Recovery Worker - Peer Support Lead - HMP Wormwood Scrubs

Location: Shepherd's Bush

Salary: £28,207 per annum

About The Role

Are you passionate about empowering others, championing lived experience, and shaping meaningful change?

Join our dynamic Substance Misuse Service at HMP Wormwood Scrubs and play a key role in transforming recovery pathways for men in custody.

Working within the New Models of Care (NMOC) framework, our team delivers trauma-informed, recovery-oriented interventions that support individuals from their first days in custody through to release and resettlement. We work hand-in-hand with healthcare partners to ensure every service user receives holistic, person-centred support.

What You’ll Do

As our Peer Supporter Lead, you’ll be the driving force behind peer-led, lived-experience initiatives across the prison. Your role will include:

• Recruiting, training, and supervising peer supporters and mentors
• Empowering peer supporters to deliver interventions and wellbeing initiatives across all prison wings
• Promoting engagement in recovery pathways and strengthening service-user involvement
• Building effective links between the substance misuse service, healthcare teams, prison staff, and service users
• Supporting the continued development of the Peer Supporter programme in partnership with healthcare providers

What We’re Looking For

• A passionate, motivated individual with experience supporting vulnerable people
• Someone confident in leading, developing or mentoring others
• Strong partnership-building skills and a belief in the power of lived experience
• Flexibility to work occasional evenings/weekends as part of a rota
• Willingness to work across sites, including some deployment at HMP Brixton

 This is a unique opportunity to shape a culture of hope, connection, and shared recovery. By developing the Peer Supporter programme, you will directly influence how service users support one another, build resilience, and take ownership of their wellbeing while in custody.

 Please note the role includes an Interim allowance of £3000 reviewed every 6-months, basic salary based on 35 hours would be £25,207.00. This interim scheme will be reviewed on 31st March 2026. 

About Us

We are The Forward Trust, the social enterprise with charitable status that empowers people to break the often interlinked cycles of crime and addiction to move forward with their lives. For more than 25 years we have been working with people to build positive and productive lives, whatever their past. We believe that anyone is capable of lasting change. Our services have supported thousands of people to make positive changes and build productive lives with a job, family, friends and a sense of community.

We are committed to our cause and the work we carry out as a charity. Equally the wellbeing and the employees who work for us are also important. Joining us an employee, we will offer you the following benefits - 

• Flexible working
• Training and development opportunities
• Simply Health Cashback Scheme (optional)
• Season Ticket Loan Scheme 
• Cycle to work scheme
• Crisis Loan Scheme
• Electric Car Scheme
• 3 x Wellbeing Days (pro rata'd for part time employees)
• Access to Blue Light Card
• 25 days (rising to 30 with length of service) Annual Leave plus Bank Holidays 
• Contributory Pension Scheme – Employer matched contributions of up to 6% in the first two years’ service and up to 9% thereafter 
• Death in Service Payment (2x annual salary) 
• Critical Illness Insurance (subject to qualifying criteria)

To Apply

If you feel you are a suitable candidate and would like to work for Forward Trust, please proceed through the following link to be redirected to our website to complete your application.

https://careers.forwardtrust.org.uk/vacancies/295/recovery-worker--peer-support-lead.html

Contact information

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