ED Day Programme Peer Support Worker

Transformationunitgm; England; On-site; GBP 33,000 - 37,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading healthcare provider in the UK seeks a peer support worker for their Eating Disorders Service. The role requires lived experience of recovery from eating disorders and involves supporting service users through their recovery journeys. You'll work with a multidisciplinary team to encourage and promote recovery, share personal insights, and raise awareness about community resources. You'll also aid in developing personal recovery plans tailored to service users' needs. Flexible working options are available.

Benefits

Generous relocation package

Flexible working options

Qualifications

• Own personal lived experience of recovering from an eating disorder.
• Ability to demonstrate first-person experiential knowledge of recovery.
• Willingness to share personal recovery experiences.

Responsibilities

• Provide peer support for adults and young people with eating disorders.
• Act as an advocate for recovery within the team.
• Support service users in developing personal recovery plans.

Skills

Interpersonal skills

Ability to communicate effectively

Knowledge of mental health issues

Team player

Basic IT skills

Education

Level 4 City University accredited course

Job description

Employer Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust

Employer type NHS Site Vincent Square Eating Disorder Service Town London Salary £33,094 - £36,195 Per annum incl HCAS (pro rata if P/T) Salary period Yearly Closing 20/02/2026 23:59 Interview date 02/03/2026

NHS AfC: Band 4

CNWL (Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust) has almost 8,000 staff providing integrated healthcare to a third of London's population, Milton Keynes and areas beyond. We involve service users, carers, the public, staff and partner organisations in the way that we are run.

Our catchment area spans diverse communities, with over 100 first languages spoken. It contains areas of great affluence as well as areas of much deprivation. We are committed to providing services that meet the needs of the people who use them, and we actively encourage involvement from local people who can help make a difference. We’re proud of our diversity and we continue to undertake new initiatives to advance equality for LGBT+, BME and people with disabilities to promote good relations and understanding between our staff.

We are recognised locally, nationally and internationally for providing high quality, innovative healthcare. We aim to employ only the best people, and our experts are frequently called upon to contribute to national health strategy and policy, and many models of our care have been adapted for use in other countries.

We offer a generous relocation package (subject to eligibility assessment) and flexible working options, including bank assignments for most roles. For more information on these and other benefits of working for us, see our Benefits, Reward and Wellbeing page

Become part of our team. We care for you as much as you care for others.

CNWL NHS Foundation Trust are committed to safeguarding all children and vulnerable adults and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We follow safe recruitment practices to protect children and vulnerable adults.

Job overview

The role of the Eating Disorders Peer Support Worker – Inpatient Ward and Day Programme (Eating Disorders PSW) has been developed specifically for people who have lived experience of recovery from eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder and avoidant restrictive food intake disorder. In the context of CNWL’s Eating Disorders Service postholders will have experienced recovery from disordered eating and accessed support through an eating disorders service in relation to this. For this specific post, it is also required that the post holder has lived experience of accessing treatment on an inpatient eating disorders unit. Through sharing wisdom from their own experiences, Eating Disorders PSWs inspire hope and belief that recovery is possible in others. Using recovery principles and socially inclusive practice, the post-holder will support service users in their personal recovery journeys through the Eating Disorders Service. This means providing peer support for adults and young people who are currently receiving inpatient or day patient support for their eating disorder.

Interview taking place: w/c 02/03/2026

Main duties of the job

Foster a relationship of mutuality and information sharing, to promote choice, self-determination, opportunities and hope;

• Raise awareness about local resources and opportunities that may assist people in maintaining their recovery;
• Encourage and support service users to use community resources that are available to them and support the Eating Disorders Service with developing links with these resources;
• Act as an advocate for recovery within the team and an ambassador for recovery for the Trust and with partner agencies; and
• Work as part of a multidisciplinary team in a specialist service setting.

Through sharing the wisdom of their own lived experience, the Eating Disorders PSW will inspire hope and belief that recovery is possible in others, taking a lead role in embedding recovery values within the service settings in which they work, alongside other Trust recovery champions.

Working for our organisation

Please note: This vacancy does not meet the criteria for Skilled Worker sponsorship, unless you meet the criteria by temporary exemption from current changes to immigration rules. Separate provisions apply to workers who have been sponsored and held continuously Skilled Worker visa since prior to 04/04/2024.

As such, if you don’t meet the Transitional Provision, we are unable to consider your application unless you can provide documentary evidence of your right to work in the United Kingdom. If you believe you are eligible for sponsorship or already hold a valid right to work in the UK, please ensure you provide full details of your immigration status in the Pre-Screening Immigration section of your application form.

Please note role eligibility also depends on whether the role meets the salary threshold for the relevant occupational code (SOC CODE).

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Respect integrity, confidentiality, clinical governance and data protection requirements in line with Trust policy

• Have responsibility for relevant safeguarding issues in relation to service users and their network, including making difficult decisions as a team adhering to the Trust’s Safeguarding policy.
• Engage in self-reflective practices and commit to continued personal development
• Establish supportive and respectful relationships with people using eating disorders services
• Model/mentor a recovery process, inspire hope, and demonstrate self management skills and techniques by skilfully using own experience of recovery
• Provide meal support and encouragement from a lived experience perspective for mealtimes and snacks; this will include positive role modelling by also participating in the meal or snack
• Assume a coaching role supporting users in developing personal recovery plans; this can be delivered individually or in groups.
• Support service users in making sense of their experiences of eating disorders and recovery. This might include understandings of personal and social recovery, health and wellbeing, personal and social identity whilst recognising that each individual’s recovery is a distinctive and deeply personal process

Be committed to professional development through independent learning, keeping up to date with latest research and building connections with local and national peer networks.

• Promote development of best practices in peer support and Lived Experience Practice across the service through active participation in internal and external training and development programmes
• Supervision requirements – Following the probation period, the Eating Disorders PSW will have monthly 1-1 supervision with clinical line manager and monthly 1-1 supervision with peer supervisor. Prior to this, and in any other periods where additional support is needed, the frequency of supervisions can be reasonably adjusted
• Eating Disorder PSWs will also have group supervision every 2 months with PSWs from other CNWL services as well as fortnightly staff group with the community team
• To work with the multi-disciplinary team in the support of both informal service users within day programme and inpatient settings and those detained under the mental health act within acute inpatient settings

Person specification

Qualifications

• Commitment to obtain underpinning knowledge through work based learning and mandatory training
• Willingness to undertake Level 4 City University accredited course “Developing Expertise in Peer Support” course
• Acceptable level of written literacy and numeracy
• Basic IT skills i.e. word & email

Experience

• Own personal lived experience of recovering from an eating disorder
• Own lived experience of accessing inpatient service to support eating disorder recovery
• Willing to positively share own life experiences, and personal experience of living with and making a successful recovery from an eating disorder
• Experience of actively supporting individuals to identify and work towards achieving personal goals in a related social care or health setting (paid or unpaid)
• Ability to demonstrate and represent recovery focussed approaches to mental health care
• Paid or unpaid working experience in health and social care
• Paid or unpaid experience of working with individuals with an eating disorder

Skills

• Ability to demonstrate first person experiential knowledge of recovery
• Ability to demonstrate knowledge of the concept of personal recovery as it may apply to others
• Evidence of good interpersonal skills and an ability to form peer relationships with service users and carers
• Ability to communicate on all levels and to a broad scope of individuals, both internally and externally to the Trust
• Knowledge of how to build community links and networks
• Understanding of issues arising from experiencing mental ill health
• Ability to work unsupervised in a range of settings
• Effective team player
• Knowledge of basic first aid
• Basic Health and Safety awareness
• Awareness of local services
• Knowledge of benefits/ employment systems
• Ability to demonstrate a good understanding of mental health issues
• Ability to speak other languages
• Knowledge of basic food hygiene

The successful applicant may have contact with patients or service users. As an NHS Trust we strongly encourage and support vaccination as this remains the best way to protect yourself, your family, your colleagues and of course patients and service users when working on our healthcare settings.

• Due to the high response levels we receive for some vacancies, we may expire any of them prior to the advertised closing date and advise you to submit your application as soon as possible.
• Applications from job seekers who require sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. Before submitting your application and to avoid disappointment please check that you are eligible under the UKVI points based system
• Our Agenda for Change employment contracts are subject to a contractual 13 week probationary period.
• If you are offered a job, information will be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.