POSITION SUMMARY:

The Peer Specialist shall have lived experience with receiving mental health services for serious mental illness, providing expertise that cannot be replicated through professional training. The Peer Specialist provides integrated services that may include:

• Facilitating wellness management and recovery-oriented strategies
• Modeling recovery-based skills and self-advocacy for participants
• Providing coaching and consultation to promote self-direction and sustained recovery in both individual and group settings.

Peer Specialists participate in all team activities (e.g., treatment planning and documentation) and contribute essential lived-experience expertise to the team. They help foster a culture in which each member's perspectives, preferences, and lived experiences are recognized, respected, and integrated into care.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• High School Diploma or Equivalent.
• Peer Specialists must be certified in accordance with Chapter 397, F.S., either at the time of employment, or within one year of employment.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS:

Abilities in reaching, bending, talking, sitting, carrying, standing, grasping, fine hand coordination, hearing, reading and writing, and remaining calm under stress. Ability to reach with arms and hands, climb stairs, balance, stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. Specific vision abilities include close, distance, color, peripheral, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.Must be capable of lifting 10 pounds of dead weight alone.

WORK ENVIRONMENT:

High-paced, collaborative team performance with the emphasis on critical thinking and decision-making with guidance from program supervisor/manager. Health care setting, climate controlled office environments with frequent exposure to clients. Most tasks are performed while sitting at a desk using standard office equipment. The atmosphere is fast-paced and team-focused, involving multitasking that requires above-average time management skills. May require commuting to perform client visits in Hillsborough County.

FUNCTIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES INCLUDE:

• Prepare and provides groups, individual services and other structured activities to consumers of the program to develop /enhance the consumer's skills, supports or functional capabilities to assist the consumer in reaching their desired role recovery goals and maximize recovery independence
• Complete a monthly progress note that reflects services are linked to the goals and objectives of the consumer's treatment plan and describes the consumer's progress relative to the treatment plan.
• Keep supervisor informed at all times of significant consumer, program and community issues that are relevant to the program.
• Attend agency wide divisional and programmatic meetings, seminars, conferences and workshops to maintain and enhance essential skills and knowledge
• Maintain confidentiality of all consumer records in accordance with agency and division-wide, as well as federal HIPAA regulations and in addition will have an understanding of the relationship between mental health and substance abuse disorders. Employee will demonstrate knowledge of the age specific needs of consumers treated in this program.
• Complete and submit service activity logs and progress notes. Record and complete a weekly group attendance log and submit to Program Supervisor.
• Other duties as assigned or needed as per program requirements

COMPLIANCE RESPONSIBILITIES INCLUDE:

• Adheres to all applicable federal, state, local, and company maintained standards of compliance, ethics, and policies concerned with the administration and delivery of agency services.
• Meets deadlines, requirements, and expectations as established by the supervisor, agency and department.
• Completes administrative functions and data entry timely and accurately.

CUSTOMER SERVICE RESPONSIBILITIES INCLUDE:

• Provides exceptional customer service in all communications and interactions with staff, general public.
• Maintains confidentiality and remains calm under stress.
• Assists staff with support in all areas of functional responsibility in a courteous, supportive manner.
• Maintains and exhibits servant leadership qualities and exceeds customers' expectations.

FISCAL RESPONSIBILITIES INCLUDE:

• Effective, efficient use of agency resources, systems, equipment and processes.
• Continuous focus on cost savings initiatives across the responsibilities and deliverables.
• Effective use of time management to avoid overtime and budgetary issues.