Peer Specialist

Veterans Health Administration

Wilkes-Barre (Luzerne County)

On-site

USD 50,000 - 80,000

Full time

10 days ago

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Job summary

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is seeking a Peer Specialist to join a VA health care setting in Wilkes-Barre. The role supports Veterans in recovery, personal wellness, and skill-building within a multidisciplinary team.

It emphasizes using personal recovery experience to coach coping strategies and promote engagement with services. The position requires veteran status per statutory requirements, and work hours are 10:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday.

Qualifications

Transcript must be submitted with your application.
Education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education may be used to qualify for Federal employment.
If using foreign education, send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript.
Position open under the Fed Competitive hiring path.

Responsibilities

Assists psychologists and other personnel in a residential Mental Health rehabilitation program.
Helps Veterans articulate goals for recovery, learning, and wellness; supports self-management.
Uses meetings to teach coping techniques and navigate VA 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. IMPORTANT NOTICE: Veteran is defined as a person who served in the active military, naval, or air service, and who was discharged or released under conditions other than dishonorable.

Key Responsibilities

The Peer Specialist functions as an interdisciplinary team member, assisting psychologists and other professional/non-professional personnel in a residential Mental Health 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.

Major 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. Performs other related duties as assigned. 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: 10:00am - 6:30pm, Tuesday - Saturday Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Peer Specialist/PD99322S

Requirements & 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: 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 $50460 - $80243/yr.

What is the application deadline?

Applications close on 2026-11-10.

Who is eligible to apply?

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