Peer Specialist

Veterans Health Administration

West Palm Beach (FL)

On-site

USD 48,000 - 85,000

Full time

10 days ago

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Job summary

Veterans Health Administration in West Palm Beach seeks a Peer Specialist to join a multidisciplinary team, providing peer support within the local VA facility catchment area. The role uses lived recovery experience to guide Veterans toward self-management, goal setting, and personal wellness, while coordinating with clinicians and community resources.

Regular travel to VA-related sites and community locations is required; schedule is Mon-Fri 7:30am-4:00pm, with occasional crisis interventions

Responsibilities

Assist physicians and other team members in a rehabilitation treatment program.
Help Veterans articulate goals for recovery and personal wellness.
Model coping techniques and recovery tools based on own experience to coach Veterans in self-management.
Serve as a community-based peer specialist within the VA facility catchment area; may work at Veterans' homes, shelters, or outreach sites.
Observe behaviors and report concerns to the treatment team in a timely manner.
Use individual and group meetings to address negative self-talk and fears and to foster recovery.
Inform Veterans about VA and community supports and resources.

Job description

Department: Department of Veterans Affairs

This Peer Specialist position may only be filled with a Veteran that meets statutory requirements that are detailed in the qualifications section.

Key Responsibilities

The Peer Specialist 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 Veterans in articulating their goals for recovery and personal wellness, 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 peer specialist's own recovery experience, and supporting them in advocating for themselves to obtain effective services.

This position will serve as a community-based peer specialist within the local VA facility catchment area. The working environment may include providing peer support services in places such as Veterans' homes, prisons, jails, treatment courts, shelters, tent encampments, street outreach, etc.

Duties include, but not limited to the following: Participates in the service, training, consultation, and other professional activities of VA health care services and functions as a fully vested member of the multidisciplinary team. Uses personal recovery experiences to model coping techniques and recovery tolls to coach Veterans to relevant skills need for self‑management of their health condition(s) and pursuit of their personal wellness.

Observes behaviors that might indicate difficulty adapting or responding to treatment (e.g., missed assessment appointments, failure to attend or maintain abstinence, risk to self or others, disruptive behavior), completes appropriate documentation, and reports concerns to the treatment team in a timely manner.

Uses ongoing individual and group meetings to teach Veterans how to identify and combat negative self‑talk and overcome fears by providing a forum that allows Veteran to share their experiences. As necessary, handles crisis interventions for Veterans and addresses other emergent situations without the benefit of specific instructions. Informs Veterans about VA and community supports and resources, including how to effectively utilize them in the recovery and wellness process.

Maintains a working knowledge of current trends and developments in holistic approaches in wellness and recovery by reading books, journals, and other relevant materials. Position requires operation of a motor vehicle or access to public transportation to perform assigned duties. Accompanies Veterans to appointments as needed, whether medical, housing, or other treatment plan goal appointments, either through agency vehicle or public transportation.

Assists Veterans to identify resources and problem solve how to overcome barriers so that the Veterans can independently address transportation and other personal needs. Subsequent background checks may be required if treating Veterans in an institutional setting Performs other related duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday‑Friday, 7:30am - 4:00pm Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Position Description/PD#: Peer Specialist/PD99324S, PD99325S, PD99326S, and PD99327S Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized. Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized. Promotion Potential: This position involves a multi‑grade career ladder. 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.

Requirements & Education

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Problem Solving: Identifies problems; determines accuracy and relevance of information; uses sound judgment to generate and evaluate alternatives, and to make recommendations.

Communication: Expresses information (for example, ideas or facts) to individuals or groups effectively, taking into account the audience and nature of the information (for example, technical, sensitive, controversial); makes clear and convincing presentations; listens to others, attends to non‑verbal cues, and responds appropriately.

Teaches Others: Helps others learn; identifies training needs; provides constructive reinforcement; coaches others on how to perform tasks; acts as a mentor. 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 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. 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 Veteran's Affairs approved behavioral management techniques with Veterans who present a danger to self or others. Veterans demonstrate varying levels of wellness, recovery, and symptoms.

This position must be equipped to be flexible and accept that work areas are often noisy, irregular, unpredictable, and stressful. Work is performed in a wide range of settings, including the Medical Center, group or family homes, community‑based outpatient settings, community organizations, or in transport vehicles (public or government). Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition‑of‑foreign‑qualifications/.

Which agency is hiring for this position?

This position is with Veterans Health Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs.

What is the salary for this position?

The posted pay range is $48361 – $85460/yr.

What security clearance is required?

This position requires a Other security clearance.

What is the application deadline?

Applications close on 2026-09-28.

Who is eligible to apply?

This position is open under the 'Fed Transition' hiring path.