Job Introduction Part-time role based in either Ipswich, Bury St Edmunds or Lowestoft. We are seeking compassionate and motivated individuals with lived experience of substance use and recovery to join our team as a Peer Support Worker. In this role, you will provide support to individuals by helping them navigate the next steps of their recovery journey. You will empower the people we support to connect with local recovery groups, access additional support services, and build a positive and sustainable future.

At the Suffolk Drug and Alcohol Service we support adults and young people to live meaningful and fulfilling lives independent from substance use by addressing their needs including issues relating to drugs, alcohol and family relationships.  We also work closely with other services including housing, mental health, employment and mutual aid. As a Peer Support Worker we offer a starting salary of £23,808 rising each year in line with our pay progression salary bands, rising to £25,550 per year. You will have opportunities to progress your career with a structured learning journey and clearly defined career pathways that will enable you to achieve your long-term goals and work to your strengths.  We will support and encourage you on your career journey.

Role Responsibility As a Peer Support Worker we are looking for new colleagues with a passion to support individuals with substance use issues. Your role will be to work alongside team members to enable the people we support to access person centred care and navigate the different opportunities available within their local community. Peer Support Workers act as ‘advocates, mentors and coaches’ to service users supporting them to succeed in their chosen goals around treatment. The role includes maintaining regular contact with your clients, offering advice, information as well as supporting service users to access support in the Suffolk Drug and Alcohol Service and the local community utilising lived experience to provide hope, inspiration and support. No day is the same in this role but an ability to communicate effectively with a range or service users and colleagues, an ability to manage different tasks and a commitment to Turning Point values are essential. As a Peer Support Worker, you yourself will have lived experience around the issues experienced by our service users. You may come with experience supporting people in health and social care or just have a keen interest in supporting this group; if your values are right, we have a role for you.

The Ideal Candidate You will have an understanding of substance and alcohol use and the challenges and opportunities for individuals on a recovery journey. However, we also recognise that many people have transferrable skills from other backgrounds such as mental health, housing or other health and social care provision. The roles are varied, so flexibility, an ability to work dynamically on a one to one and group basis and knowledge of harm reduction, relapse and other barriers to recovery will be useful but we can help to shape these skills where needed. We also look for candidates with excellent communication skills and who share our values as an organisation. This role is specifically aimed at people with lived experience looking to develop in a career in substance use. You will be supported in your role by extensive training to help develop your skills. Our learning culture encourages everyone to stay on top of the latest developments in their field and helps drive service improvement. About us As a leading health and social care provider with more than 300 locations across England, we take real pride in the services we offer. We run all of our services on a not-for-profit basis; instead, we invest every penny back into our services and people. We never stop believing in change for the better, and we work constantly to improve the lives of the people we support.

What Benefits Will I Receive? We know reward looks different to each person and so whether its ways to make your money go further, a culture supporting recognition and celebration, or opportunities to boost your career – we want to support you in every way we can with our total reward package that includes: 25 days’ paid holiday a year + Bank Holidays, increasing with each year of service up to 27 days + Bank Holidays. Plus the option to buy additional holidays and spread the cost. Join our team and discover the comprehensive benefits we offer by following this link to explore all the exciting perks available to our employees. Turning Point Benefits

We reserve the right to close this advert early if we are able to appoint to the vacancy before the advertised closing date.

Turning Point

Attached documents SM - Peer Support Worker.pdf

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