Mental health peer mentoring worker jobs in East of england

Lead a pod in our long-running Floating Support service: hold the relationships, develop placement students, and stay close to the work.

At Likewise, the core of what we do is build meaningful one-to-one relationships with people who are finding life difficult, and use those relationships to help people feel supported and make change.

We're recruiting a Pod Leader to join our Floating Support team. As a Pod Leader, you are the person who holds that relationship with every client in your pod. You know them, stay alongside them over the long term, and are accountable for their support, even though many of the visits are carried out by the placement students you lead. You're the person who stays, while others come and go around the work.

You also play a big part in developing your students. Most arrive with no experience of this kind of work, and a lot of what makes a pod work well is the way you help them learn to do it.

Floating Support has been running for over twenty years. It's long-term, flexible support for adults in Camden, in sessions of around two hours, wherever works for the person. We reopened referrals in 2024, and the service is growing, which is part of why this role matters.

Likewise is a community-centred mental health and wellbeing charity based in Camden. We believe that people thrive when they have access to meaningful relationships, supportive communities and opportunities to contribute. We're also committed to building a different kind of organisation, one that values trust, learning, autonomy and shared responsibility.

You don't need a specific qualification to apply, and we welcome people from a range of backgrounds. But this is not an entry-level role. We need people with a good amount of work experience behind them, including some real experience of support work, whether paid or through volunteering. We're more interested in how you are with people, how you think and how you work than in your CV on paper.

If that sounds like you, we'd love to hear from you. 

Early applications are encouraged - we may conduct interviews as suitable candidates apply and we're ready to hire if we find the right person before the job ad closes.

Islington Mind is recruiting a Team Leader for our Mental Health Recovery Pathway service, a trauma-informed mental health provision based across three sites in Islington and responding to the mental health needs of residents through a range of therapeutic interventions and community engagement.

You will be responsible for the running of the Isledon Road day centre, leading and supervising a team of staff and volunteers and managing the mental health open-access drop-in provisions, including:

• risk, health and safety and safeguarding management;
• overseeing the running of a programme of therapeutic activities;
• engaging and collaborating with partner service providers in the borough.

The Peer Recovery Worker will support people who are sleeping rough, at risk of rough
sleeping, or going through important stages in housing and recovery. The main purpose
of this role is to help reduce the harm caused by rough sleeping.

You will listen, build trust, give practical help and share clear information. You will help
people connect with the right support, including housing, health care, drug and alcohol
services, benefits advice, community groups, and services based at WSUP.

WSUP is not a drug and alcohol treatment provider, so this role does not involve
clinical treatment or specialist interventions. Instead, you will help people understand
their options, prepare for appointments, overcome barriers and stay connected with
services that can meet their needs.

You do not need to have all the answers.

We are looking for someone who is kind, reliable, calm and able to support people
without judgement. We welcome applications from people who have lived experience of homelessness,
addiction or recovery, and who feel ready to use that experience to support others
safely and positively.

Key Responsibilities
 

Engagement

• Build trusting and respectful relationships with people experiencing roughsleeping, homelessness, substance use, poor mental health or social isolation.
• Engage people in the Target Priority Group cohort through drop-ins, planned appointments, informal conversations and outreach.
• Provide emotional and practical support, listening and helping people feel heard.
• Use lived experience, where appropriate, to build connection, reduce stigma and inspire hope.
• Encourage people who may be unsure about housing, treatment or other support to explore their options at their own pace.
• Maintain contact during periods of disengagement, relapse, crisis or transition, within the boundaries of the role.
• Help people identify their own goals, strengths and next steps.
• Support or co-facilitate peer, recovery or wellbeing activities where appropriate.

Practical support and navigation

• Provide clear, accurate information about local treatment, health, housing, benefits and community services.
• Introduce people to co-located services at WSUP and help them understand what each service can offer.
• Provide warm handovers and accompany people to appointments where this is helpful, agreed and within the service plan.
• Help people with practical tasks such as phone calls, forms, identification, benefits enquiries and gathering information for appointments.
• Work closely with treatment, outreach, housing, health and other partners so that support is coordinated and responsibilities are clear.
• Advocate for people when stigma, exclusion or difficult processes create barriers to support.
• Support people at key transition points, including moving from the street into accommodation, leaving hospital, prison or treatment, or returning to services after disengagement.
• Help people connect with local groups, activities and community support that may improve wellbeing and reduce isolation. 
• Support day-to-day service delivery by staffing open sessions including Saturdays (on rota), covering reception duties and attending relevant team and management meetings.

Recording, safety and outcomes

• Record all contacts, actions, referrals, risks and outcomes accurately and promptly on WSUP's case management system.
• Complete triage/ONS4 wellbeing monitoring at the agreed stages.
• Complete ERSRAT monitoring across the newly registered guests, active caseload, including baseline information and follow-up reviews.
• Identify safeguarding concerns, immediate risks and changes in a person's situation, and report or escalate them without delay.
• Follow WSUP procedures on confidentiality, consent, information sharing, lone working, incidents, professional boundaries and health and safety.
• Contribute to support plans, case reviews and multi-agency discussions.
• Help collect guest feedback, case studies and evidence of outcomes, with appropriate consent. 

Working with co-located services

• Welcome and introduce people to visiting and co-located professionals.
• Help guests prepare for conversations with treatment, housing, health, benefits and other services.
• Share relevant information in line with WSUP policies and procedures.
• Follow up agreed actions and help guests understand what will happen next.
• Avoid taking over duties that belong to specialist, statutory or treatment providers. 

Person Specification
Essential skills & experience

• Experience of supporting people affected by homelessness, rough sleeping, substance use, poor mental health or other disadvantages.
• Ability to build trusting relationships with people who may have had poor experiences of services.
• Good listening, communication and practical problem-solving skills.
• Ability to explain information clearly and support people to make their own choices.
• Ability to work positively with colleagues, co-located services and external partners.
• Ability to maintain clear professional boundaries.
• Ability to recognise and respond to safeguarding and risk concerns.
• Ability to organise a varied workload and keep accurate records.
• Commitment to equality, inclusion and non-judgemental practice.
• Willingness to work flexibly, including outreach and occasional evening or weekend work where agreed. 

Desirable skills & experience

• Personal lived experience of substance use, recovery, homelessness or related issues, with the ability to use this experience safely and appropriately.
• Peer mentor or peer support training or qualification.
• Experience of helping people access treatment, health, housing or community services.
• Knowledge of local services in Greenwich or South East London.
• Basic computer skills. Training and support can be provided. 

Are you an experienced practitioner with a passion for empowering young people and making a difference?

At NYAS (National Youth Advocacy Service), we are dedicated to making a lasting impact on the lives of children, young people, and adults at risk. We believe no child or young person should ever be alone or voiceless in the care system, in family court, or when decisions are being made about their future.

We are seeking an experienced and compassionate Senior Practitioner to join Project Unity England, working 28 hours per week. This is an exciting opportunity to deliver intensive, trauma-informed support to care-experienced young mothers who are pregnant or have recently given birth, helping families stay together and supporting young mothers to build positive futures.

About Project Unity England

Project Unity England is an innovative national initiative focused on improving outcomes for care-experienced young mothers and their children through collaborative, multi-agency working. The project aims to keep families together, strengthen service delivery, promote innovation and ensure that local needs are addressed effectively across England.

At the heart of Project Unity is a collaborative approach that brings together local authorities, health partners and community organisations to provide coordinated, community-focused support. By working closely with partner agencies, Project Unity helps ensure young mothers receive the right support at the right time, enabling them to make informed decisions and achieve the best possible outcomes for themselves and their children.

About the role

As a Senior Practitioner, you will manage a complex caseload, providing independent, rights-based advocacy and one-to-one support to care-experienced young mothers. Working autonomously while supported by the Project Coordinator, you will empower young mothers to understand their rights, navigate statutory processes and make informed decisions that help keep families safely together.

You will build trust, complete assessments, develop support plans and advocate on their behalf within multi-agency settings. You will work alongside social workers, midwives, health visitors and other professionals to ensure each young mother's voice is heard and represented.

Alongside direct casework, you will contribute to peer support groups, workshops and community-based activities that reduce isolation, build confidence and strengthen parenting skills. You will also play an important role in safeguarding, quality assurance and service development by maintaining high-quality records, producing case studies and identifying opportunities to improve local services.

This is a rewarding opportunity to make a tangible difference to the lives of care-experienced young mothers while working within an innovative, rights-based national programme.

About you

We are looking for someone who is passionate about supporting vulnerable young people and families. You will be confident working independently while building strong partnerships with professionals across health, social care and the voluntary sector.

You will have experience supporting families or parents with complex social care involvement and a sound understanding of safeguarding, risk assessment and relevant legislation. You will be an effective advocate with excellent communication skills, able to build trusting relationships while maintaining professional boundaries.

You will be organised, resilient and confident managing a demanding caseload, with strong analytical skills and the ability to make sound professional judgements in complex situations.

Above all, you will demonstrate NYAS's values of Collaboration, Accountability, Respect and Empowerment, sharing our commitment to ensuring children, young people and adults at risk have their voices heard.

How to Apply

Please apply via the the NYAS website. In your application, evidence using specific examples how your skills and experience meet the criteria in the person specification within the attached job description, including:

• Experience with vulnerable young people or families in a social care, advocacy or support setting
• Knowledge of legislation and policy relating to advocacy, safeguarding and children’s social care
• Excellent communication, organisational and report-writing skills, with sound professional judgement

Employee Benefits

We offer the following employee benefits:

• 26 days, increasing to 30 days annual leave plus bank holidays (pro rata for part time)
• Occupational sick pay (subject to completion of qualifying period)
• Enhanced pay for family friendly leave
• Free parking at some of our offices
• Employee assistance programme
• Group stakeholder pension scheme
• Access to BHSF health cash plan
• Cycle to work scheme
• Support and supervision from your line manager
• Learning and Development opportunities

Safeguarding and Compliance

NYAS operates robust safeguarding procedures, and internal candidates will be subject to references in line with our Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy. In accordance with UK immigration law, proof of eligibility to work in the United Kingdom will be required as part of the recruitment process. We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive a high number of applications.

About NYAS

NYAS (National Youth Advocacy Service) is an established rights-based charity ensuring that children, young people, and adults across England and Wales are respected, represented and supported in expressing their views. We work with care-experienced people who are often reliant on statutory services, and our combination of social care and legal services places us in a unique position to ensure their voices are heard.

We are an equal opportunities employer and a Disability Confident Employer, guaranteeing an interview to all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria. We welcome applications from all individuals regardless of age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, ethnic origin, nationality, religion or belief, or any other protected characteristic.

Change Grow Live are a charity dedicated to the belief that we can make a difference to our Service Users lives, offering support and respect in a safe environment, treating each person as an individual and working with them to find the right treatment and care options.

Our core values are ‘Be open, be compassionate and be bold’ and our team members apply these daily to achieve our mission of helping people change the direction of their lives, grow as individuals, and live life to its full potential. 

An exciting opportunity has arisen within our Buckinghamshire Service for you to join a dynamic team committed to supporting children and young people who have been affected by someone else’s drug and/or alcohol use. The role of a Children and family Worker will support children and young people under the age of 18 on a one-to-one basis in a confidential space. The role will deliver a wide range of interventions/ education though activities, such as games, arts and crafts and emotional wellbeing resources. The role will utilise a young person-centred approach, empowering them to explore situations which they feel they have little control over to support them to lead a safe, happy, and healthy life.

The role will work in partnership and liaise with other young people services throughout Buckinghamshire, to provide holistic support to young people accessing the service. We need to record information about what we do, so enjoying a bit of admin work and attention to detail is important, but most of the time you’ll be enjoying working with young people from all backgrounds, making a difference to their lives. You will be required to work flexibly across operational sites as required so must hold a full UK driving license and have access to a car. Don’t worry, there is a wide array of training and development opportunities to help support you in your work.

Where: This role will be based across Buckinghamshire County

When: We're looking for the right person to join our team ASAP on a permanent contract

Hours: 37.5 per week

Full-time hours at Change Grow Live are 37.5 hours per week. For part-time roles, the salary and payments will be pro rata based on contracted hours. 

Responsibilities

About the role: 

• To holistically support CYP affected by parental substance misuse, using a range of interventions including group work, 1:1 work, whole family interventions, safety planning and safeguarding working closely and proactively with the family unit to support positive and sustainable outcomes.
• Identify families in conjunction with other agencies, who will benefit from a Think Family / Whole family approach, negotiating participation and engagement with the programme of care.
• Identifying and responding effectively to potential safeguarding issues. 
• Reducing drug and alcohol related harm to young people and the wider community. 
• Working with young people to support positive, holistic outcomes in relation to their health and wellbeing, enabling them to lead safe, healthy, and purposeful lives: reducing risk and increasing resilience 
• Working flexibly across sites where required

About you: 

• Experience of working with young people and knowledge of the issues they face 
• Knowledge of safeguarding concerns in relation to children and young people and the Fraser Competence framework 
• Have an excellent understanding of drug and alcohol issues and experience of working within a related field 
• Knowledge of working with evidence-based practice around young people’s substance misuse treatment services and methods, including relevant best practice guidance 
• An accomplished communicator, both verbal and written with a high degree of personal IT competency 
• Be able to accurately update and maintain records and to work to deadlines for the submission of information, e.g., reports 
• Have excellent team working and interpersonal skills, maintaining a highly cooperative approach to supporting colleagues in delivering service objectives 

What we will give to you: 

• 25 days holiday (+ bank holidays) rising by 1 day for each years’ service “Capped at 30 days” 
• Paid ‘Wellness’ hour each week along with a ‘Wellness’ hub and Employee Assist Programme 
• Contributory pension scheme 
• A great selection of benefits incl. discounts for shopping, cinema, holidays, etc. 
• A friendly and supportive team 
• Training, career development & progression opportunities 
• Refer a friend scheme.

Please ensure that when completing your application form and supporting statement, you reflect on the details outlined in the job description. This will help us understand how your skills and experiences align with the requirements of the role.

A note about using AI in your application

AI can be a really helpful tool when putting together your application, and we're happy for you to use it. However, what we're most interested in is you.

We want to understand your experiences, achievements and strengths, so please make sure your application reflects your own story and clearly shows how you meet the essential criteria and the impact you've made in previous roles.

There's no need to write in a particular style. The strongest applications are those that are authentic, specific and clearly demonstrate your skills, experience and potential. We look forward to learning more about you.

Direct applications only — we will not be engaging agencies for this vacancy. 

Please note: This role is not eligible for visa sponsorship. Applicants must already have the right to work in the UK at the time of application. For applicants with time-limited visas, unfortunately, we are unable to support new visa applications or extensions. 

We reserve the right to close the vacancy early if we receive a high number of applications, so we encourage you to apply as soon as possible. 

Salary Range (pro rata if part time)

CGL points 23 to 28 (£28,557.79 - £32,802.41)

ILW / OLW /Fringe

N/A - Outside London Weighting Area

Interview Date

24/8/2026

Closing Date

17/8/2026

This post is subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check at an enhanced level.

Job Purpose

Sequence ME & Long Covid is one of the most ambitious whole-genome sequencing studies ever undertaken into ME and Long Covid, co-led by Action for ME. Building on the success of DecodeME, this proposed £20 million study will use large-scale, long-read whole-genome sequencing to analyse the entire genetic code of 9,000 people with ME and 9,000 people with Long Covid - making it the world's largest 'long-read' whole-genome sequencing study of any disease.

Current funding supports project mobilisation, partnership development, and the development of the Long Covid arm of the study, including agreeing case definitions and gathering expressions of interest from people with Long Covid. Phase 2 has recently been confirmed, backed by £4.75m from the UK government and a further £174,414 from the WE&ME Foundation, and will focus on sequencing 6,000 ME/CFS samples previously collected through DecodeME using Oxford Nanopore's long-read sequencing technology, running alongside Phase 1.

You will play a pivotal role supporting the Sequence ME & Long Covid project in several different ways. Working closely with the project's management team and other team members, you will help ensure the smooth day-to-day running of this landmark study, providing administrative support to the various people and partners involved in delivering it.

As a self-starter, you will manage a range of tasks including meeting scheduling, taking meeting minutes, preparing governance documents, event administration, and broader project support - no two days will be the same.

You will need to maintain a high level of confidentiality at all times, particularly when supporting governance meetings and handling sensitive project documentation.

As a team player, you will provide comprehensive, confidential and organised administrative support, developing a deep understanding of the project and building strong, effective working relationships with colleagues, researchers and external partners.

Remote working at home can be challenging for some and works incredibly well for others. You will need to be able to work independently, use your own initiative, and remain proactive in maintaining good levels of communication with colleagues.

Key Duties

• Help monitor inboxes and respond to routine project enquiries in a timely and sensitive manner, escalating more complex matters as appropriate
• Assist the project's management team and other team members with meeting scheduling and diary coordination
• Take accurate minutes at project, management and other project-related meetings, and follow up and track resulting actions to completion
• Prepare, format and proof-read governance documents and papers
• Maintain and update project databases including the Teams channel, ensuring documents are saved correctly, other management information/recording systems to ensure accurate and timely record-keeping. Help with the tracking of expressions of interest from potential study participants.
• Provide administrative support for project events - from planning and logistics through to on-the-day support
• Help prepare presentations, slide decks and briefing materials for internal meetings, funders, partners and participant-facing communications
• Support the drafting, formatting and coordination of project communications, such as updates for partners, funders or the wider ME and Long Covid community
• Support coordination between internal teams and external partners, including research and funding partners
• Maintain project files and documentation in line with agreed communication operating procedures with internal and external partners ensuring information is well organised, up to date and easy for the team to access
• Maintain confidentiality at all times and in line with relevant policies and procedures, ensuring compliance with GDPR and that all data consent processes have been followed in relation to data protection
• Positively promote the work of the Sequence ME & Long Covid project and Action for ME at all times
• Undertake any other reasonable activity in line with the responsibilities of the post, as requested by the CEO, Business Development & Partnerships Manager, Senior Research Manager or the project's Management Team

Person Specification

Essential skills and experience

• Organisational skills - Highly organised with the ability to manage multiple tasks across a fast-moving research project, with attention to detail and accuracy maintained under pressure
• Communication - Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to interact effectively with diverse audiences including researchers, funders and people affected by ME and Long Covid
• IT literacy - Proficient with common office software, including Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Outlook, Teams, PowerPoint), and able to quickly learn relevant project management, database or communications systems as needed
• Problem-solving - A creative and solution-focused mindset to address challenges and find innovative ways to improve processes
• Adaptability - Capable of managing changing priorities, working flexibly, and adapting to the needs of a fast-paced, ambitious research programme
• Initiative - A proactive approach, with the ability to work independently and take initiative, while also following clear instructions when given
• Teamwork - A collaborative team player with a proven ability to work effectively as part of a team, including a remote-working team spanning multiple partners and stakeholders
• Interest in the sector - A genuine interest in health research, the Third Sector, and a desire to take action to improve the lives of people with ME and Long Covid
• Experience - Demonstrable ability to be an effective administrator, ideally within a charity, research, or project environment. Experience supporting governance processes, events, or communications would be an advantage but is not essential

Desirable skills and experience

• Experience providing administrative support for scientific or research-related projects
• Experience writing and communicating with non-specialist or general audiences