Job Description
Group Development Worker
Location: Derbyshire (Field-Based)
Contract: 35 Hours - Permanent
Salary: £24,544.91
Make a real difference in people’s lives
At Rethink Mental Illness, we believe everyone deserves the opportunity to live a fulfilling life. As a Group Development Worker, you’ll play a key role in helping people affected by mental ill health connect, build confidence, and support one another through strong local communities.
This is more than a job — it’s a chance to empower people, grow peer support networks, and create spaces where people feel understood, valued and hopeful.
About the role
You’ll work across Derbyshire to develop and support peer support groups, helping individuals come together to share experiences, build resilience, and access support in their local community.
Working closely with the Derbyshire Recovery & Peer Support Service, partners and local organisations, you’ll:
• Grow and strengthen a network of peer support groups
• Help people set up and run their own groups
• Support groups to become independent and sustainable
• Build strong relationships with community partners
• Identify gaps in support and respond to local need
• Promote inclusive, accessible and welcoming spaces for all
You’ll be out in the community, building connections and helping people take meaningful steps towards recovery, independence, and belonging.
What you’ll be doing
• Supporting individuals to access or create peer support opportunities
• Helping groups find venues and get established
• Acting as a key contact for groups, offering ongoing guidance and encouragement
• Encouraging co-production – enabling people to shape and lead activities
• Building partnerships across services and community organisations
• Gathering feedback and measuring the impact of support
• Promoting equality, diversity and inclusive practice in everything you do
• Managing risk and safeguarding appropriately
Who we’re looking for
We’re looking for someone who is passionate about empowering others and making a difference in communities.
You’ll bring:
• Experience supporting people with mental health or complex needs
• Strong communication and relationship-building skills
• The ability to motivate and engage volunteers and groups
• A proactive, organised and flexible approach
• Confidence working independently in community settings
• A commitment to inclusion, equity and anti-discriminatory practice
• Resilience, empathy and a calm approach in challenging situations
✔ A Level 2 qualification in Health & Social Care (or equivalent experience)
✔ A full UK driving licence and access to a vehicle
Bonus if you have:
• Experience developing peer support groups
Important information
• This role requires an Enhanced DBS check (Adults & Children)
• Regular travel across Derbyshire is required
• Flexibility to work evenings and weekends where needed
Join us
If you’re passionate about community, connection, and helping people thrive, we’d love to hear from you.
Apply today and be part of something meaningful.
IND1
Why Work With Rethink Mental Illness?
At Rethink Mental Illness, we believe that when you feel supported, you can make the biggest difference. That’s why we offer a range of benefits to help you thrive:
• Inclusive Culture: Join staff networks that champion diversity and inclusion.
• Wellbeing Support: Access our Wellbeing Hub, Employee Assistance Programme, and the Unmind mental health app.
• Recognition & Rewards: Enjoy discounts, cashback offers, and celebrate achievements through our PULSE platform.
• Flexible Working & Generous Leave: Starting at 25 days annual leave (plus bank holidays and your birthday off), with options to buy or sell extra days.
• Learning & Development: Grow your career with structured onboarding and training opportunities.
• Financial & Family Support: Contributory pension scheme, enhanced family leave, and travel benefits like season ticket loans and cycle-to-work schemes.
• Referral Bonus: Earn up to £300 for introducing someone to our team.
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion
Diversity is important to us, and we appreciate difference through difference, inclusiveness and belonging. It gives us a deeper understanding of the world, our society and the diverse communities we’re working with. By including everyone, we are able to draw on the unique experiences and expertise of our people to help shape and enrich our workplace and improve our services. One way we are doing is through our valued staff networks which play a critical and highly valued role in keeping us focused on creating a diverse, inclusive and engaged employer. We recognise and support staff networks and support groups for our ethnically diverse and LGBTQIA+ colleagues. We are also proud to have been awarded Disability Confident Employer status and are a signatory to the Business in the Community Race at Work Charter.
We aim for our workforce to reflect the diversity of the communities we serve; for those who work for us to feel heard, valued and feel they belong; and for our work to help tackle wider mental health inequalities. We therefore actively encourage and welcome applications from everyone, including applicants with lived experience of mental illness, those who are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer or Questioning, Intersex, Asexual and any other gender identity not expressed here (LGBTQIA+); people who are neurodiverse, have a health condition, or a disability or hidden disability and people from an ethnically diverse background - regardless of your age, religious or spiritual belief, sexual orientation, marital status, veteran status, pregnancy, political view or socio-economic status.
Becoming a truly anti-racist organisation
We have an ambition of become a truly anti-racist employer, campaigning organisation and service provider - and in our efforts to influence policy and wider societal factors impacting on mental health set out in our anti-racist statement . We have designed a multi-year anti-racist programme of work contained in our Race Equality Action Plan which demonstrates our intention to hold ourselves accountable and be judged on our progress on becoming a truly anti-racist organisation.
