Job Seekers

The Sheridan VA Medical Center is recruiting for one Female Peer Support Staff in the Psychological and Recovery Rehab Service. In accordance with The VA Mission Act of 2018, Section 506, in meeting the needs of female Veterans this position will be filled by a female Veteran who will provide peer support to female Veterans. To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 09/30/2022. 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. 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. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education s described below: BASIC REQUIREMENTS 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. NOTE: You MUST provide copies of your DD-214 and Peer Specialist Certification (for GS-6-9 grade levels), with your application package. If you do not yet have your Peer Specialist Certification please apply to the following announcement: CBSU-11534849-22-AT. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: GS-6: One 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: One 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: One 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: One 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 cases. -OR- Education Substitution: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience (Transcripts are required with your application package). You must have: GS-6: Successful completion of Six (6) months of graduate education OR a 1-year post-bachelor's degree internship directly related to the work of this position. Only education that is directly related to the work of the position is creditable. GS-7: Successful completion of One (1) full year of graduate education. Only education that is directly related to the work of the position is creditable. GS-8: Successful completion of One and one and one-half (1.5) years of graduate education. Only education that is directly related to the work of the position is creditable. GS-9: Two (2) full years of graduate education or a master's degree. 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: Customer Service Integrity/Honesty Problem Solving Interpersonal Skills Oral Communication Stress Tolerance Computer Skills 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/. ["Duties include but are not limited to: Share their personal mental health recovery story and as the facilitator of these sessions, which will demonstrate how they have directed their own recovery. Teach and role model the value of every individual's recovery experience. Model effective coping techniques and self-help strategies. Serve as a recovery agent by providing and advocating for any effective recovery-based services that will aid the Veteran in daily living. Assist Veterans in developing empowerment skills and combating stigma through self-advocacy. Help to foster Veterans' community integration and development of natural supports and self-reliance strategies. Work with Veterans to develop and implement a strengths-based personal recovery plan. Assist Veterans to identify personal goals for recovery using one-to-one and group sessions. Assist Veterans in determining the steps they need to take in order to achieve these goals and continue their journey towards self-directed recovery. Utilize utilizes recovery tools to coach Veterans on relevant skills needed for self-management of their health condition(s) and pursuit of their personal wellness. Use ongoing individual and group sessions to teach Veterans how to identify and combat negative self-talk and how to identify and overcome fears by providing a forum which allows group members to share their experiences. Participate in the service, training, consultative and other professional activities of VA Health Care services and functions as a full professional member of the multidisciplinary treatment team. The position works with Veterans with very complex mental illnesses and challenging situations that require effective communication and decision-making skills. Inform Veterans about community and mutual supports and how to use these in the recovery process. Community resources may include but are not limited to consumer run self-help and mutual support services, social security office, local YMCA, library, restaurants, Veterans' service organizations, Veteran Non-Profit Organizations, etc. Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level (GS-9) 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: Negotiable based on placement and need\nTelework: Not Available\nVirtual: This is not a virtual position.\nPosition Description/PD#: Peer Support Specialist - FEMALE ONLY/PD00064A\nRelocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized\nPermanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized\nFinancial Disclosure Report: Not required"]