Career Center

The VA Sierra Nevada Health Care System is currently recruiting for a full time Peer Specialist position with the Office of Mental Health located at the Reno Division. Functioning as an interdisciplinary team member, assisting physicians and other professional/non-professional personnel in a rehabilitation treatment program. This is an open and continuous announcement. 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 unless they qualify for a non-competitive appointment such as Schedule A, VRA or 30% or more disabled. The grade must have been held in the Federal service but may have been in any occupation. Proper documentation must be submitted with your application. (MUST UPLOAD A COPY OF ALL APPLICABLE NON-AWARD SF-50) 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. The following basic requirements that must be met: Statutory Requirements. Section 405 of Public Law 110-387, as codified in 38 USC 7402(b)(13), established that to be eligible to receive appointment as a Peer Specialist position, a person must: (1) be a veteran* who has recovered or is recovering from a mental health condition; (2) (GS-6 and higher) be certified as a Peer Specialist by (a) a non-profit entity engaged in peer specialist training as having met such criteria as the Secretary shall establish for peer specialist position (ONLY NON-PROFIT DBSA OR RI CERTIFICATES ARE ACCEPTED); OR (b) a State as having satisfied relevant State requirements for a peer specialist position. Length of Experience as a Consumer of Mental Health Recovery Services. Veterans eligible under 38 USC 7402(b)(13) must have spent a minimum of 1 year in personal recovery from a mental health condition. *Definition of a Veteran: Per 38 U.S.C. 101(2) the term "Veteran" means a person who service in the active military, naval or air service, and who was discharged or released under conditions other than dishonorable (or submits a certification that he or she is expected to be discharged or released from active duty in the armed forces under honorable conditions not later than 120 days after the date of the certification's submission). In addition to meeting the basic requirements, to qualify above the GS-5 Apprentice level candidates must have at least 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level or may substitute education indicated below. 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. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: To qualify for this position at the GS-7 level: you must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-6 level in the Federal Service closely related to the work of this position that has given me the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities required to successfully perform the duties of a Peer Support Specialist. 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. OR, you must have successfully completed one (1) year of graduate education in a degree program directly related to the work of this position. Transcripts (unofficial) are required at time of application. To qualify for this position at the GS-8 level: you must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-7 level in the Federal Service closely related to the work of this position that has given me the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities required to successfully perform the duties of a Peer Support Specialist. 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.; OR you must have successfully completed one and one half (1-1/2) years of graduate education in a degree program directly related to the work of this position. Transcripts (unofficial) are required at time of application. To qualify for this position at the GS-9 level: you must have At least one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-8 level in the Federal Service closely related to the work of this position that has given me the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities required to successfully perform the duties of a Peer Support Specialist. 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, you must have successfully completed two (2) years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree. Transcripts (unofficial) are required at time of application. Customer ServiceEducation and TrainingTherapy and CounselingVeteran and Customer Focus 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 applicant must be able to perform primarily light and sedentary duties with occasionally moderate physical demands, exercise patience, and control emotions, with reasonable accommodation 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/. Due to COVID-19, VA is currently in an expanded telework posture. If selected, you may be expected to temporarily telework, even if your home is located outside the local commuting area. Once employees are permitted to return to the office, you will be expected to report to the duty station listed on this announcement. Management officials will provide information about returning to the official, pre-pandemic worksite, when applicable. At that time, you may be eligible to request to continue to telework depending upon the terms of your organization's telework policy and the duties of the position. ["Major duties include but not limited to; Participates in the service, training, consultative and other professional activities of rehabilitation treatment program and functions as a full professional member of the multidisciplinary. Serves as a recovery agent by providing and advocating for any effective recovery based services that will aid the veteran in daily living. Assists veterans to articulate personal goals for recovery through the use of one-to-one and group sessions. Works 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. Teach and role model the value of every individual's recovery experience. Assist the veteran in exploring options for obtaining decent and affordable housing of his/her choice in the most integrated, independent and least intrusive or restrictive environment, by making referrals to appropriate V A housing programs. Model effective coping techniques and self-help strategies. Assist in obtaining services that suit the individual's recovery needs. 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, Department of Family and Children services, local YMCA, library, restaurants, veterans' service organizations, apartment complexes and other types of housing, etc. Assist veterans in developing empowerment skills and combating stigma through self-advocacy. This will be accomplished through regular meetings, individual or group sessions through the use of role playing/modeling techniques. 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. Perform other duties as assigned. 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. This is an open continuous announcement. Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis and qualified candidates will be considered as vacancies become available. Applications will remain on file until September 30, 2022. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00am-4:30pm\nTelework: 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.\nVirtual: This is not a virtual position.\nPosition Description/PD#: Peer Specialist/PD00067A, PD00066A, and PD00068A\nRelocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized\nPermanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized\nFinancial Disclosure Report: Not required"]