Peer Specialist

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 09 / 18 / 2024.

Time-In-Grade Requirement : AApplicants 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; for a GS-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-06;

for a GS-08 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-7 & for a GS-09 you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-08.

An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. You must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade.

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 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.

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.

• Restricted to VETERANS - See IMPORTANT NOTICE. Open to current, permanent employees of the VA (i.e. T38, T38 Hybrid, and VCS employees on excepted appts covered by an interchange agreement);
• Federal employees on a Career / Career-Conditional appt.; Former competitive civil service employees eligible for reinstatement;
• Veterans eligible under VEOA, VRA, and 30% DAV; Those eligible under the Employment Program for People with Disabilities;

and those eligible for CTAP / ICTAP. 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. MINIMUM GRADE LEVEL QUALIFICATIONS GS-6 : In addition to the basic requirements, candidates must have at least one (1) year of specialized experience at the next lower graded level, which involved 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.

Your work has been closely monitored including having work checked in progress and reviewing completed work for accuracy, adequacy, and adherence to instructions or procedures.

GS-7 : In addition to the basic requirements, candidates must have at least one (1) year of specialized experience at the next lower graded level, which involved 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.

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-8 : In addition to the basic requirements, candidates must have at least one (1) year of specialized experience at the next lower graded level, which involved 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.

At this level you have 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-9 : In addition to the basic requirements, candidates must have at least one (1) year of specialized experience at the next lower graded level, which involved 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.

At this level work will have been performed with considerable independence and you are 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.

OR- EDUCATION SUBSTITUTION : (Transcripts are required with your application package) GS-6 : Successful completion Six (6) months of graduate education or a 1-year post-bachelor's degree internship meets the requirements for GS-6.

Only education that is directly related to the work of the position is creditable. GS-7 : Successful completion One (1) full year of graduate education meets the requirements for GS-7.

Only education that is directly related to the work of the position is creditable. GS-8 : Successful completion One and one / half (1 ) years of graduate education meets the requirements for GS-8.

Only education that is directly related to the work of the position is creditable. GS-9 : Successful completion Two (2) full years of graduate education or a master's degree meets the requirements for GS-9.

Only education that is directly related to the work of the position is creditable. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position : Problem Solving Communication Teaches Others 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.

See Additional Qualification requirements under Education. Reference : VA Regulations, specifically VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Appendix F-3 Peer Support Apprentice / Peer Specialist Qualification Standard.

This can be found in the local Human Resources Office.