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Peer Support Specialist - Acute Inpatient Psychiatry

Department of Veterans Affairs
Veterans Health Administration
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This Peer Support Specialist position is located in the Mental Health - Acute Inpatient Psychiatry at the Tomah VA Medical Center.

Overview

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Job canceled
Open & closing dates
07/06/2022 to 07/13/2022
This job will close when we have received 25 applications which may be sooner than the closing date. Learn more
Salary
$40,262 to - $71,146 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 6 - 9
Location
Tomah, WI
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
9
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
TM-11534350-22-SA
Control number
661354200

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Duties

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This position 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 their peers 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 specialist's own recovery experience, and supporting them in advocating for themselves to obtain effective services. The incumbent functions as a role model, exhibiting competency in personal recovery and use of coping skills; serves as a consumer advocate, provides consumer information and peer support for veterans in outpatient and inpatient settings. This individual must have the ability to assist others in treatment based on the principles of recovery and resiliency. By inspiring the hope that recovery and resiliency are achievable goals, the incumbent can assist others who are diagnosed with mental illness or co-occurring disorders to achieve their personal recovery goals by promoting self­ determination, personal responsibility, and the empowerment inherent in self-directed recovery. The incumbent performs a wide range of tasks to assist peers of all ages, from young adult to old age, in regaining independence within the community and mastery over their own recovery process.

  • Assist veterans in articulating personal goals for recovery through the use of one-to-one and group sessions.
  • Work with veterans to develop and implement a personal recovery plan.
  • Utilizes recovery tools such as Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP) to assist veterans in creating their own individual wellness and recovery plans.
  • Share own recovery story which will demonstrate how they have directed their own recovery to veterans.
  • Uses 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.
  • Assist veterans in developing empowerment skills and combating stigma through self advocacy.
  • Assist veterans in building social skills in the community that will enhance job acquisition.
  • Serves as liaison with community-based consumer-run or consumer-supportive organizations to develop and foster Veterans' community integration.
  • Inform veterans about community and mutual supports and how to use these in recovery process.
  • Completes appropriate documentation, and reports concerns to the treatment and recovery team in a timely matter.
  • Assist in the execution of recovery plan and monitors progress, making timely reports of progress and new problems to the treatment team.
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: 8:00am-4:30pm Rotating weekends and Holidays
Telework: Not Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Peer Support Specialist - Acute Inpatient Psychiatry/PD00065A
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

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
  • You may be required to serve a probationary period
  • Subject to background/security investigation
  • Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process
  • Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP)
  • Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 07/13/2022.

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. For a GS-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-06. For a GS-08 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07. For a GS-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-08. 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.

Basic Requirements:

  • Citizenship: Citizen of the United States
  • 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.
You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described 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.
  • GS-6 Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-5 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. OR
  • GS-6 Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have six (6) months of graduate education or a 1-year post-bachelor's degree internship. (Transcripts Required)
  • GS-7 Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-6 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. OR
  • GS-7 Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have one full year of graduate education. (Transcripts Required)
  • GS-8 Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-7 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. OR
  • GS-8 Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have one and one/half (1 1/2) years of graduate education. (Transcripts Required)
  • GS-9 Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-8 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. OR
  • GS-9 Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have two full years of graduate education or a master's degree. (Transcripts Required)
You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:
  • Computer Skills
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Psychology
  • Teamwork


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: Evidence of experience, must be supported by detailed documentation of duties performed in positions held. Please provide such documentation on your application or resume. Also, please provide work experience information such as hours per week and starting/ending dates of employment (month and year format) to establish one (1) full year of experience. The requirement for this proof is specified in the "How to Apply" section of this announcement. To be credible, experience must be documented in the application and verifiable through employment references and/or other means. If your resume/application does not support your questionnaire answer; we will not allow credit for your response(s).

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/.

Education

A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

Additional information

Receiving Service Credit or Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.

Special Employment Consideration: VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply, including those eligible for hiring under 5 CFR 213.3102(u), Schedule A, Appointment of persons with disabilities [i.e., intellectual disabilities, severe physical disabilities, or psychiatric disabilities], and/or Disabled veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more. Contact the Agency Contact for information on how to apply under this appointment authority via the Selective Placement Coordinator.

The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal/VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well-qualified: applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the required competencies of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.

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

Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process.

If you are unable to apply online or need to fax a document you do not have in electronic form, view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application.

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.

Note: Evidence of experience, must be supported by detailed documentation of duties performed in positions held. Please provide such documentation on your application or resume. Also, please provide work experience information such as hours per week and starting/ending dates of employment (month and year format) to establish one (1) full year of experience. The requirement for this proof is specified in the "How to Apply" section of this announcement. To be credible, experience must be documented in the application and verifiable through employment references and/or other means. If your resume/application does not support your questionnaire answer; we will not allow credit for your response(s).

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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