Reconnect Peer Support Worker

Job summary

RECONNECT is a service that supports people as they transition from prison back into the community, helping them access vital services such as healthcare, housing, and substance misuse support. The aim is to improve continuity of care, support recovery, and reduce the risk of reoffending.

We are seeking a Peer Support Worker with lived experience of the Criminal Justice System and ideally recovery from substance misuse. This lived experience is central to the role and will be used to build trust, inspire hope, and support individuals on their recovery journey.

As part of a multidisciplinary team, you will provide person-centred, recovery-focused support to individuals leaving prison. You will use your own experiences appropriately to motivate and engage service users, helping them to overcome barriers and access the support they need to achieve a successful and sustainable return to the community.

Main duties of the job

• Build trusting, supportive relationships with individuals transitioning from custody into the community
• Use lived experience to inspire hope, support recovery, and encourage positive change
• Provide practical support, including accompanying service users to appointments and activities
• Support engagement with substance misuse services, healthcare, housing, and wider community resources
• Work in a strengths-based, recovery-focused way to promote independence and wellbeing
• Assist service users to develop and review personalised recovery and support plans
• Identify barriers to engagement and support individuals to overcome these in a non-judgemental way
• Monitor wellbeing, recognise early signs of risk or relapse, and escalate concerns where appropriate
• Work collaboratively with RECONNECT practitioners and partner agencies to ensure coordinated care
• Maintain accurate records and contribute to care planning, discharge processes, and service development
• Uphold professional boundaries, confidentiality, and safeguarding responsibilities at all times

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.

Details

Date posted

05 June 2026

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 3

Salary

£25,760 to £27,476 a year per annum (pro rata)

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

327-26-403

Job locations

Montpellier Unit

Wotton Lawn Hospital

Gloucester

GL1 3WL

United Kingdom

For further information and to apply, click on the APPLY BUTTON at the bottom of this advert to view the supporting documents or apply online