Peer Support Caseworker

Job Title: Peer Support Coordinator (Thriving 50+) Starting Salary: £ 29,580 pro rata

Annual Leave: 30 days annual leave + 8 days bank holidays and closure between Christmas and New Year for full time (pro rata for the post)

Pension: 8% (employer contribution 3%, employee contribution 5%) Responsible to: Services Lead

Based: Office near Old Street - flexible working from home can be negotiated. Groups and outreach to centres across London. One day a week at St Mary's Hospital, Paddington.

Hours: 21 hours

Role Summary:

The Peer Support Coordinator (Thrive 50+) will be an older gay man living with HIV who is well-adjusted to their diagnosis and passionate about supporting others to live well with HIV as they age. The role has two key strands of work:

• Two days per week focused on Positively UK's Thrive 50+ Project, supporting people aged 50 and over living with HIV across London.
• One day per week providing peer support outreach at St Mary's Hospital, Paddington, offering one-to-one and group support to people accessing their HIV care there.
• As part of Positively UK's Peer Casework Team, the Coordinator will collaborate closely with staff and volunteers to deliver person-centred, holistic support—linking individuals to relevant services, building community connections, and promoting wellbeing.
• The role also involves developing and facilitating peer-support groups and community activities, both within Positively UK and in partnership with other organisations, to reduce isolation, foster resilience, and ensure people living with HIV feel supported at every stage of life.
• The purpose of this role is to ensure that:
• - People aged 50 and over living with HIV have access to high-quality, holistic peer
• support that promotes health, wellbeing, and social connections.
• - People accessing HIV care at St Mary's Hospital receive tailored one-to-one
• and group peer support to complement their clinical care.
• Case Management: provide emotional support, information, advice, goal setting, mentoring to achieve goals, and advocacy around a range of issues as defined by the needs of each participant. These could include adjusting to being recently diagnosed, starting HIV treatment, HIV treatment options, updates and advocacy, holistic health and living well with HIV, sharing HIV status, menopause, managing co-morbidities such as cardiovascular health, bone health, mental health, drug and alcohol use, chem sex, sexual

health), access to services, including social welfare and housing, etc. One day a week will be based in St Mary's Hospital Paddington.

One-to-one interventions will cover:

• - Registering clients
• - Assessing clients' needs using a wellbeing journey
• - Co-creating a wellbeing plan with clients
• - Signposting and referrals both internally to Positively UK services, and extremally to
• other voluntary and statutory services
• - Advocacy: to hardship grants, letters of support UKBA/NASS and Care Act Referrals
• - Regular follow ups to assess client's progress
• - Assign clients with volunteer peer mentors, when appropriate
• - Reassessment of need and exit from project 6-month follow-up from exit
• management
• Group coordination purpose: to coordinate the delivery of face-to-face groups (both educational and social) for people living with HIV over 50. These will be delivered in partnership with other staff and volunteers, and facilitated by experts, to encourage people with HIV to expand their social network and learn from each other, in different locations across London.
• Peer Mentors/Volunteers duties: to support a team of peer mentors, in collaboration with Positively UK's Volunteer Coordinator, in delivering all aspects of the project, including one- to-one mentoring, provision of clinical outreach and developing and facilitating groups and workshops. Share learning from the project with Volunteer Coordinator to inform the support and development of volunteers.
• Partnership Working:
• - Establish and strengthen relationships with local HIV clinics and voluntary sector
• organisations.
• - Identify key agencies to work with to promote the peer support service and increase
• referrals to the service
• Team work: Keep up-to-date with changing demographics and service participants needs to target work effectively as well as following best practice and innovation, for implementation within Positively UK's services.
• Personal Development:
• - Commit to completing core peer mentor training at Positively UK, Safeguarding
• training, and Mental Health First Aid Training
• - Actively participate in team supervision and staff and team meetings.
• - Attend external supervision with a counsellor.
• - Identify personal development needs and undertake actions to address these
• Monitoring and Evaluation:
• - Maintain up-to-date records using Salesforce to record service participants information, interventions and progress.
• - Use Wellbeing Journey to monitor wellbeing of service participants
• - Use online (Menti Meter) and/or paper group evaluation forms to obtain feedback
• from groups.
• - Support the development and implementation of systems for internal evaluation of
• the project on reporting to the funders in collaboration with the Services Lead
• General Tasks: To share with other staff responsibility for providing office cover, including answering the phones, keeping records and statistics and doing own administration to carry out all duties with due regard to Positively UK's Equal Opportunities, Health and Safety, Confidentiality, and other policies. To carry out such other duties and responsibilities as may be required by the Line Manager, compatible with the objectives and level of responsibilities held by the post.

Person Specification

Experience E= Essential D= Desirable

a)

A older gay man and adjusted well to living with HIV and being open about your HIV status (living with HIV for over 3 years and if living with HIV over 10 years – up-to-speed with current issues experienced by more recently diagnosed)

Form, Interview (E)

b)

Experience of successfully working with volunteers

Form, Interview (D)

d)

Experience of successfully supporting others to navigate health, social care and support services (including from the voluntary sector)

Form, Interview (E)

e)

Experience of enabling/empowering individuals to overcome barriers/challenges to maintaining and promoting health, wellbeing and independence.

Form, Interview (E)

g) Experience of providing peer support

h)  Experience of group work or group facilitation

i)  Experience of providing support to people presenting with complex need (e.g. mental health, substance use)

Form, Interview (E) Form, Interview (E) Form, Interview (E)

Knowledge and Understanding

a)

Excellent understanding of the issues and challenges (social, economic, physical, psychological and wellbeing) that people living with HIV over 50 may experience. Knowledge and understanding about how these issues can be managed or where possible overcome.

Form, Interview (E)

b)

Good awareness of the benefits, housing, and immigration system

Form, Interview (D)

c)

Good awareness of the holistic range of statutory and voluntary sector services that would be able to address the needs and challenges of people living with HIV and how they can be accessed

Form, Interview (E)

d)

Ability to work in a cross-cultural context with an understanding of difference cultural approaches to health and well being

Interview (E)

e)

Understanding of how health inequalities can impact on the health and well-being of communities and individuals affected by HIV

Form, Interview (E)

Ability

a)

b) d)

f)

Ability to manage support, develop and motivate volunteers

Strong oral and written communication skills Excellent skills in listening and empathy

Understanding of boundaries in working with clients.

Form, Interview (D)

Form, Interview (E) Form, Interview (E)

Form, Interview (E)

e)

Commitment to empowering clients and supporting them in dealing with their own affairs

Form, Interview (E)

g)

Understanding of the importance of confidentiality, and ability to maintain confidentiality.

Form, Interview (E)

h)

Ability to work jointly with other staff on individual cases, and commitment to working as part of a team

Interview (E)

i)

Ability and commitment to reflect on own performance effectively using supervision and appraisals to identify areas for support, development and training

Interview (E)

1. j) Strong IT skills and ability to do own admin duties.
2. k) Good time management and ability to prioritize
3. m) Ability to recognise own limits and emotional overload and ask for support
4. n) Ability to speak a community language

Attitudes

b) A willingness to learn

c)  A solution focused approach

Form (E) Interview (E)

Interview (E) Form (D)

Interview (E) Form, Interview (E)

a)

Empathy with the vision and mission of the Charity and commitment to the rights of people living with HIV.

Form, Interview (E)

Terms and Conditions: The post will be offered for an initial six-months probationary period. Training in peer mentoring and access to Safeguarding Training and Mental health First Training will be provided to the successful candidate, and continuation in the role is dependent on successfully completing and achieving peer mentoring core training.

Normal working hours 9.30 am - 5 pm, including half–hour lunch each day; however evening and weekend working will be required. Time off is given in lieu and there are no overtime payments linked to this post.

In line with Positively UK policy, this post requires a Criminal Records Bureau Enhanced Disclosure.

Holiday entitlement: All English Bank and Public Holidays, plus 30 days per annum annual leave.

The purpose of this document is to describe the key accountabilities that the person holding this position needs to achieve. It is in no way an exhaustive list of responsibilities of the role: duties and requirements of this role may change as required by Positively UK and the Chief Executive.