About the Lochaber Experience Matters Project

The Lochaber Experience Matters Project aims to engage and empower individuals in Lochaber with lived experiences of mental health challenges. By establishing an Experience Matters Advisory Panel (Ex-MAP), we seek to create a sustainable platform for these voices to influence and improve third-sector services.

The project's objectives are to:

• Community Collaboration: Foster opportunities for people with lived experience to come together and give voice to their support needs.
• Capacity Building: Enhance the ability and confidence of third-sector service providers to engage meaningfully with people with lived experience.
• Co-Design Advocacy: Promote active involvement in the co-design of 3rd sector services, ensuring that community voices shape their delivery and evaluation.

This new Lochaber Experience Matters Project is funded through the Scottish Government’s Community Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund and builds on the successful Caithness Experience Matters Advisory Panel approach.

Key role responsibilities:

• Project leadership, planning, and delivery
• Outreach and community engagement
• Reporting, relationship building, and collective advocacy

For an informal discussion about the role, contact John Beaton, Development Manager, at john@spiritadvocacy.org.uk or call 07553 206666.

About the Pathways to Recovery Project

Pathways to Recovery is a collaborative initiative between Spirit Advocacy, Connecting Carers, and NHS Highland. It will support people 18 and over who have lived experience and/or caring for someone who has lived experience in Mid and East Ross with their mental health and well-being by providing peer-led, relational support grounded in lived experience.

• Peer Navigators work alongside individuals to help them make sense of their experiences, build confidence in navigating services, and feel empowered in their recovery. The project aims to:
• Improve access to compassionate, person-led support
• Reduce feelings of isolation, distress or being 'stuck'
• Strengthen collaboration between communities, services, and support networks
• Build local capacity through values-based training and partnership working

We are recruiting a Peer Recovery Co-ordinator to lead and support the development of this project. The Co-ordinator will ensure the project’s values and aims are realised across both areas by supporting two Peer Navigators, maintaining key partnerships, and embedding reflective practice.

About the role

The Peer Recovery Coordinator leads the delivery of peer-led support across Mid and East Ross, ensuring safe, trauma-informed, and relational practice across the team. They will work closely with Peer Recovery Navigators, support reflective practice, and maintain strong partnerships with Connecting Carers, NHS Highland, and third-sector organisations.

This leadership role is rooted in values-based supervision, lived experience, and collaboration. The Coordinator ensures that participants feel supported, peer staff feel valued, and the overall project is responsive, safe, and effective.

For an informal discussion about the role, contact John Beaton, Chief Executive Officer, at john@spiritadvocacy.org.uk or call 07553 206666.

About the Pathways to Recovery Project

Pathways to Recovery is a collaborative initiative between Spirit Advocacy, Connecting Carers, and NHS Highland. It supports people 18 and over who have lived experience and/or caring for someone who has lived experience in Mid and East Ross with their mental health and well-being by providing peer-led, relational support grounded in lived experience.

Peer Navigators work alongside individuals to help them make sense of their experiences, build confidence in navigating services, and feel empowered in their recovery.

The project aims to:

• Improve access to compassionate, person-led support.
• Reduce feelings of isolation, distress or being 'stuck'
• Strengthen collaboration between communities, services, and support networks
• Build local capacity through values-based training and partnership working

We are recruiting for two Peer Recovery Navigators to join our Highland-based team. The posts will work across Mid and East Ross, offering flexible and relational support depending on local needs.

Wherever possible, each Peer Recovery Navigator will provide continuity in the areas and communities they know best.

About the role

Peer Recovery Navigators draw upon their own lived experience to provide one-to-one and group-based relational support for people in Mid and East Ross who are navigating challenges relating to their mental health or wellbeing.

This is a strengths-based, person-led role where peer relationships are grounded in mutuality, empathy, and trust. Peer Navigators act as knowledgeable allies – walking alongside individuals as they connect with services, rediscover a sense of purpose, and define their own recovery.

For an informal discussion about the role, contact John Beaton, Chief Executive Officer, at john@spiritadvocacy.org.uk or call 07553 206666