Lead MIH Peer Support Specialist

General Statement of Duties

The Lead Mobile Integrated Health (MIH) Peer Support Specialist serves as the operational lead for Certified Peer Support Specialists assigned to the Burke County Opioid Response Department (BCOR). This position combines direct peer support services with leadership responsibilities to promote high-quality, recovery-oriented services while supporting daily field operations, staff development, care coordination, and continuous quality improvement. The Lead MIH Peer Support Specialist utilizes lived experience with substance use, behavioral health, and recovery to engage individuals and families through compassionate, person-centered, trauma-informed, and strengths-based services. The position provides outreach, recovery support, care coordination, harm reduction education, and navigation services for individuals experiencing substance use disorders, behavioral health conditions, housing instability, justice involvement, repeated emergency service utilization, and other complex health and social needs. The position serves as a key member of Burke County's Mobile Integrated Health and post-overdose response initiatives and works collaboratively with Community Paramedics, EMS, healthcare providers, behavioral health professionals, law enforcement, justice partners, recovery organizations, and other community agencies. The Lead MIH Peer Support Specialist provides day-to-day guidance for Peer Support Specialists, supports complex participant engagement, promotes consistent service delivery, and assists departmental leadership with quality improvement, staff development, and operational coordination. Work is performed under the general supervision of the Deputy Opioid Response Director.

Responsibilities

Peer Support and Recovery Services

• Use lived experience appropriately and professionally to establish rapport and engage individuals and families in voluntary services
• Provide peer support, recovery coaching, motivational support, goal development, and person-centered recovery planning
• Conduct outreach and follow-up with individuals following overdose, behavioral health crises, emergency department visits, hospital discharge, referral from community partners, or other identified events
• Provide harm reduction education and distribute naloxone and other approved harm reduction supplies
• Educate individuals and families about overdose prevention, treatment options, recovery supports, medications for opioid use disorder, and community resources
• Connect individuals to withdrawal management, residential treatment, outpatient treatment, primary care, behavioral healthcare, recovery housing, transportation, employment services, benefits, food assistance, and other community supports
• Continue engagement with individuals who are not yet ready to enter treatment while supporting safety, harm reduction, and future readiness for change
• Assist participants with appointment scheduling, transportation planning, referral completion, and navigation of medical, behavioral health, justice, and social service systems
• Provide support to families and caregivers affected by substance use, overdose, behavioral health conditions, and recovery-related challenges
• Maintain appropriate ethical and professional boundaries when using lived experience in service delivery

Post-Overdose Response and Mobile Integrated Health

• Participate in post-overdose response, Mobile Integrated Health, behavioral health outreach, wellness checks, high-utilizer engagement, and other community-based response activities
• Coordinate daily peer support operations for the BEAR Team in collaboration with Community Paramedics and departmental leadership
• Conduct scheduled and unscheduled home visits and community outreach
• Respond independently or jointly with Community Paramedics and other response personnel as operational needs require
• Provide intensive peer support, care coordination, and engagement for participants with complex behavioral health, substance use, medical, housing, justice, and social service needs
• Serve as the lead peer resource for complex participant cases requiring multidisciplinary communication, care coordination, and continuity of services
• Facilitate communication among healthcare providers, EMS, behavioral health providers, treatment agencies, recovery organizations, and other community partners to improve participant outcomes
• Assist with follow-up after emergency department visits, hospitalizations, treatment admissions, incarceration, or other transitions of care
• Recognize situations requiring emergency medical intervention or behavioral health crisis response and activate appropriate resources
• Participate in interdisciplinary case conferences, high-utilizer reviews, and coordinated care planning
• Support participant adherence to treatment recommendations through engagement, education, recovery planning, and ongoing follow-up
• Assist with reducing barriers related to transportation, housing, insurance, appointments, benefits, and treatment access

Lead Peer Support Responsibilities

• Provide day-to-day guidance, mentoring, and field support to Certified Peer Support Specialists
• Serve as a resource for Peer Support Specialists during assigned shifts
• Assist with orientation, onboarding, field training, and ongoing development of new and existing Peer Support Specialists
• Model ethical, recovery-oriented, person-centered, trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and harm reduction-based practices
• Provide consultation and coaching related to participant engagement, documentation, safety, professional boundaries, crisis response, recovery planning, and community resource navigation
• Assist Peer Support Specialists with complex cases, challenging field encounters, and participant engagement barriers
• Promote consistent peer support practices throughout the department
• Help identify training needs, operational barriers, resource gaps, and opportunities for staff development
• Support effective communication, teamwork, conflict resolution, and employee engagement
• Communicate staff concerns, performance trends, training needs, and operational issues to departmental leadership
• Provide input regarding employee performance and professional development as requested
• Assist with coordinating peer staff coverage, assignments, and workload distribution
• Provide lead support without exceeding any authority formally assigned by County policy or departmental leadership

Quality Assurance and Program Improvement

• Review peer support documentation for completeness, accuracy, timeliness, quality, and compliance with applicable requirements
• Provide constructive feedback and technical assistance related to documentation
• Assist with case reviews, program reviews, quality improvement activities, and staff meetings
• Monitor consistency with peer support standards, County policy, departmental procedures, and grant requirements
• Identify service gaps, referral barriers, participant engagement challenges, and opportunities to improve outcomes
• Assist with the development and revision of peer support, post-overdose response, Mobile Integrated Health, harm reduction, and field-response procedures
• Support implementation of grant-funded initiatives, program expansions, and new service models
• Assist with collection, review, and interpretation of program data, service activity, referrals, contacts, and outcomes
• Participate in Continuous Quality Improvement, evaluation, and performance-improvement activities
• Assist with preparation of reports, operational updates, program summaries, and required documentation
• Promote fidelity to recovery-oriented, person-centered, and trauma-informed service principles

Community Coordination and Outreach

• Collaborate with departmental leadership, Community Paramedics, Peer Support Specialists, EMS personnel, and other County staff
• Work with law enforcement, hospitals, treatment providers, behavioral health agencies, recovery organizations, primary care providers, public health agencies, justice partners, housing providers, and social service organizations
• Participate in multidisciplinary case conferences and coordinated care planning when authorized and appropriate
• Maintain current knowledge of local treatment, recovery, healthcare, housing, transportation, and social service resources
• Participate in community education, naloxone training, outreach events, prevention activities, and recovery-related initiatives
• Represent the department professionally during meetings, events, field responses, and community activities
• Promote understanding of peer support, recovery-oriented care, Mobile Integrated Health, post-overdose response, and harm reduction practices
• Support development and maintenance of effective referral relationships with community partners

Documentation and Administrative Responsibilities

• Document all participant contacts, outreach attempts, services, referrals, follow-up activities, and outcomes in accordance with HIPAA, County policy, departmental requirements, and applicable grant expectations
• Maintain accurate records in required electronic and paper systems
• Complete incident reports, safety reports, vehicle documentation, and other required records
• Attend staff meetings, leadership meetings, case reviews, supervision sessions, and operational

Pay

$20 - $22.25 per hour

Schedule

12-hour shifts, 8:00 am – 8:00 pm, 2-2-3 Pitman Schedule