IPS Peer Support Worker

Hey there! Are you ready to bring your passion, creativity, and happy vibes to a place that truly makes a difference? Look no further! At PossAbilities, we’re a social enterprise on a mission to help vulnerable people ‘Live the life they choose.’ Mostly we support people with learning disabilities, young people leaving care and people with dementia...though we do lots of other great things too. If that sounds like something you’d love to be a part of, keep reading!

Please be aware, that as part of our safeguarding commitment, this role requires an Enhanced DBS check. We believe in fair opportunities, so past convictions don’t automatically exclude you, just please ensure that you are upfront and honest about anything that you need to disclose.

Please note - This is a 21 hour part time role with a salary of £14,727.79

Why Choose PossAbilities?

PossAbilities isn’t just a fantastic place to work; it’s a place where your heart can sing. Here’s why you’ll love working with us:

• Awesome Pay: We proudly offer a real living wage. Earn £24,538 a year for a 37-hour workweek (pro-rata for part-timers).
• Pension Perks: We contribute up to 4% of your salary into a pension plan.
• Holiday Fun: Enjoy 22 days of annual leave (pro rata for part time), 8 bank holidays, and access to our reduced rate holiday home at Ribby Hall Village, 3 extra days holiday on completion of 5 years’ service!
• Duvet Days: Perfect attendance? Have a paid day off to chill!
• Health & Wellbeing: Access for you and your dependents for free 24/7 confidential employee assistance programme support, including counselling, and internally trained Mental Health First Aiders to support you.
• Social Events: Join fun events with the people we support, staff, and their families.
• Discounts & Benefits: We're a Flexible Pay Employer that offers Wagestream . The money management app lets you choose when to get paid, put money aside each month, get discounts on your shopping, check your benefits entitlement and much more. Not just that but as an employee of PossAbilities you are eligible for a Blue Light Card, ESSO discounted fuel card & similarly a Love2Shop - Every Day Benefits Card all easy-to-use discount schemes which saves you money on your day-to-day spending. We will even refund you the joining fee!

Being named the industry winner in The Sunday Times Best Places to Work 2026 Awards is a fantastic recognition of the positive, inclusive and supportive culture we've built together. This national accolade highlights our commitment to creating a workplace where colleagues feel valued, empowered and able to thrive.

We were awarded Highly Commended for Employer of the Year at the 2024 National Learning Disability & Autism Awards.

We are looking for motivated, passionate individuals with lived experience of mental ill health (whether that’s through your own experience of mental ill-health or if you’re currently on your own recovery journey) who want to develop or continue a career in the supported employment sector. This position, is a fantastic opportunity to make a real difference helping to support people with mental ill health on their journey onto paid employment.

As a Peer Support Worker, you will receive training and support to enable you to take on the role, develop your skills and have access to a broad range of opportunities within PossAbilities.

We welcome applications from all experience levels and backgrounds. What you will need is the ability to motivate and build relationships. Have strong organisational skills, the confidence to communicate and engage with a range of employers, work independently in the community, and have the fundamental belief that anyone with a mental health condition can work.

Please note - You must be able to travel independently across the borough

Your Purpose

As a Peer Support Worker, you will play a vital role in helping people with mental health support needs find meaningful and fulfilling employment through personal development guidance. You’ll receive all the training and support you need to take on the role, develop your skills and have access to a broad range of opportunities within Pure Innovations.

Your Role

You will work with people experiencing mental health challenges, providing peer support, practical assistance and recovery-focused guidance to help them regain control of their lives and achieve their personal goals. Working alongside IPS Employment Specialists, you will support clients to access employment, build confidence, develop skills and connect with local services and opportunities. Using your lived experience, you will provide person-centred support, inspire hope, reduce barriers to employment and promote recovery in line with IMROC principles and the IPS model. You will also contribute to training, partnership working, referral development and community engagement, while maintaining accurate records and completing IMROC Peer Support Worker training to deliver high-quality, values-based support.

Core Responsibilities:

• This is an exciting and dynamic role, where no one day is the same and you’ll be making a genuine difference to people’s lives. Using the Individual Placement and Support (IPS) model you’ll:
• Build supportive, respectful relationships with clients, using lived experience to inspire hope and employment aspirations.
• Support clients to identify strengths, overcome barriers and access employment, community activities and specialist services.
• Deliver structured peer support in line with IMROC principles and recovery-focused practice.o
• Work collaboratively with Employment Specialists, clinical teams, employers and referral partners to promote IPS and reduce stigma.
• Support training, awareness-raising, community engagement and participation in events and service development initiatives.
• Maintain accurate records, manage your caseload effectively and work independently to deliver high-quality support.
• Take part in localised networking opportunities to raise awareness of the IPS:SMI service and build relationships with potential referrers.
• Develop quarterly co-production sessions with clients from your local area to gain qualitative evaluation insights into the programme.
• Maintain accurate case records and follow all administrative, monitoring and data recording requirements.
• Work independently and consistently to deliver effective IPS and peer support services.
• Complete IMROC Peer Support Worker training and apply recovery-focused, peer support best practice in daily work.
• Keep up to date with developments in vocational rehabilitation, mental health and peer support.
• Support service improvement through co-production with service users and the sharing of recovery and employment success stories.
• Adhere to all relevant policies and procedures, including safeguarding, information governance and confidentiality.
• Commit to ongoing learning, mandatory training and professional development.
• Work flexibly to meet service and client needs.
• Undertake any other duties appropriate to the role as required by management.

Education & Qualifications

• Willing to complete training in the IPS approach
• Willingness to complete a level 3 IMROC Peer Support Work training qualification
• Own personal lived experience of recovery from mental health difficulties
• Understanding of mental health support needs, or a similar client group within health, social services, or the voluntary sector
• Experience of managing multiple tasks at any one time
• Experience of working assertively to influence decision makers
• An understanding of the employment needs, and challenges faced by people who experience mental health difficulties
• Developing a knowledge of a broad range of barriers to employment
• Able to use IT and tools such as MS Word, PowerPoint and Excel
• Trained in IPS approach
• QCF in Advice & Guidance (Level 3)
• A valid UK Driving Licence
• Experience of supporting people to find support for a variety of challenges
• Experience of working within mental health services
• Previous experience of delivering a service using the IPS model is a bonus
• Experience of delivering training workshops
• Experience of working with someone on a one-to-one basis
• Knowledge of the benefits agency and all disability/ employment related benefits

Skills:

• Good motivational, communication and listening skills
• Outstanding interpersonal skills and ability to build rapport with a range of people
• Good organisational ability
• Natural ability to build close, trusting, and productive relationships with people
• Team orientated and works collaboratively within a mixed-disciplinary team
• Ability to work independently and use initiative to develop and promote a service
• A confident, independent traveller

Personal Qualities:

• Non-judgemental and trustworthy
• Empathy with the needs of those with mental health support needs
• Passion and drive to make a positive difference to people's lives
• Highly motivated with a genuine belief that someone with a mental health condition can find paid employment
• Resilient and tenacious to not give up despite setbacks and frustrations
• Self-aware of personal strengths and weaknesses and actively invest in personal and professional development
• Willingness to travel within the region

We All:

• Work together to embed a ‘Team PossAbilities’ ethos and deliver brilliant services everyday
• Ensure the quality standards and performance measures applying to our work are met.
• Maintain a safe environment by working within health and safety guidelines
• Take responsibility for looking after our wellbeing
• Act as an ambassador, promoting PossAbilities and its services.
• Act in accordance with statutory and regulatory requirements and follow policies and procedures.
• Participate in any training or development as required, and continue to learn so that we can get better
• Have a good understanding of safeguarding to be able to keep individuals safe from harm, neglect and abuse
• Keep, use and share information responsibly in line with the General Data Protection Regulations and PossAbilities policies
• Put forward any ideas to improve the services we provide and the way we work.
• Report any concerns through the right channels
• Use PossAbilities property and equipment appropriately, safely and with due consideration for its security.
• Always act in the best interests of PossAbilities
• Undertake any other duties and tasks as may be reasonably required
• Adopt a flexible approach to the hours worked in accordance with the needs of the individual and the organisation

Inclusion

We strongly believe that a good workplace is one that values everyone and embraces both similarities and differences and therefore we want to ensure all our employees bring their whole-self to work. We expect you to:

• Be committed to equality, diversity & inclusion; celebrate the differences of our people and contribute to a culture where everyone is valued and respected.
• Be committed to delivering person-centred services and recognising our customers as diverse individuals.

Our Values

Our values lie at the heart of our organisation and underpin everything we do.

Integrity

We communicate openly and honestly and build relationships based on trust, respect and caring.

Creativity

We thrive on innovation and encourage positive risk taking.

Happy

We believe fun is the key to success

We believe that everyone has the right to exercise choice and control in directing their lives and support. We inspire people to achieve greater things.

We are dedicated to, and enthusiastic about, providing exceptional services.

We are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace where all employees feel valued, respected, and supported. We believe that diversity drives innovation and we actively seek to foster an environment where everyone can thrive. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and are dedicated to providing equal opportunities for all employees, ensuring that our team reflects the diverse communities we serve.

PossAbilities are a Disability Confident employer therefore we commit to providing those with a disability, who meet the essential criteria, an interview for the role.

If you require any accommodations during the application or interview process, please email , and we will work with you to meet your needs.

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