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The New Mexico VA Health Care System is recruiting for a Peer Specialist assigned to Social Work services Health Care for Homeless Veterans, HUD/VASH Team. The Specialist functions as an interdisciplinary team member, assisting Social Workers, Nurses and other professional/non-professional personnel in a rehabilitation treatment program. The Peer Specialist functions as a role model, exhibiting competency in personal recovery and use of coping skills and serving as a consumer to veterans. To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 03/31/2023. 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 as described below: Basic Requirements for Peer Specialists: 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: Be a veteran who has recovered or is recovering from a mental health condition; and Be certified by 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 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 MEMBER 4 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. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience: GS-06: One year of specialized experience at the next lower graded level, which involved post-personal mental health recovery experience as a mentor providing support to others in mental health and/or addiction recovery, a recovery advocate directly involved with consumers of mental health services, 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-07: One year of specialized experience at the next lower graded level, which involved post-personal mental health recovery experience as a mentor providing support to others in mental health and/or addiction recovery, a recovery advocate directly involved with consumers of mental health services, 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-08: One year of specialized experience at the next lower graded level, which involved post-personal mental health recovery experience as a mentor providing support to others in mental health and/or addiction recovery, a recovery advocate directly involved with consumers of mental health services, 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-09: One year of specialized experience at the next lower graded level, which involved post-personal mental health recovery experience as a mentor providing support to others in mental health and/or addiction recovery, a recovery advocate directly involved with consumers of mental health services, 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: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must submit transcripts with your application package. GS-06: 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-07: 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-08: Successful completion One and one/half (1 ½) 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-09: 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: 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 position requires clearance to drive a government vehicle. 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/. ["This is an OPEN CONTINUOUS ANNOUNCEMENT and will remain open until January 31, 2023. Applicants will be accepted on an ongoing basis and qualified candidates will be considered as vacancies become available. Applicants will remain active for 3 months after the initial application is received and/or updated. After that time, you must update your application through your USAJobs account if you would like to be made active again for possible consideration during the open period. The 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 with their treatment, modeling effective coping techniques and self-help strategies based on the specialists' own recovery experience, and supporting them in advocating for themselves to obtain effective services. The major duties and responsibilities of the Peer Specialist includes but are not limited to: Assisting Veterans in treatment, based on the principles of recovery, wellness, and resiliency, by promoting self-determination, personal responsibility, and the empowerment inherent in self-directed recovery. Performing a wide range of tasks to assist Veterans in regaining independence within the community and mastery over their own recovery and wellness process. Working with Veterans with very complex mental illnesses and challenging situations that require effective communication and decision-making skills. Orienting new Veterans to the programs' services, hours, locations, staff, and other pertinent information necessary for the Veterans to understand how to effectively utilize the program services. Utilizing recovery tools to coach Veterans on relevant skills needed for self-management of their health condition(s) and pursuit of their personal wellness. Monitoring progress and assisting with the execution of the recovery and wellness plan; making timely reports of progress and presenting new areas of concern to the treatment plan. Using 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 Veterans to share their experiences. Providing support of Veterans' vocational choices and assisting them in choosing a job matching their strengths; overcoming job-related anxiety by reviewing job applications, providing interviewing tips, and practice sessions. 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 thru Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Peer Specialist/PD00065A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required Working Conditions: Work will be performed in a wide range of settings, including the medical center; in client, group or family homes; in community-based outpatient settings, community agencies; or in transport vehicles (public or government). Work areas are often noisy, irregular, and unpredictable and can be stressful at times. Clients demonstrate varying levels of recovery and symptoms."]

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