Job Title  Lived Experience Practitioner  Reports to  Senior Lived Experience Practitioner  Base  Woking   Hours  Part time – 28 hours Contract  Permanent  Salary Band  £26,600 (pro rata for 28 hours) Organisation  Catalyst Support is a leading Surrey charity dedicated to championing wellness across communities, transforming lives by addressing mental, physical, and emotional health needs.

Guided by the belief that wellness is a right for all, Catalyst Support embodies its motto, Supporting Wellness Together, by empowering individuals and communities with innovative, accessible services. With embedded values of kindness, integrity, and commitment, the charity strives to create sustainable, transformative social impact.

Through strong partnerships, ethical governance, and initiatives focused on environmental and financial sustainability, Catalyst Support aligns its efforts with national health priorities, embracing the opportunities to lead the way in integrated, preventative, and community-based care.

Purpose of Job  GPiMHS / MHICS is an emotional and wellbeing service that supports adults aged over 18 in  primary care who are experiencing a range of mental health difficulties. Patients are offered extended consultation times, quick and easy access to practical advice and tailored support for their mental health needs from a multidisciplinary team. 

Through sharing wisdom from their own experiences, the Lived Experience Practitioner will work specifically with individuals to inspire hope and belief that recovery is possible in others. As an integral and highly valued member of the team, the Lived Experience Practitioner will provide formalised peer support and practical assistance to people using the service in order for them to regain control over their lives and their own unique recovery journey. In particular, the Lived Experience Practitioner will support the smooth transition of people using the service to other Mental Health services, by helping them to complete recovery and crisis plans for example. Through working with the individuals, they will promote choice and opportunities to enable feeling connected to and valued in their community.

This role would be suitable for someone who is kind, caring and supportive, with good interpersonal and communication skills, and who is keen to provide the highest quality experience for people using GPiMHS/MHICS.

 This post is subject to the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check at an enhanced level. Please note past drug and/or alcohol or criminality history will not necessarily discount you from undertaking this role. 

Key Activities:  

• Work alongside an agreed number of people using the GPiMHS/MHICS service on a 1:1 and/or group basis, in person and/or virtually, from a lived experience perspective
• Work as part of a multidisciplinary team (team of mixed professionals)
• Deliver peer support as agreed within the multidisciplinary team, and within a peer relationship
• Accompany people who use the service to appointments, meetings and/or activities of their choice and perform a range of practical tasks, aligned to recovery goals
• Develop relationships and outreach where appropriate with community groups, partners and services to ensure reaching target audience
• Build networks and relationships with underserved communities to ensure fully accessibly service is being delivered (this may include identifying where there are barriers to engagement and working collaboratively to resolve them)
• Use personal experience and knowledge to share lived experience when appropriate to benefit others, drawing on personal experiences and a range of coping, self-help and self-management techniques
• Help people identify their own recovery goals and assist others to create their own recovery and crisis plans, particularly people who are transitioning from the service to another Mental Health service (e.g. SABP Community Mental Health Recovery Service)
• Establish supportive and respectful relationships with people using the service
• Support people using the service to identify and overcome fears within a relationship of empathy and trust
• Model personal responsibility, self-awareness, self-belief, self-advocacy and hopefulness
• Sign-post to various resources, opportunities and activities within the Organisation and in communities to promote choice and informed decision making
• Assist in carrying out risk assessments with other staff in the team
• Identify recovery-focused activities and share information and education as required
• Act as a recovery champion within the service, and as an ambassador of recovery for the organisation with external agencies and partner organisations
• Be actively involved in the continued development of and in the ongoing evaluation of the Lived Experience Practitioner role
• Attend and complete an agreed induction programme and a peer support worker training programme, if not already completed
• Identify personal developmental needs in conjunction with Line Manager and supervision, undertaking further training as necessary
• Participate in mandatory training as required
• Participate in regular supervision
• Maintain a working knowledge of current trends in mental health, recovery and peer support by reading books, journals and accessing peer support networks
• Work in accordance with the organisation’s Policies, Procedures and values

General terms of reference: 

In carrying out the above duties the post holder will:

• Work collaboratively across the organisation to offer support to all main functions
• Be committed to the role and support Catalyst to be the most efficient it can be
• Be someone who believes in fairness and conducts themselves with integrity
• Work flexibly across operational sites, including working from home arrangements in agreement with line management, as required, which may include evening and weekend work
• Be motivated to improve personal performance, outcomes, contribution, knowledge and skills
• Be professional when partaking in Management, Trustee Board and other work related team meetings; appraisals, workforce development and supervision processes
• Keep abreast of developments in services, legislation and identify good practices where appropriate
• Contribute to maintaining safe systems of work and a safe environment for all staff on site or working remotely
• Represent Catalyst at external agencies/meetings and support our values and the culture of Catalyst.
• Undertake any other duties which may reasonably be regarded as within the nature of the duties and responsibilities, subject to the condition that normally any changes of a permanent nature shall be incorporated into the job description in specific terms

Person Specification  Essential Desired Qualifications and experience  Lived experience of mental illness or of caring for somebody who has mental health problems Experience accessing primary and/or secondary mental health services Numeracy and Literacy at a Key Stage 3 level or equivalent Peer support worker training, e.g. ImROC Peer Support Training course NVQ Level 3 Diploma in Health & Social Care or equivalent level of knowledge, training and experience Paid or unpaid experience of working in a lived experience role Experience of being in a supportive and enabling role Knowledge and skills  Ability to share personal story of recovery in a professional manner Ability to assist or willingness to learn how to assist people to develop recovery and crisis plans Ability and willingness to reflect on work practice and be open to constructive feedback Ability to work creatively Willingness to support people with a range of needs to meet their recovery goals Ability to manage stress, and to plan and prioritise own workload and activities Ability to carry out practical tasks Ability to maintain a healthy home/work life balance Person Specification  High level of self-awareness Critical thinker Understanding and knowledge of recovery, of the issues and concerns of mental health service users, and of the impact of stigma and discrimination Willingness to work towards using trauma informed care principles to benefit yourself and others Knowledge and commitment to service users’ rights Excellent written, verbal and non-verbal communication skills Ability to communicate effectively with a range of service users, carers, professionals and agencies Persuasive and reassurance skills Ability to develop and maintain sound working relationships with all members of the multidisciplinary teams (team of mixed professionals) Professional in appearance and behaviour Ability to manage conflict and to help others to do so Good team working skills Information technology  Willingness to use the organisation’s IT systems Computer literate in Microsoft Office General  Ability to travel to and from various locations

  Equal Opportunities Statement 

We acknowledge the unique contribution that all Catalyst employees and clients can bring to our organisation in terms of their culture, race, gender, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, marital status, nationality, age, religion or belief and any physical disability or history of mental health or additional problems.

All appointments and promotions are based on merit and no job applicant or employee will be treated unfairly or discriminated against. All staff have equal access to staff development.

Any member of staff who breaches this policy may be subject of grievance and/or disciplinary procedures.

Please note: 

• This job description may be varied from time to time as agreed by the post holder and line manager.  This job description is subject to annual review.