This Peer Specialist position may only be filled with a Veteran that meets statutory requirements that are detailed in the qualifications section. The Peer Specialist functions as an interdisciplinary team member, assisting physicians and other personnel in a rehabilitation treatment program. Performs 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.

Duties

NOTE: This is a TERM appointment not-to-exceed 4 Years. Term appointments are non-status, nonpermanent appointments of limited duration (more than 1 year but not more than 4). Term appointments may be extended without further competition (up to the 4-year maximum). The appointment to a Term position does not confer eligibility for promotion or reassignment to other positions or the ability to be non-competitively converted to permanent employment. This is a bargaining unit position. Areas of Consideration: 1st - Facility-wide (including satellites) 2nd - Administration or Staff office posting the vacancy. 3rd - All other Status eligibles. The Department may limit or expand the number of applicants that may be received after the posting date. This job announcement has been limited to receive the first 50 applications. Note: Submitting multiple applications will change the order in which your application is reviewed. 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. VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package: VA Total Rewards Work Schedule: Full-time, 8am - 430pm Compressed/Flexible: Available Position Description/PD#: Peer Specialist/PD996987S Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required Physical Demands: 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 Veterans Affairs approved behavioral management techniques with Veterans who present a danger to self or others. 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.

Requirements

• You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this job.
• Selectees are subject to a background/suitability investigation.
• Selectees may be required to serve a probationary period.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• A complete application package, i.e., Resume, Transcripts, etc., as required by job announcement.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process.
• Participation in the Seasonal Influenza Prevention Program for VHA Health Care Personnel (HCP) is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs HCP.
• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• Pre-employment physical examination/evaluation may be required.
• Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 08/15/2024. 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/GS-08/GS-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-06/GS-07/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. Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement. You may qualify based on your as described below. A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing your qualifications on education. 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 in Recovery: must have at least 1 year of recovery from a mental health condition (mental illness and/or substance use disorder). Successful recovery is exemplified by one who manages symptoms of illness and pursues a healthy lifestyle; lives independently; is employed or volunteers significant time approximating at least a part-time employment schedule; has meaningful relationships with family members and friends; and is socially involved in the community through clubs, hobby groups, church, civic organizations or Veteran organizations in which the individual provides a service to others. NOTE: Applicants must provide on their resume or separate statement certifying the above requirement; your application must contain sufficient documentation for our office to verify that the basic requirements are met or you may not be considered for further review. Restricted to VETERANS - 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. 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 FOR PEER SPECIALISTS GS-07: At least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-06 level in the Federal Service closely related to the work of this position that has provided the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to successfully perform the duties of a Peer Specialist. Specialized experience is progressively responsible, 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, routine work has been completed with minimal supervisory oversight and review, however close supervision will have been provided for complex and unusual tasks. GS-08: At least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 level in the Federal Service closely related to the work of this position that has provided the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to successfully perform the duties of a Peer Specialist. Specialized experience is progressively responsible, 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, the position requires 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-09: At least one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-08 level in the Federal Service closely related to the work of this position that has provided the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to successfully perform the duties of a Peer Specialist. Specialized experience is progressively responsible, 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 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. NOTE: In recruiting and examining for these positions, participation in community, social service, and similar volunteer activities that meets the definition of specialized experience is creditable applicant experience. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Problem Solving Communication Teaching Others Per Office of Personnel Management General Schedule Qualification Policies, federal employees are assumed to have gained experience by performing duties and responsibilities appropriate for their official series and grade level as described in their position description. Experience that would not normally be part of the employee's position is creditable when documented by satisfactory evidence (e.g., a memorandum from the manager, human resources director, or official documentation such as SF-52, SF-50 documenting an official detail/assignments, or other comparable documentation). The documentation must indicate whether the employee performed the duties full time or, if part-time, the percentage of times the employee performed the additional duties. To receive credit for experience in your resume that is not within the official series and grade level of your position, you must provide official documentation of such experience as indicated above. 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.

Education

SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION FOR PEER SPECIALISTS

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.

GS-07: One full year of graduate education meets the requirements for GS-07.

GS-08: One full year and one half (1.5 years total) of graduate education meets the requirements for GS-08.

GS-09: Two full years of graduate education meets the requirements for GS-09.

PLEASE NOTE: Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications (particularly positions with a positive education requirement). Therefore, applicants must report only attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Applicants can verify accreditation at the following website: http://www.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred/index.html. All education claimed by applicants will be verified by the appointing agency accordingly. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education.

Contacts

• Address Indianapolis ORD VISN 10 1481 West Tenth Street Indianapolis, IN 46202 US
• Name: VHA National Recruitment Center
• Phone: (844)456-5208
• Email: [email protected]