| IMPORTANT NOTICE: Veteran is defined as a person who served in the active military, naval, or air service, and who was discharged or released under conditions other than dishonorable. PLEASE NOTE: Although this is a permanently funded position, if a selection is made at the Apprentice level the selectee will be on a temporary appointment until becoming certified and meeting all requirements for a GS-6 Peer Specialist position. Restricted to VETERANS 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. 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, 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; Serves as a recovery agent by providing and advocating for effective wellness and holistic recovery-based services that aid Veterans in daily living; 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; 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. Work Schedule: Full-Time, Monday-Friday 8am-4:30pm Compressed/Flexible: Not Available Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Peer Support Apprentice/Peer Specialist (Female Only)/PDS0020-A, PDS0016-A, PDS0017-A, PDS0019-A, and PD00004 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required 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/. |
