Senior Peer Advocate

Location:

Long Island City & Bronx NY

Position Summary

The Senior Peer Advocate is a behavioral health professional with lived experience who provides leadership, mentorship, and direct support to individuals receiving mental health supports services. This role promotes recovery, wellness, and self-sufficiency while modeling peer support principles. The Senior Peer Advocate also assists with training, program development, and supervision of peer staff and peer interns.

• Provide individual and group peer support services based on lived experience.
• Assist clients in developing recovery goals, wellness plans, and self-advocacy skills.
• Offer emotional support, crisis de-escalation, and encouragement.
• Help individuals navigate behavioral health, social service, and community systems.

• Serve as a role model for peer staff, interns, and participants.
• Provide guidance, coaching, and task supervision to Peer Advocates.
• Support onboarding and training new peer staff.
• Promote adherence to peer support values, ethics, and recovery-oriented care.

• Advocate for individuals’ needs within treatment teams and service systems.
• Collaborate with clinicians, case managers, and community providers.
• Link individuals to resources such as housing, employment, education, and healthcare.

• Assist in developing and facilitating peer-led groups, workshops, and activities.
• Maintain accurate and timely documentation in compliance with agency and regulatory standards.
• Ensure services align with agency policies, Medicaid/State guidelines, and peer certification standards.
• Maintain required certifications and participate in ongoing training.
• Uphold confidentiality, boundaries, and ethical standards in all interactions.

• Lived experience with mental health and/or substance use recovery.
• Certification as a Peer Advocate/Peer Specialist (NYS Certified Peer Specialist- OMH).
• High school diploma or equivalent (associate or bachelor’s degree preferred).
• Minimum of 2–4 years of experience in a peer support role.
• Strong interpersonal, communication, and organizational skills.
• Basic computer proficiency (documentation, email, Microsoft Office)

• Experience providing coaching, mentoring, or training.
• Knowledge of trauma-informed care and recovery-oriented systems.
• Familiarity with documentation systems (EHR) and service coordination.
• Proficiency in Excel

• Recovery-oriented mindset
• Leadership and team collaboration
• Cultural humility and inclusivity
• Crisis management and problem-solving
• Advocacy and system navigation

• Community-based, and in-program setting
• May include travel within the community
• Ability to engage with clients in various settings (office, community, virtual)

• $42,000 – $45,000

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