Job summary
This role is offered on a permanent basis. The hours are full time, part-time or offered as a job share.
Internal applicants who wish to be considered for a secondment opportunity should discuss with their line manager the suitability of apossible secondment
The new post of Lived Experience Workforce Lead is an exciting opportunity to shape, develop and embed lived experience informed practice across GHC.
We are looking for a Lived Experience leader who is passionate about using their own personal experience, knowledge and expertise to champion peer support across the organisation and provide professional leadership, oversight and governance for our growing lived experience workforce.
You will challenge, support and work in partnership with wider colleagues and leaders to design and deliver the strategic direction of lived experience practice in the Trust, and contribute to transformation programmes, projects and workstreams both within GHC and across the wider health and care system.
We will be holding an information event on Friday 5th September 2025 at 12:30pm. If you would be interested in finding out more about the service and role, please follow the below link to register your interest for the event.
https://forms.office.com/e/40mSdNGhNc
Main duties of the job
This is a county-wide role which will require the post holder to support, supervise and oversee the training of peer support workers and lived experience practitioners employed by the Trust.
Close working with managers and leaders will be essential to promote the development of lived experience roles and ensure that systems are in place for effective recruitment, induction and ongoing practice of the lived experience workforce.
You will represent the lived experience workforce and practice in relevant operational, strategic and organisational forums both within and outside the Trust.
The post holder will also advise on the implementation of national and local policies relevant to peer support provision and be responsible for considering how these impact on the strategic development of lived experience practice.
About us
We have a skilled and dedicated workforce of over 5000 colleagues working in a diverse range of services over 55 sites and within people's homes. We strive to enable a welcoming workplace culture that builds and celebrates civility, inclusivity and diversity, while providing a sense of belonging and trust.
Annual staff surveys, regular Pulse surveys and other engagement opportunities provide our people with lots of opportunity to tell us about their experiences of working with us. In the latest staff survey, 61% of colleagues gave us their views. It was great to hear that:
- 72% of colleagues would recommend the Trust as a place to work, ranking us 1st for Provider Trusts in the South West region on this question.
- 76% would recommend the standard of care provided in our services if a friend or relative needed treatment, also ranking us 1st in the South West region.
- 81% said that care of patients and service users is the Trust's priority, compared with an average in comparable NHS Trusts in England of 64%.
This high-level overview shows we are in a healthy position, with higher scores than average for comparable organisations, alongside a great response rate, indicating good staff engagement. However, we also know we have plenty of room for improvement in many areas. To that end, we continue to prioritise and invest in our commitment to genuinely becoming a Great Place to Work with consistent top-quartile performance in the annual staff survey and Pulse surveys.
Job description
Job responsibilities
To lead the strategic development of a high quality, responsive and accessible lived experience workforce across the Trust in both mental and physical health services.
To work closely with Operational / Team Managers and wider stakeholders to identify gaps in provision and highlight where lived experience roles are needed across services.
To scope and identify education and training requirements for Peer Support workers and Lived Experience Practitioners and also clinical colleagues in teams.
To provide peer support to a small caseload of service users with highly complex needs and co-morbidities.
To liaise and work collaboratively with local voluntary sector and community organisations, wider partners and other stakeholder to develop a coherent approach to lived experience across the health and social care system.
To co-create and co-deliver training to a wide variety of people and partners.
The Trust is required to work in line with the Governments UK Visa and Immigration Rules and Regulations. For more information about sponsorship for certain roles, please visit - https://www.gov.uk/browse/visas-immigration/work-visas
Job description
Job responsibilities
To lead the strategic development of a high quality, responsive and accessible lived experience workforce across the Trust in both mental and physical health services.
To work closely with Operational / Team Managers and wider stakeholders to identify gaps in provision and highlight where lived experience roles are needed across services.
To scope and identify education and training requirements for Peer Support workers and Lived Experience Practitioners and also clinical colleagues in teams.
To provide peer support to a small caseload of service users with highly complex needs and co-morbidities.
To liaise and work collaboratively with local voluntary sector and community organisations, wider partners and other stakeholder to develop a coherent approach to lived experience across the health and social care system.
To co-create and co-deliver training to a wide variety of people and partners.
The Trust is required to work in line with the Governments UK Visa and Immigration Rules and Regulations. For more information about sponsorship for certain roles, please visit - https://www.gov.uk/browse/visas-immigration/work-visas
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Educated to degree level plus further specialist knowledge to masters level or equivalent
- Formal PSW Accredited training
- Peer Support Worker Supervisor Training or willingness to complete
Experience
Essential
- Lived experience of mental health difficulties and/or chronic physical health difficulties
- Experience of providing compassionate support to people experiencing distress in a peer support role
- Experience of autonomous working and ability to work unsupervised in a range of settings
- Experience of managing a team and/or leading others and mediating conflict
- Training experience and experience of sharing self to support others in a training environment
Knowledge and Skills
Essential
- Completion of PSW competencies
- Good interpersonal skills and experience of building relationships and working with a wide variety of people in different contexts
- Demonstrable high level communication skills (listening, verbal and written) including the ability to author reports and business cases
- Ability to manage own workload, prioritise, delegate as appropriate, problem sole and seek creative solutions.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Educated to degree level plus further specialist knowledge to masters level or equivalent
- Formal PSW Accredited training
- Peer Support Worker Supervisor Training or willingness to complete
Experience
Essential
- Lived experience of mental health difficulties and/or chronic physical health difficulties
- Experience of providing compassionate support to people experiencing distress in a peer support role
- Experience of autonomous working and ability to work unsupervised in a range of settings
- Experience of managing a team and/or leading others and mediating conflict
- Training experience and experience of sharing self to support others in a training environment
Knowledge and Skills
Essential
- Completion of PSW competencies
- Good interpersonal skills and experience of building relationships and working with a wide variety of people in different contexts
- Demonstrable high level communication skills (listening, verbal and written) including the ability to author reports and business cases
- Ability to manage own workload, prioritise, delegate as appropriate, problem sole and seek creative solutions.
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
Additional information
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
