Peer Recovery Support Specialist

Arch Recovery Group; West Virginia; On-site; USD 45,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

Arch Recovery Group is seeking a Peer Recovery Support Specialist (PRSS) to provide non-clinical, lived-experience–based support to individuals navigating substance use, mental health, trauma, and recovery systems.

You will build trust, model recovery, support goal-setting, connect individuals to resources, document services, advocate for client needs, and provide ongoing peer-based coaching across all phases of recovery.

Qualifications

• Must have a valid PRSS certification.
• Experience using lived experience to support recovery.
• Ability to document services accurately.

Responsibilities

• Build trust and engage individuals in care.
• Provide one-on-one peer support and encouragement using lived experience.
• Assist individuals in identifying strengths, needs, and personal recovery goals.
• Help develop and follow a person-centered recovery plan.
• Provide recovery education across all recovery phases.
• Model healthy coping skills and relapse-prevention strategies.
• Facilitate peer-led groups and outreach activities.
• Navigate systems such as healthcare, housing, benefits, employment, transportation, and social services.
• Accompany individuals to appointments to reduce barriers and increase engagement.
• Support transitions such as discharge from inpatient care or stepping down from residential treatment.
• Provide crisis intervention, de-escalation, and safety planning.

Skills

Lived experience

Peer support

Communication skills

Crisis intervention

Education

PRSS certification

Job description

A Peer Recovery Support Specialist (PRSS) provides non‑clinical, lived‑experience–based support to individuals navigating substance use, mental health, trauma, and recovery systems.

A PRSS builds trust, models recovery, supports goal‑setting, connects individuals to resources, documents services, advocates for client needs, and provides ongoing peer‑based coaching throughout all phases of recovery.

Essential Job Duties

• Build trust and engagement with individuals who may have had difficult experiences with treatment or systems of care.
• Provide one‑on‑one peer support, mentorship, and encouragement using lived experience to inspire hope and model recovery.
• Share lived experience appropriately to demonstrate that recovery is possible and to support mutuality and empowerment.
• Assist individuals in identifying strengths, needs, and personal recovery goals, using structured tools such as goal‑setting processes, WRAP, or recovery capital assessments.
• Support individuals in developing and following a person‑centered recovery plan, reviewing progress and adjusting goals as needed.
• Provide recovery education across all phases: pre‑recovery engagement, initiation, stabilization, and sustained recovery maintenance.
• Model healthy coping skills, boundaries, and relapse‑prevention strategies in SUD settings.
• Facilitate or co‑facilitate peer‑led groups, mutual‑help meetings, psychoeducation, or recovery workshops.
• Assist individuals in navigating systems such as healthcare, housing, benefits, employment, transportation, and social services.
• Accompany individuals to appointments (medical, legal, treatment) to reduce barriers and increase engagement.
• Support transitions such as discharge from inpatient care, reentry after incarceration, or stepping down from residential treatment.
• Provide crisis intervention, de‑escalation, and safety planning within scope, referring to clinical supports when needed.
• Actively identify and support linkages to community resources, including recovery communities, support groups, vocational programs, and spiritual or cultural supports.
• Promote self‑advocacy, helping individuals have their needs and goals centered in treatment and service planning.
• Participate in outreach, including community‑based engagement in shelters, EDs, jails, or public spaces.
• Maintain accurate documentation in logs, EHRs, and required reporting systems.
• Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams to support holistic care and coordinated service delivery.
• Adhere to ethical standards, confidentiality (HIPAA/42 CFR Part 2), and trauma‑informed, culturally humble practices.

Must have a valid PRSS certification