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Lead Peer Specialist

Department of Veterans Affairs
Veterans Health Administration
Veterans Health Administration/ Tucson VA Medical Center/ Mental Health

Summary

The position leads a team comprised of Peer Specialists and may Lead Without Compensation (WOC) Peer Specialists, within a common supervisory structure, to provide services, integrate processes, and meet goals of peer support service programming at the facility. As the leader of a team of peer support providers, the position facilitates, coordinates, coaches, and problem solves with the members of the peer support provider team.

Overview

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Accepting applications
Open & closing dates
12/04/2025 to 03/03/2026
Salary
$68,573 to - $89,142 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 10
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Tucson, AZ
1 vacancy
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
No
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
None
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Financial disclosure
No
Bargaining unit status
No
Announcement number
CBSX-12845299-26-KR
Control number
851586500

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

**Open to current permanent VETERANS/ Department of Veteran Affairs, TUCSON, AZ/MENTAL HEALTH SERVICE ONLY.**

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Duties

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Duties include, but are not limited to:

The position is an active member of facility advisory and/or leadership committees and coordinates work efforts and advocates for the needs of Veterans, peer support programs, and initiatives. The position provides guidance to peer support providers and coordinates peer support activities. The position also supports other peer support providers who provide a range of services to assist the Veterans in regaining independence within the community and mastery over their own recovery process. The position serves as the operational peer specialist Subject Matter Expert (SME) and liaison to Medical Center/Healthcare System leadership. As a SME, the position educates program managers and their staff on the visions, values, and delivery of peer support services. The position is involved in interviewing candidates and offering a perspective on the candidates' experience and recovery. The position ensures a high level of customer service is provided to Veterans and co-workers. The position establishes and/or partners with a resource network of community mental health organizations. At conferences and public events, the position may represent the Medical Center and make presentations.

  • Ensures that the organization's strategic plan, mission, vision, and values are communicated to the peer support providers they lead and integrated into the team's strategies, goals, objectives, work plans, products, and services;
  • Articulates and communicates to the peer support providers they lead the assignments, projects, problems to be solved, actionable events, milestones, and/or program issues under review as well as the deadlines and time frames for completion. The position communicates the supervisor's instructions to the team;
  • Coaches the peer support providers they lead in the selection and application of appropriate problem-solving methods and techniques, provides advice on work methods, practices and procedures, and assists the team and/or individual members in identifying the parameters of viable solutions;
  • Maintains awareness of the status and progress of peer support providers' work and makes day-to-day adjustments to ensure their work aligns with program goals and processes;
  • Leads the team in identifying, distributing, and balancing workload and tasks in accordance with established work flow, skill level and/or occupational specialization; makes adjustments to accomplish the workload in accordance with established priorities to ensure timely accomplishment of assigned team tasks; and ensures that each team member has an integral role in developing the final team products and services;

Non-Lead Peer Specialist Duties:

The position participates in the service, training, consultation, and other professional activities of a VHA health care services treatment program and functions as a fully vested member of a multidisciplinary team. In this capacity, the position completes assignments based on comprehensive peer support knowledge and recognition by others of demonstrated superior skill and proven sound judgment in working with Veterans with verycomplex mental illnesses and challenging situations that require effective communication and decision-making skills.

  • Teach and role model the value of every individual's recovery experience.
  • Model effective coping techniques, holistic wellness, and self-help strategies.
  • Assist in obtaining services that suit the individual's personal recovery and wellness needs.
  • Assist Veterans in exploring their interests and options for making improvements in life functioning areas such as housing, employment, relationships, and community engagement (i.e. assist Veterans in exploring options for obtaining decent and affordable housing and make referrals to appropriate VA housing programs; support Veterans vocational choices and refer them to appropriate resources to support employment).
  • Inform Veterans about VA and community supports and resources, including how to effectively utilize them in the recovery and wellness process. Community resources may include, but are not limited to consumer-run organizations, self-help and mutual support services, Social Security offices, Department of Family and Children services, YMCAs, libraries, restaurants, Veteran Service Organizations(VSOs), and the Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD).

Work Schedule: Monday thru Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm work schedule, but work schedule may be adjusted to meet the needs of the service.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Lead Peer Specialist/PD99338-S
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
  • Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
  • Subject to background/security investigation
  • Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
  • Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP)
As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:
  • your performance and conduct;
  • the needs and interests of the agency;
  • whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
  • whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.
Upon completion of your probationary period or trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 03/03/2026.

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-10 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-9. 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 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:
    • (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.
  • 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, with your application package.
  • Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-9 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: progressively responsible, 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. Assists in the development of training peer specialists and Veterans seeking to become peer specialists. 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.
You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:
  • Decision Making
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Lead or Supervise
  • Teaches Others
  • Therapy and Counseling


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 position sits to do the work. However, there may be some walking, standing, bending, carrying of light items (such as books, papers), accessing transportation, and/or driving a government vehicle. The work requires patience
and control of emotions. The work may require occasional use of appropriate techniques with Veterans who present a danger to them 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/.

Education

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.

Additional information

This is an OPEN CONTINUOUS ANNOUNCEMENT and will remain open until March 3, 2026. The initial cut-off date for referral of eligible applications will be January 3, 2026. Eligible applications received after that date will be referred at regular intervals or as additional vacancies occur on an as-needed basis until position is filled.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.

Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.

Narrative responses are not required at this time. If you are referred for consideration, you may be asked to submit additional job related information, which may include, but not limited to; responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities; completion of a work sample, and/or contact for an interview. Your resume and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment.

The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.

For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the OHRM Status Candidates and Other Candidate Definitions document.

Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the position.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.

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