Peer Specialist

This Peer Specialist position may only be filled with a Veteran that meets statutory requirements that are detailed in the qualifications section. 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.

The Peer Specialist functions as an interdisciplinary team member, assisting physicians and other professional/non-professional personnel in a rehabilitation treatment program. Peer specialists perform a variety of therapeutic and supportive tasks that include assisting Veterans in articulating their goals for recovery and personal wellness, learning, and practicing new skills, helping them monitor their progress, assisting them in their treatment, modeling effective coping techniques and self-help strategies based on the peer specialist's own recovery experience, and supporting them in advocating for themselves to obtain effective services.

Duties include, but not limited to the following:

* 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 tolls to coach Veterans to relevant skills need 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:

Full Time; 8:00am - 4:30pm. Partial weekend coverage required.

Compressed/Flexible:
Compressed tours will be considered based on the needs of the facility.

Telework:
Not Authorized

Virtual:
This is not a virtual position.

Position Description/PD#:
Peer Specialist/PD99696S, PD99697S, PD99701S, and PD99702S

Relocation/Recruitment

Incentives:

Not Authorized

Permanent Change of Station (PCS):
Not Authorized

Promotion Potential:
This position involves a multi-grade career ladder. 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.