The Peer Specialist at the VALLHCS is an interdisciplinary team member, assisting physicians and other personnel in a rehabilitation treatment program. Peer specialists perform therapeutic and supportive tasks such as assisting Veterans in articulating their goals for recovery, 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.

Duties

This position supports the Mental Health Intensive Case Management (MHICM) program which is part of the Intensive Community Mental Health Recovery Services (ICMHRS) at VA Loma Linda Healthcare System. This position will require the incumbent to operate a government vehicle with a valid driver's license. The incumbent will be required to meet with veterans in their home and other locations. This may include transporting the veteran when needed in accordance with the recovery plan. Major duties include, but are not limited to the following: Demonstrates Management and Prevention of Disruptive Behavior techniques Assists with the execution of the recovery plan and monitors progress, making timely reports of progress and new problems to the treatment team Serves as a liaison with community-based, consumer-run and/or consumer-supportive organizations to develop or foster Veterans' community integration and development of natural supports as needed Assists Veterans in developing empowerment skills and combating stigma through self-advocacy through regular meetings, individual or group sessions through the use of role playing/ modeling techniques Performs basic group dynamics, establish and sustain self-help (mutual support) and educational groups by soliciting input from mental health consumers on their strengths and interests Provides assistance in obtaining services that suit the individual's recovery needs Teaches and role models the value of every individual's recovery experience Provides assistance to the Veteran addressing symptoms using strategies e.g. positive self-talk Shares own recovery story as a facilitator of these sessions, which will demonstrated how they have directed their own recovery to Veterans Provides crisis-oriented counseling, including methods for effective triage and the standards for handling violent or suicidal patients safely Works with Veterans to develop and implement a personal recovery plan Utilizes ongoing individual and group session to teach Veterans how to e.g. identify and combat negative self-talk and/or identify and overcome fears by providing a forum which allows group members to share their experiences 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. Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm (Subject to change based upon the needs of the agency.) Compressed/Flexible: May be available for highly qualified candidates, based on the needs of the clinic Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: PEER SPECIALIST/PD99511-S, PD99510-S, PD99509-S, and PD99508-S Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

Resume Requirement: Your resume must be detailed include the following information: Job title, description of duties, beginning and ending date (month/year) of employment; and average hours worked per week. To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/18/2024. 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-6 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-5 level. For a GS-7 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-6 level. For a GS-8 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-7 level. For a GS-9 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-8 level. 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. 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 one of the following: (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 (b) a State as having satisfied relevant State requirements for a peer specialist position. 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 Quality Ranking Factor: Two years experience working with Substance Use populations and previous experience working as a Peer Support Specialist You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: GS-6: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-5 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: post-personal mental health recovery 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. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have completed Six (6) months of graduate education or a 1-year post-bachelor's degree internship. GS-7: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-6 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: post-personal mental health recovery 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. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed One full year of graduate education. GS-8: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-7 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: post-personal mental health recovery 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. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed One and one/half years of graduate education. GS-9: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-8 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: post-personal mental health recovery 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. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed Two full years of graduate education or a master's degree. 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: 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 Veteran's Affairs approved behavioral management techniques with Veterans who present a danger to self 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/.

Education

A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

NOTE: In order to be qualifying, education must be in a major field of study related to the work of the position which provided the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform the duties of this position

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. 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. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

Contacts

• Address Jerry L Pettis Memorial Veterans Hospital 11201 Benton Street Loma Linda, CA 92357 US
• Name: James Bullock
• Phone: (415) 769-1554
• Email: [email protected]