TEMPORARY VETERAN PEER SUPPORT SPECIALIST

Mesa County, CO; Grand Junction (CO); On-site; USD 40,000 - 60,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

HFWA leave accrual

Job summary

Mesa County seeks a Peer Support Specialist to provide hopeful, recovery-focused guidance using lived experience to help participants navigate behavioral health challenges, substance use recovery, or other life transitions. You will build trust, connect to resources, and promote self-advocacy while maintaining professional boundaries.

Responsibilities include one-on-one support, facilitating peer groups, and collaborating with staff to support community integration and wellness.

Qualifications

• Education and personal experience relevant to the population served.
• Commitment to recovery, wellness, resilience, or personal growth.
• Ability to build trusting relationships with diverse individuals and communities.
• Strong communication, listening, and interpersonal skills.
• Basic computer and documentation skills; confidentiality maintained.

Responsibilities

• Provide one-on-one peer support and encouragement.
• Share lived experience to build trust and inspire recovery.
• Identify strengths, goals, and personal interests with participants.
• Support self-advocacy, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.
• Connect participants to community resources and supports.
• Facilitate peer support groups and wellness activities.
• Promote social connection, belonging, recovery, and community integration.
• Maintain confidentiality and ethical peer support practices.
• Participate in supervision, training, and team meetings; document as required.
• Collaborate with staff and partners while maintaining the peer role.

Skills

Lived experience

Communication skills

Listening skills

Interpersonal skills

Confidentiality

Professional boundaries

Basic computer skills

Documentation skills

Education

High school diploma or GED

Peer Support Professional certification

Willingness to obtain certification

Tools

Google Apps

Job description

The Peer Support Specialist uses lived experience to provide hope, encouragement,
mentorship, and practical support to individuals navigating behavioral health challenges,
substance use recovery, disability, life transitions, or other personal challenges. Through
authentic peer-to-peer relationships, the Peer Support Specialist helps participants build skills,
access resources, strengthen self-advocacy, and increase community connection and overall
well-being.

Essential Job Functions

*The following duty statements are illustrative of the essential functions of the job and do not include other non-essential or marginal duties that may be required. *

• Provide one-on-one peer support and encouragement.
• Share lived experience appropriately to build trust, inspire hope, and model recovery and resilience.
• Assist participants in identifying strengths, goals, and personal interests.
• Support individuals in developing self-advocacy, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.
• Connect participants with community resources, services, and supports.
• Facilitate peer support groups, wellness activities, and community engagement opportunities.
• Promote social connection, belonging, recovery, and community integration.
• Maintain appropriate boundaries, confidentiality, and ethical peer support practices.
• Participate in supervision, training, team meetings, and documentation requirements.
• Collaborate with staff, providers, and community partners while maintaining the unique peer support role.
• Performs other related duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications Required

Education and Experience

• High school diploma, GED, or equivalent.
• Lived experience relevant to the population served and willingness to use that experience appropriately in a peer support role.
• Demonstrated commitment to recovery, wellness, resilience, or personal growth.
• Ability to build trusting relationships with diverse individuals and communities.
• Strong communication, listening, and interpersonal skills.
• Basic computer and documentation skills.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality and professional boundaries.

Preferred Qualifications

• Peer Support Professional certification or ability to obtain certification within a specified timeframe.
• Experience providing peer support, mentoring, advocacy, outreach, or community engagement.
• Knowledge of behavioral health, recovery, trauma-informed care, housing, employment, healthcare, or social service systems.
• Experience facilitating groups or educational activities.

Computer and Technology

• Experience with Google Applications including Gmail and Drive.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS And WORKING ENVIRONMENT

• This position requires standing, stooping, sitting, bending, twisting, and lifting up to 10 pounds.
• Work is generally confined to a standard office environment.

In Compliance With The Equal Pay For Equal Work Act The Following Items Can Be Used As a Determining Factor In The Starting And Ongoing Wage Of An Employee Working In This Position

A seniority system that rewards employees based on length of employment.

A merit system that rewards employees for exceptional job performance.

Education, training, or experience to the extent that they are reasonably related to the work in question.

Another factor related to job performance or business operations, such as paying a shift differential to workers on less popular shifts

Travel, if the travel is a regular and necessary condition of the work performed

**This position is eligible for the following Mesa County benefits;**

• Medical
• Leave accrual per the Healthy Families and Workplaces Act (HFWA)