These positions are located within the Greater Los Angeles area of the Department of Veterans' Affairs Health Care System. The incumbent may be selected to work at the hospital or surrounding clinics. The incumbent functions as a member of an interdisciplinary team. The incumbent may perform a variety of therapeutic and supportive tasks that include assisting Veterans in articulating their goals for recovery, learning and practicing new skills while helping them monitor their progress. To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 08/10/2022. 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 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 as a Peer Specialist, 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. 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. 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 GRADE QUALIFICATIONS: GS-6: 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; OR 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-7: 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; OR 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-8: 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; OR 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-9: 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 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. NOTE: One year of full-time graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent 1 year of full-time study. If that information cannot be obtained from the school, 18 semester hours should be considered as satisfying the 1 year of full-time study requirement. Part-time graduate education is creditable in accordance with its relationship to a year of full-time study at the school attended. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Communication Interpersonal Effectiveness Organizational Stewardship Analytical Reasoning Partnering 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. Physical Requirements: The work is primarily sedentary. Typically, the employee will sit 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 to physically restrain clients who present a danger to 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/. ["Duties- Serves as a recovery agent by providing and advocating for effective wellness and holistic recovery-based services that aid Veterans in daily living. Orients new Veterans to the programs' services, hours, locations, staff, and other pertinent information. Uses individual/group meetings to teach Veterans how to identify and combat negative self-talk. Participates in the service, training, consultation, and other professional activities of VA health care services. Works with Veterans with very complex mental illnesses and challenging situations that require effective communication and decision-making skills. Assists Veterans to articulate personal recovery goals through the use of individual or group meetings. Assists Veterans in identifying their skills, strengths, supports, and resources needed to aid them in achieving their recovery goals. Provides a forum that allows Veterans to share their experiences. Facilitate Veterans' recovery by conveying hope that change and recovery are possible. Completes assignments based on comprehensive peer support knowledge. Assist Veterans in developing empowerment skills, identifying strengths, and combating stigma through self-advocacy. Assist Veterans in exploring their interests for making improvements in life functioning. Functions as a fully vested member of the multidisciplinary team. Provide support of Veterans' vocational choices. Inform Veterans about VA and community supports and resources. Collaborates with Veterans to develop and implement a personal wellness and recovery plan. Assists Veterans in determining the steps needed to achieve their self-directed recovery goals and wellness. Utilizes recovery tools to coach Veterans on relevant skills needed for self-management. Monitors progress and assists with the execution of the recovery and wellness plan. Makes timely reports of progress, and presents new areas of concern to the treatment team. Contributes to the development of an effective discharge plan. Observes behaviors that might indicate difficulty adapting or responding to treatment. Completes appropriate documentation, and reports concerns to the treatment team in a timely manner. Shares stories about personal recovery experiences in relation to current struggles that the Veterans report. Model effective coping techniques, holistic wellness, and self-help strategies. Assist in obtaining services that suit the individual's personal recovery and wellness needs. Assists them in choosing a job matching their strengths, overcoming job-related anxiety by reviewing job applications, providing interview tips, and practice sessions. Serves as liaison to community-based organizations to develop and/or foster Veterans' community integration, natural supports, and self-reliant strategies. Performs outreach activities to establish community partnerships. Assist Veterans in building social skills in the community. Handles crisis interventions for Veterans and addresses other emergent situations without the benefit of specific instructions. Uses current level of knowledge and skill to provide training to less experienced peer staff. Maintains a working knowledge of current trends and developments in holistic approaches. 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: 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday- Friday\nVirtual: This is not a virtual position.\nPosition Description/PD#: PEER SPECIALIST/PD00065A, PD00066A, PD00067A, and PD00068A\nRelocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized\nPermanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized\nFinancial Disclosure Report: Not required"]