Peer Specialist Social Work Service

We're Looking for a skilled Peer Specialist Social Work Service in the Veterans Health Administration based in Jackson, Mississippi. Read through the job description to see if it matches your current experience.

The Successful Applicant

To qualify for this position applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement 01/19/2022. TimeInGrade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet timeingrade requirements by the closing date of this announcement i.e. for a GS7 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS6. For a GS8 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS7. For a GS9 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS8. The grade may have been in any occupation but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF50 that shows your timeingrade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. Note: TimeInGrade 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 FOR PEER SPECIALISTS a. Statutory Requirements. Section 405 of Public Law 110387 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 notforprofit 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 DD214 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. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS GS7: One year of specialized experience at the next lower graded level which involved postpersonal 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 inperson 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. GS8: One year of specialized experience at the next lower graded level which involved postpersonal 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 inperson 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 nonroutine functions and special assignments. Nonroutine/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. GS9: One year of specialized experience at the next lower graded level which involved postpersonal 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 inperson 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: (Transcripts are required with your application package) GS7: Successful completion One (1) full year of graduate education meets the requirements for GS7. Only education that is directly related to the work of the position is creditable. GS8: Successful completion One and one/half (1 frac12) years of graduate education meets the requirements for GS8. Only education that is directly related to the work of the position is creditable. GS9: Successful completion Two (2) full years of graduate education or a masters degree meets the requirements for GS9. Only education that is directly related to the work of the position is creditable. 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 3540 hours of work per week. Parttime 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 Veterans Affairs approved behavioral management techniques with Veterans who present a danger to self or others.The applicant must be able to perform primarily light and sedentary duties with occasionally moderate physical demands exercise patience and control emotions with reasonable accommodations 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 Managements website at https://www.opm.gov/policydataoversight/classificationqualifications/generalschedulequalificationstandards/.

What’s on Offer

The role offers excellent opportunities for top performers to further develop their competencies as a social worker and improving the lives of people.