Peer Support Worker | Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust in Southampton

Are you passionate about helping people and making a real difference? Have you experienced the criminal justice system yourself and want to use that experience to support others? We're looking for a motivated and compassionate person with lived experience of the criminal justice system to join our Liaison and Diversion team part-time.

You'll play an important role in supporting people as they move through police custody, court and prison, helping them access the support they need to improve their health, wellbeing and future. You'll use your lived experience to manage a caseload of people using our service, supporting them for up to 12 weeks for ‘Liaison and Diversion’ cases and up to 6 months for ‘Reconnect’ cases. You'll work alongside each person to understand what's important to them and help them access services that meet their needs. This may include support with:

• Mental health
• Learning disabilities
• Neurodiversity
• Housing
• Social isolation
• Education and training
• Drug and alcohol support
• Employment

Building positive relationships is a key part of the role. You'll work closely with service users, their families, police, courts and a range of partner organisations to ensure people receive joined-up support.

To hold a caseload of service users for up to 12 weeks (for Liaison & Diversion cases) and up to 6 months (for Reconnect cases) to support them to access a wide range of agencies and services that can provide help and advice. Facilitate engagement with appropriate services, by identifying unmet needs including, but not limited to, mental health, learning disability, ASD, ADHD, housing, social isolation and exclusion, education, debt management, drug and alcohol, and employment problems. Support service users who are typically hard for services to engage with, to access and utilise community services in order to meet identified health and social needs. Build on professional and supportive relationships, including family, police, court staff, and other partner agencies.

Working pattern and service operating hours: This role is based on Monday to Thursday, 9:00am to 5:00pm. Our wider Liaison and Diversion service operates across police custody suites between 7:00am and 8:00pm, seven days a week, and in courts between 9:00am and 5:00pm, Monday to Friday. You’ll work across sites throughout Hampshire, so you’ll need to be able to travel. Please note that some locations are not easily accessible by public transport.

Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is a specialist mental health and community health services trust. Rated ‘outstanding’ by the CQC, we’re committed to providing the best possible care to people across Berkshire. As an employer, we’re committed to offering an inclusive and compassionate environment where our people share in a sense of belonging and are supported to flourish. Our values at Berkshire Healthcare are:

• Caring for and about you is our top priority
• Committed to providing good quality, safe services
• Working Together with you to develop innovative solutions

Your wellbeing is important to us. Some of the benefits of working for us include:

• Flexible working options to support work-life balance
• 27 days’ annual leave rising with service + opportunity to buy and sell
• Excellent learning and career development opportunities
• ‘Cycle to Work’ and car leasing scheme including electric vehicles
• Access to a range of wellbeing tools and services
• Discounts at hundreds of popular retailers and restaurants
• Staff networks for race, diversity, disabilities, the environment and armed forces community to support equality
• Generous maternity, paternity, adoption and special leave
• Free parking across Trust sites

The “must haves” for this role:

• Lived experience of the criminal justice system a minimum of being arrested and taken into police custody and demonstratable recovery of a minimum of 1 year of no longer being in contact with the criminal justice system.
• Having direct lived experience of recovery from substance use, mental health or other vulnerabilities. You must have been in recovery from drug or alcohol misuse for at least 1–3 years and have completed any licence conditions or legal requirements at least one year before applying.
• Flexibility to travel to all sites across Thames Valley/Hampshire.
• This post requires successful application for police vetting.
• Applicants must have the legal right to work in the UK and be able to satisfy the police vetting residency requirements (typically three years' continuous UK residency immediately prior to application).

For further information about the role, please see attached job description and person specification. We strongly encourage you to review how you meet the criteria in the person specification and write about this point-by-point in your supporting statement for the best chance of being shortlisted. We’re committed to equal opportunities and welcome applications from all sections of the community. Our commitment to inclusion is reflected in our accreditations: Race Equality Matters Silver Trailblazer, Neurodiversity in Business Corporate Member, Disability Confident Leader, Carer Confident Level 2, and the Armed Forces Covenant Gold Award. Reasonable adjustments will be provided to candidates as needed. We are happy to answer any questions that you may have.

Please don’t hesitate to call: Engagement Lead Danielle Forster on 0300 123 5066 or Danielle.Forster@berkshire.nhs.uk who’ll be delighted to help. You can find out more about the service on our website. Please note, if we receive a high number of applications, we may close this role earlier than the advertised closing date, so please submit your application as soon as possible. This advert closes on Thursday 13 Aug 2026.