Peer Supporter

Go back Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear (CNTW) NHS Foundation Trust

The closing date is 09 March 2026

An exciting opportunity has arisen in Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust's (CNTW) North Cumbria Locality. The role will be for a Peer supporter for the Memory and Later Life Services based at Lilyhall Business Centre in Workington.

The Peer Supporter role is a vital part of our plan to continually improve the service that we provide. The role is aimed at people with personal lived experience of supporting and having responsibility for a friend or relative with dementia.

The principal role of the post will be to support carers throughout their journey of supporting someone within our services following assessment, through to accessing care and treatment and beyond.

This is a unique opportunity to work as part of a Clinical Team, utilising your personal experience to provide support, validation and hope for people following diagnosis, creating an opportunity to make a real difference in the lives of carers and families.

The role focuses on creating trusting relationships whilst supporting carers to manage the challenges and changes that a caring role can bring following a diagnosis and throughout treatment.

This will be a challenging, but rewarding role, working with a diverse range of people who are caring for anyone who has new or suspected memory problems, including those with a diagnosis of dementia, and people in later life who have anxiety, depression or psychosis made more complex by physical health needs.

• Supporting families and carers whilst their loved ones are within our service and throughout transitional periods.
• Advocate for carers in meetings, raising awareness, and influencing service culture.
• Use your lived experience thoughtfully, sharing relevant stories that can create a shared understanding between carers to help build a mutual connection.
• Co facilitate and develop therapeutic groups for carers and families and creating a safe space for sharing experiences.
• Working 1:1 with carers and families to offer appropriate individualised support and advice.
• Supporting with training sessions to educate people on the needs and experiences of carers.
• Managing and prioritising your workload independently.
• Have the ability to:
  • Communicate through a range of different methods including face to face, telephone, email, and in group settings.
  • Work collaboratively as part of a team as well as individually.
  • Have a good level of self-awareness.
  • Ability to manage and maintain professional boundaries.
• This service covers a wide area across Cumbria and this role will involve travelling across the county.
• Have an ability to use trust IT systems for recording patient or carer contacts. The use of online diaries and Microsoft teams to communicate with colleagues and join online meetings.

We aim to attract and retain a diverse, talented and committed workforce, who are caring and compassionate, and therefore able to meet the demands of the modern NHS now and in the future. In return we can offer a dynamic working environment in which to build a career.

NHS Employees identified as at risk of compulsory redundancy and those eligible for the NENC Re-Deployment careers hub will receive prior consideration.

Please find attached job description and role descriptor for full details.

Advertising date : 23rd February 2026

We will arrange a group assessment day where we can meet potential applicants in person and potential applicants can come along to find out more about the post and decide whether this post is right for them. Dates to be confirmed.

We welcome your application and any questions you may have.

• Good level of secondary education
• Commitment to complete the CNTW Peer Supporter Educational Programme
• Completion of Peer Support Specialist Training or other similar peer support training
• Completion of Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP) training
• Completion of WRAP Educator training

• Understanding of personal values and beliefs
• Good interpersonal and team-working skills
• Ability to share personal story of recovery in a professional manner
• Confidence in own skills and ability to draw upon own resilience and strengths to sustain own wellbeing ;
  Ability to assist people to develop recovery and wellness plans
• Ability to facilitate groups ;
  Ability to deliver aspects of a planned training event.
• Ability and willingness to reflect on work practice and be open to constructive feedback
• Ability to work in an enabling and creative way
• Ability to draw on own resilience while working with challenging situations.
• Ability to plan and prioritise workload
• Ability to undertake breakaway skills
• Experience of WRAP or other recovery/person-centred planning tools
• Knowledge of how the mental health and other health and social care systems operate
• Understanding of issues affecting mental health and well-being