Peer Specialists perform a variety of therapeutic and supportive tasks that include assisting their peers in articulating their goals for recovery, 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 specialist's own recovery experience, and supporting them in advocating for themselves to obtain effective services. To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 02/13/2023 BASIC REQUIREMENTS FOR PEER SPECIALISTS, GS-0102-6/7/8/9: 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 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. 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 level. For a GS-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-06 level. For a GS-08 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07 level. For a GS-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-08 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. 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. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience GS-6/7/8/9: 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. OR Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education, graduate education or a post-bachelor's degree internship meets the specialized experienced required for GS-6/9 ONLY in those instance where it is directly related to the work of the position. You must have: GS-06:Six (6) months of graduate education in a degree program directly related to the work of this position OR a 1-year post-bachelor's degree internship directly related to the work of this position. GS-07:One full year of graduate education in a degree program directly related to the work of this position. GS-08:One and one-half years of graduate education in a degree program directly related to the work of this position. GS-09:Two full years of graduate education or a master's degree in a program directly related to the work of this position. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. To compute the percentage, divide the total months of qualifying experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed semester of graduate education by 9. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. (NOTE: You must submit your transcripts in your application package) You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Decision Support Intervention Psychological Assessment Teamwork 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. The applicant must be able to perform primarily light and sedentary duties with occasionally moderate physical demands, exercise patience, and control emotions, with reasonable accommodations 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/. ["Major duties and responsibilities include: Serves as a recovery agent by providing and advocating for any effective recovery based services that will aid the veteran in daily living. Assist veterans to articulate personal goals for recovery through the use of. one-to-one and group sessions. Assist veterans in identifying their skills, strengths, supports and the resources needed to aid 1hem in achieving those goals. Work with veterans to develop and implement a personal recovery plan. 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 or recovery team in a timely manner. Use ongoing individual :and group sessions to teach veterans how to identify and combat negative self-talk and how to identify and overcome fear by providing a forum which allows group members to share their experiences. Utilizes his/her personal recovery experience. Serves as liaison with community-based consumer-run and/or consumer supportive organizations to develop and/or foster veterans' community integration and development of natural supports and self-reliance strategies. Provide support of veterans' vocational choices and assist them in choosing a job that matches their strengths, overcoming job-related anxiety by reviewing job applications, and providing interview tips and practice sessions. Assist veterans in building social skills in the community that will enhance job acquisition and tenure using such techniques as role playing. 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-Friday 8:00am-4:30pm Telework: VA supports the use of telework as a way to help attract and retain talented individuals in public service, increase worker productivity, and better prepare the agency to operate during emergencies. This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: PEER SUPPORT SPECIALIST/PD00065A, PD00066A, PD00067A, and PD00068A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required"]

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