Peer Specialist are part of an interdisciplinary team, assisting physicians and other personnel in rehabilitation treatment programs. They perform a variety of therapeutic and supportive tasks that include assisting Veterans articulating goals for recovery, personal wellness, learning and practicing new skills, helping them monitor their progress, assisting in their treatment, modeling effective coping techniques and self-help strategies based on the peer specialist's own recovery experience. To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 01/03/2025. 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-06 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05. 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. Citizenship. Citizen of the United States. b. Physical and Medical Requirements. Veteran: (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. SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE FOR PEER SPECIALISTS, GS-102-6/9: In addition to the basic requirements, candidates must have at least 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level. Specialized experience is progressively responsible, 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. 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: BASIC REQUIREMENTS FOR ALL GRADES AND TITLES 2 SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION FOR PEER SPECIALISTS, Grades 6-9: Graduate education or a post-bachelor's degree internship meets the specialized experience required for GS-6/9 only in those instances where it is directly related to the work of the position. Grade 6 - Six months of graduate education or a 1-year post-bachelor's degree internship meets the requirements for GS-6. Grade 7 - Grade One full year of graduate education meets the requirements for GS-7. Grade 8 - One and one/half years of graduate education meets the requirements for GS-8. Grade 9 - Two full years of graduate education or a master's degree meets the requirements for GS-9. One year of full-time graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent 1 year of full-time study. If that information cannot be obtained from the school, 18 semester hours should be considered as satisfying the 1 year of full-time study requirement. Part-time graduate education is creditable in accordance with its relationship to a year of full-time study at the school attended. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: 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: In accordance with VA Directive and Handbook 5019 The applicant must be able to perform primarily light and sedentary duties with occasionally moderate physical demands, exercise patience, and control emotions, with reasonable accommodation if necessary, without endangering the health and safety of the applicant or others. 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/. ["Public Law 110-387, Section 405 modifies 38 USC 7402: Peer Specialist.--To be eligible to be appointed to a peer specialist position, a person must -- (A) be a Veteran who has recovered or is recovering from a mental health condition; and (B) be certified by -- (i) 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 (ii) a State as having satisfied relevant State requirements for a peer specialist position.\" Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level. Duties may include but are not limited to: 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. In consultation with the supervisor, completes assignments based on peer support service knowledge, skill, and proven sound judgment. Works with Veterans with very complex mental illnesses and challenging situations that require effective communication and decision-making skills. Serves as a recovery agent by providing and advocating for effective wellness and holistic, recovery-based services that aid Veterans in daily living. Orients new Veterans to the program's services, hours, locations, staff, and other pertinent information necessary for the Veterans to understand how to effectively utilize the program services. Assists Veterans to articulate personal recovery and wellness goals using individual or group meetings. During these meetings, the position assists Veterans in identifying their skills, strengths, supports, and resources needed to aid them in achieving their recovery and wellness goals. Assists Veterans in determining steps needed to achieve their self-directed recovery and wellness goals. Utilizes recovery tools to coach Veterans on relevant skills needed for self-management of their health condition(s) and pursuit of their personal wellness. Monitors progress and assists with the execution of the recovery and wellness plan, makes timely reports of progress, and presents new areas of concern to the treatment team. Contributes to the development of an effective discharge plan that is based upon their understanding of the Veteran's goals and interests. Observes behaviors that might indicate difficulty adapting or responding to treatment; 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. When appropriate, shares stories about personal recovery experiences in relation to current struggles that the Veterans report. Utilize their personal recovery experience; teach and role model the value of every individual's recovery experience. Work Schedule: Full-Time, Monday-Friday, possible weekends Telework: Authorized (Ad-hoc) Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Peer Specialist (Non-Gender Specific)/PD99702S Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized"]
The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is the largest integrated health care system in the United States, providing care at 1,321 health care facilities, including 172 VA Medical Centers and 1,138 outpatient sites of care of varying complexity (VHA outpatient clinics) to over 9 million Veterans enrolled in the VA health care program. VHA Medical Centers provide a wide range of services including traditional hospital-based services such as surgery, critical care, mental health, orthopedics, pharmacy, radiology and physical therapy. In addition, most of our medical centers offer additional medical and surgical specialty services including audiology & speech pathology, dermatology, dental, geriatrics, neurology, oncology, podiatry, prosthetics, urology, and vision care. Some medical centers also offer advanced services such as organ transplants and plastic surgery.
