This position provides Veterans the world-class benefits and services they have earned and does so by adhering to the highest standards of compassion, commitment, excellence, professionalism, integrity, accountability, and stewardship. This position may provide peer support services to both female and male Veterans depending on the needs of the Veteran population at their facility.
To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 03/14/2025. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-10 grade level. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. BASIC REQUIREMENTS FOR PEER SPECIALISTS a. Statutory Requirements. Section 405 of Public Law 110-387, as codified in 38 U.S.C. 7402(b)(13), established that to be eligible to receive appointment to a Peer Specialist position, a person must: (1) be a veteran who has recovered or is recovering from a mental health condition; and(2) be certified by -(a) a not-for-profit entity engaged in peer specialist training as having met such criteria as the Secretary shall establish for a peer specialist position; or(b) a State as having satisfied relevant State requirements for a peer specialist position. b. Length of Experience as a Consumer of Mental Health Recovery Services. Veterans eligible under 38 U.S.C. 7402(b)(13) must have spent a minimum of 1 year in personal recovery from a mental health condition. IMPORTANT NOTICE: Veteran is defined as a person who served in the active military, naval, air, or space service, and who was discharged or released under conditions other than dishonorable. Restricted to VETERANS - See IMPORTANT NOTICE. Open to current, permanent employees of the VA (i.e. T38, T38 Hybrid, and VCS employees on excepted appts covered by an interchange agreement); Federal employees on a Career/Career-Conditional appt.; Former competitive civil service employees eligible for reinstatement; Veterans eligible under VEOA, VRA, and 30% DAV; Those eligible under the Employment Program for People with Disabilities; and those eligible for CTAP/ICTAP. NOTE: You MUST provide copies of your DD-214 and Peer Specialist Certification, with your application package. ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY: In accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), No person shall serve in direct patient care positions unless they are proficient in basic written and spoken English. You must be proficient in basic written and spoken English in order to meet the requirements of this position. SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: You must have at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-10) in the Federal Service, that is directly related to the work of the position and has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties as a Supervisory Peer Specialist. Qualifying specialized experience includes post-personal mental health recovery experience as a mentor providing support to others in mental health and/or addiction recovery, a recovery advocate directly involved with consumers of mental health services, or equivalent work involving in-person communication to support others in mental health recovery. At this level work will have been performed with considerable independence and leading other peer support providers; providing oversight to the peer support services available; giving advice and mentoring all peer support service providers and program managers working with peer support services. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Problem Solving Communication Teaches Others Leadership Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. Physical Requirements: The work is primarily sedentary. Typically, the employee sits to do the work. There may be some walking, standing, bending, carrying of light items (such as books, papers), and accessing transportation. The work may require occasional use of Department of Veteran's Affairs approved behavioral management techniques with Veterans who present a danger to self or others. Reference: VA Regulations, specifically VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Appendix F-3 Peer Support Apprentice/Peer Specialist Qualification Standard. This can be found in the local Human Resources Office.
This Peer Specialist position may only be filled with a Veteran that meets statutory requirements that are detailed in the qualifications section. Duties include, but not limited to the following: Provides leadership to the peer support staff team, makes difficult decisions, solves day-to-day unique operational and personnel problems, represents peer support services as a subject matter expert at internal and external meetings. Manages individual peer support staff and team performance using various approaches such as quality reviews and in-person observations. Provides new employee orientation to accelerate integration and productivity; trains or provides training for peer support staff on systems, appropriate peer support practice techniques, new initiatives, ethics, privacy, etc.; coaches and motivates peer support staff to advocate for the Veterans they serve. Verifies and approves CEU credits for peer support staff and ensures peer support staff team members' competencies are maintained by coordinating and tracking training and certification status. May approve leave and review and sign timesheets; ensures the peer support staff team follows facility specific and VHA standard operating procedures, administrative practices, and policies. Recruits and selects new peer support staff using standardized position descriptions and interviewing techniques and formats; conducts peer support staff's mid-year and annual evaluations; effects performance improvement plans or takes additional disciplinary measures to address performance concerns when needed. Coordinates peer support staffing coverage to ensure that peer support services are available to Veteran health care service users as part of their comprehensive treatment and wellness recovery services. In the event the peer support staff team has concerns, feedback, or complaints, the position creates an environment where opposing views can be discussed openly and resolved appropriately. Maintains program and administrative reference materials, project files, and relevant background documents and makes available policies, procedures, and written instructions; distributes written instructions, reference materials, and resources. Maintains extensive knowledge of best practices, tools and resources related to peer support services. Maintains working knowledge of treatments and services available for appropriate referrals. Identifies training needs and assists in the development of training for peer support staff. Participates in the service, training, consultation, and other professional activities of VA health care services and functions as a fully vested member of the multidisciplinary team. Uses personal recovery experiences to model coping techniques and recovery tools to coach Veterans on relevant skills needed for self-management of their health condition(s) and pursuit of their personal wellness. Observes behaviors that might indicate difficulty adapting or responding to treatment (e.g., missed assessment appointments, failure to attend or maintain abstinence, risk to self or others, disruptive behavior), completes appropriate documentation, and reports concerns to the treatment team in a timely manner. Uses ongoing individual and group meetings to teach Veterans how to identify and combat negative self-talk and overcome fears by providing a forum that allows Veteran to share their experiences. As necessary, handles crisis interventions for Veterans and addresses other emergent situations without the benefit of specific instructions. Informs Veterans about VA and community supports and resources, including how to effectively utilize them in the recovery and wellness process. Maintains a working knowledge of current trends and developments in holistic approaches in wellness and recovery by reading books, journals, and other relevant materials. Performs other related duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 0800-1630. Telework: Adhoc telework may be approved per VA policy Position Description/PD#: Supervisory Peer Specialist/PD99755-S Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized