Peer Specialist

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 11/22/2024. 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-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-06. For a GS-08 position, you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07. For the GS-09 position, you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-08.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 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 a State as having satisfied relevant State requirements for a peer specialist position. b. Length of Experience. 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. Restricted to VETERANS – You MUST provide copies of your DD-214 and Peer Specialist Certification with your application package. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: GS-7: In addition to the basic requirements, candidates must have at least one (1) year of specialized experience at the next lower graded level, which involved post-personal mental health recovery experience as a mentor providing counseling to support peers in mental health and/or addiction recovery, a recovery advocate directly involved with consumers of mental health services, a psychiatric therapy aide, or equivalent work involving in-person communication to support others in mental health recovery. At this level, routine work has been completed with minimal supervisory oversight and review, however close supervision will have been provided for complex and unusual tasks. GS-8: In addition to the basic requirements, candidates must have at least one (1) year of specialized experience at the next lower graded level, which involved post-personal mental health recovery experience as a mentor providing counseling to support peers in mental health and/or addiction recovery, a recovery advocate directly involved with consumers of mental health services, a psychiatric therapy aide, or equivalent work involving in-person communication to support others in mental health recovery. At this level you have the ability to work with general instructions for the performance of routine duties and detailed instructions and/or training in performance of the non-routine functions and special assignments. Non-routine/novel work will have been reviewed by spot checking and after completion to evaluate the adequacy of methods, procedures, results, ability to solve new and changing problems, etc. GS-9: In addition to the basic requirements, candidates must have at least one (1) year of specialized experience at the next lower graded level, which involved post-personal mental health recovery experience as a mentor providing counseling to support peers in mental health and/or addiction recovery, a recovery advocate directly involved with consumers of mental health services, a psychiatric therapy aide, 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 you are responsible for making recommendations to the interdisciplinary treatment team that can be relied on for soundness of judgment and maturity of insight on problem situations. -OR-EDUCATION SUBSTITUTION: (Transcripts are required) GS-7: Successful completion One (1) full year of graduate education meets the requirements for GS-7. Only education that is directly related to the work of the position is creditable. GS-8: Successful completion One and one/half (1 ½) years of graduate education meets the requirements for GS-8. Only education that is directly related to the work of the position is creditable. GS-9: Successful completion Two (2) full years of graduate education or a master’s degree meets the requirements for GS-9. Only education that is directly related to the work of the position is creditable. 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. Preferred Experience: Experience working with substance use disorders or other related issues ideally pertaining to the veteran population. Experience with advocacy and navigating the criminal justice system either personally or through direct involvement with justice involved veterans. Physical Requirements: The work is primarily sedentary. There may be some walking, standing, bending, carrying of light items (such as books, papers), accessing transportation, and/or driving a government vehicle. The work requires patience and control of emotions. The work may require occasional use of appropriate techniques to physically restrain clients who present a danger to self or others. REQUIRED TO BE CERTIFIED as an Incidental Driver. May require a history review and if pertinent issues, may need to submit to a physical to be certified as an Incidental Driver. VA’s are required to have current employee’s and new hires who operate government vehicles and/or transport Veterans participate in periodic examinations every 3-4 years. As part of the certification, required to be evaluated or examined as determined by Occupational Health. There are no specific required lab tests however, during the medical history taking exam, the Examiner is required to evaluate any condition reasonably and adequately before providing the medical clearance. If employee has a chronic medical condition that may impact safe use of a federal vehicle, the Examiner may ask the employee to be examined or for copies of the treating doctors’ notes. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management’s website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.
This Peer Specialist position is located within the Homeless Program of Social Work Services at Long Beach VA Medical Center in Long Beach, CA. The incumbent performs a variety of therapeutic and supportive tasks including assisting peers in articulating their goals for recovery, learning and practicing new skills, helping monitor their progress, assisting in their treatment, modeling effective coping techniques and strategies based on the specialists own recovery experience.