or lived experience of the issues facing this client group to apply for this role.
In return, you can expect a competitive salary, generous leave allowance, staff pension, flexible working, a mentoring programme, an advice and counselling service, clinical therapist sessions, life insurance (4 x annual salary), duvet days, season ticket loan, employee perks programme, eye care voucher and much more.