Peer Worker UK Visa Sponsorship
Job Description
Exciting Opportunity: Peer Support Workers at Foss Park Hospital
We are thrilled to share that Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust is now hiring Peer Support Workers for our adult male mental health inpatient unit at Foss Park Hospital in York. If you’ve navigated your own mental health journey and want to use those insights to help others, this could be the perfect fit for you.
What Peer Support Means to Us
Peer support is all about people with similar life experiences coming together to form genuine, supportive connections. It’s a space free from judgment where everyone can share, learn, and grow side by side. Our Peer Workers bring their own histories of facing mental health difficulties and using related services. They’re fully trained, backed by the Trust, and guided by our core principles to draw on those personal stories in a meaningful way to assist others.
Who We’re Looking For
We’re seeking individuals with:
- Direct personal involvement in inpatient mental health care.
- Hands-on experience dealing with mental health issues.
- A track record of leveraging your own background to help others whether through paid positions, volunteer work, community-led initiatives, or even casual support networks.
Important note: Successful candidates must already have the legal right to work in the UK. Unfortunately, this position doesn’t qualify for visa sponsorship under the Skilled Worker route, so we can’t provide that support here.
Key Responsibilities
These positions are demanding yet incredibly fulfilling, as you’ll be aiding individuals with diverse backgrounds and needs.
Your journey with us begins with comprehensive peer support training, led by experienced peers who’ve walked similar paths and held these roles themselves.
Once trained, your day-to-day might include:
- Offering one-on-one guidance to ward residents, and sometimes extending that to their families or caregivers.
- Organizing and leading (or co-leading) group sessions focused on peer support.
- Participating in team discussions to amplify service users’ perspectives, champion their requirements, and infuse your unique lived insights into decision-making.
- Helping shape and improve our services by sharing suggestions, insights, and real-world viewpoints.
- Forging partnerships with various professionals, organizations, and fellow peer supporters across the network.
To keep you thriving, we’ll provide consistent one-on-one and group supervision, plus access to additional peer networks for ongoing encouragement.
About Our Team and Values
At our core, we celebrate diversity and aim for a peer team that reflects a broad spectrum of backgrounds. We encourage applications from anyone who’s encountered mental health services, especially those from groups protected under the Equality Act 2010 – including differences in age, disability, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy, ethnicity, faith, gender, or sexual orientation – as well as other underrepresented communities.
We also appreciate a mix of service experiences, whether positive, challenging, or somewhere in between, because that enriches our approach.
How to Apply: Our Step-by-Step Process
Our hiring involves multiple phases to ensure we find the best matches:
- Application Submission: Start by sending in your written application via our online portal. We’ll review them and select a shortlist for the next round.
- Group Assessment Day: Join us for an interactive session where you’ll get to know the role better and showcase your alignment with our values and abilities. From here, we’ll advance top candidates.
- Personal Interviews: The final step features in-depth one-on-one conversations to decide on offers.
Feel free to reach out for a casual discussion or check the full job outline if you’d like more specifics.
Role Essentials
- Posted On: January 5, 2026
- Compensation Framework: Agenda for Change
- Grade: Band 3
- Annual Salary: £24,937 – £26,598 (pro-rated for part-time)
- Employment Type: Permanent, Part-Time
- Job ID: 346-NYA-215-25-A
- Site: Foss Park Hospital, Haxby Road, York YO31 8TA
In-Depth Role Overview
As a Peer Worker, you’ll collaborate closely with service users individually or in groups, using your personal mental health insights to accompany them through their recovery. Grounded in principles like genuineness, connection, affirmation, dignity, reciprocity, and strength-building, you’ll foster environments where people feel truly understood. Approach interactions with empathy and openness, honoring each person’s unique abilities, cultural differences, and self-knowledge. You’ll also prioritize trauma-aware practices, recognizing how past experiences shape needs.
Beyond direct support, you’ll be a key team player, bringing peer principles and expertise from your own challenges and service use. This means advocating for users, ensuring their input influences care, and advancing recovery-focused, trauma-sensitive methods. We’ll empower you to address prejudice and barriers related to mental health, both personally and system-wide.
What You’ll Bring: Candidate Profile
Education and Credentials (Required):
- AS Level, NVQ Level 3, or similar qualification (or ready to pursue it promptly), OR comparable hands-on peer support experience in community or hospital settings.
- Basic math, reading, and computer skills at Level 2 or equivalent.
- Successful completion of our Trauma-Informed Peer Support Training (within the set timeframe).
Background (Required):
- Relevant personal encounters with mental health struggles tied to this role.
- Firsthand use of inpatient mental health facilities.
- History of providing peer aid paid, volunteer, or informal to those with mental health or learning differences.
Preferred:
- Prior paid or volunteer peer support involvement.
Understanding (Required):
- Sensitivity to the varied requirements of people from different cultural, social, and ethnic groups.
- Enthusiasm for peer support ideals and recognition of its team contributions.
- Grasp of preserving the authenticity of peer roles.
Abilities (Required):
- Skill in thoughtfully sharing your story while empathetically connecting with others’ experiences in a role-appropriate manner.
- Strong communication skills, both spoken and written, tailored to the audience and context.
Traits (Required):
- Dedication to elevating service users’ viewpoints.
Important Compliance Notes
This role requires a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1975 exceptions, to review any past convictions.
We welcome global applicants needing Skilled Worker sponsorship, who will be evaluated equally. Visit the UK Visas and Immigration site for details. Note: From April 6, 2017, entry clearance applicants must supply criminal record certificates from countries of 12+ months residence in the last decade; this applies to adult dependents too. More info here: Criminal records checks for overseas applicants.
Join Us!
Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust
Foss Park Hospital, Haxby Road, York YO31 8TA
Learn more at: https://www.tewv.nhs.uk
