Peer Specialist - Woman Specific-Facility Based--Incentive Authorized
for section headings: e.g., About the role, Responsibilities, Requirements, Qualifications, Skills, Benefits, Pay, Schedule. We need to decide which headings to use based on content. We have: - Summary (intro) describing eligibility: Veteran, women only, recruitment incentive. That could be "About the role" or maybe "Qualifications". But we have a Qualifications section later. The summary is more about eligibility criteria. Could be placed under "About the role" or "Qualifications". Since we have a Qualifications heading for detailed qualifications, we can put the summary under "About the role". Use
for prose. - Duties: list of duties. Use
Responsibilities (or Duties). The instruction says use headings like About the role, Responsibilities, Requirements, Qualifications, Skills, Benefits, Pay, Schedule. So we can use Responsibilities for duties. - Qualifications: detailed qualifications (basic requirements, time-in-grade, education substitution, etc). Use Qualifications heading. - Skills? Not explicitly listed; there is "Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not approved" but that's not a skill requirement. Could omit Skills section. - Benefits: Not mentioned except recruitment/relocation incentive may be authorized. That's a benefit? Could be under Benefits. The instruction: include a section ONLY when posting has real, specific content for it. Recruitment/relocation incentive may be authorized for highly qualified applicants. That's a benefit. So we can include Benefits heading with that info. - Pay: Not specified. No pay info. So omit Pay. - Schedule: Work Schedule: Monday - Friday - 7:30am - 4:00pm or 8:00am - 4:30pm. Also Virtual: not a virtual position. So we have schedule info. Include Schedule heading. - Also maybe "Requirements" heading could be used for basic requirements? But we already have Qualifications. The instruction list includes Requirements as a possible heading. Could we split? But we prefer few substantive sections. We can combine basic requirements and qualifications under Qualifications. So we don't need Requirements. Thus sections: About the role, Responsibilities, Qualifications, Benefits, Schedule. Now we need to preserve all substantive information. Must not invent or summarize away detail. Must not include boilerplate like cookie/navigation/legal/EEO/equal-opportunity/scam-warning, duplicated lines, application instructions. We need to remove things like "Opening Date: July 30 - 2026 Closing Date: September 30 - 2026 First Cut-Off Date: August 12 - 2026 Note: This is an Open Continuous Announcement..." That's application instructions? It's about announcement dates; maybe considered metadata but not boilerplate. The instruction says do NOT put Job ID/requisition numbers as headings — fold minor metadata into a short
or drop it. Opening/closing dates could be considered metadata; we could include them in a short p under About the role or maybe drop. But we need to preserve ALL substantive information; are dates substantive? They are part of announcement. Likely we should keep them. The instruction says "fold minor metadata into a short
or drop it." Dates could be considered minor metadata. But we need to preserve ALL substantive information; not sure if dates are substantive. I'd keep them in a short p under About the role. Also we need to remove duplicated lines. The posting repeats some sentences (e.g., the veteran definition appears twice). We need to deduplicate. We must not include application instructions like "You must provide copies of your DD-214 and Peer Specialist Certification". That's part of qualifications (requirement). That's substantive, keep. We must not include EEO etc. Not present. Now craft HTML. We'll produce:
About the role
This Peer Specialist position may only be filled with a Veteran that meets statutory requirements detailed in the qualifications section. In accordance with the VA MISSION Act of 2018 and Public Law 115-271, recruitment is authorized for women only to meet the needs of women Veterans. A recruitment/relocation incentive may be authorized for highly qualified applicants. Opening date: July 30, 2026; closing date: September 30, 2026; first cut‑off date: August 12, 2026 (open continuous announcement).
Responsibilities
- 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 tools to coach Veterans to relevant skills needed for self‑management of their health condition(s) and pursuit of 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 Veterans 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.
Qualifications
Applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date (09/30/2026).
Time‑in‑Grade Requirement
Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time‑in‑grade requirements by the closing date. For a GS‑06–GS‑09 position, you must have served 52 weeks at the GS‑05–GS‑08 respectively. The grade may have been in any occupation but must have been held in Federal service. An SF‑50 showing time‑in‑grade eligibility must be submitted with application materials. If the most recent SF‑50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate one‑year time‑in‑grade; in that case provide an additional SF‑50 that clearly demonstrates one‑year time‑in‑grade. Time‑in‑grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement and to current employees applying for VEOA appointment.
Basic Requirements for Peer Specialists
Statutory requirements (Section 405 of Public Law 110‑387, codified in 38 U.S.C. 7402(b)(13)): to be eligible for appointment to a Peer Specialist position a person must (1) be a veteran who has recovered or is recovering from a mental health condition and (2) be certified by (a) a not‑for‑profit entity engaged in peer specialist training as having met criteria established by the Secretary, or (b) a State as having satisfied relevant State requirements for a peer specialist position.
Length of experience in recovery: at least 1 year of recovery from a mental health condition (mental illness and/or substance use disorder). Successful recovery is exemplified by one who manages symptoms of illness, pursues a healthy lifestyle, lives independently, is employed or volunteers significant time approximating at least a part‑time employment schedule, has meaningful relationships with family and friends, and is socially involved in the community through clubs, hobby groups, church, civic organizations, or Veteran organizations where the individual provides a service to others.
Important notice: Veteran is defined as a person who served in the active military, naval, air, or space service and was discharged or released under conditions other than dishonorable.
Additionally, in accordance with the Mission Act of 2018 and Public Law 115‑271, recruitment is authorized for women only (restricted to women veterans).
Open to: current permanent VA employees (T38, T38 Hybrid, VCS employees on excepted appointments covered by an interchange agreement), Federal employees on a Career/Career‑Conditional appointment, former competitive civil service employees eligible for reinstatement, Veterans eligible under VEOA, VRA, and 30% DAV, those eligible under the Employment Program for People with Disabilities, and those eligible for CTAP/ICTAP.
You must provide copies of your DD‑214 and Peer Specialist Certification with your application package.
English language proficiency: In accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), no person shall serve in direct patient care positions unless proficient in basic written and spoken English; you must be proficient in basic written and spoken English to meet the requirements of this position.
Minimum Grade Level Qualifications
GS‑6: In addition to the basic requirements, candidates must have at least one (1) year of specialized experience at the next lower graded level (GS‑05) involving post‑personal mental health recovery experience as a mentor providing counseling to support peers in mental health and/or addiction recovery, a recovery advocate directly involved with consumers of mental health services, a psychiatric therapy aide, or equivalent work involving in‑person communication to support others in mental health recovery. Work has been closely monitored including having work checked in progress and reviewing completed work for accuracy, adequacy, and adherence to instructions or procedures.
GS‑7: In addition to the basic requirements, candidates must have at least one (1) year of specialized experience at the GS‑06 level involving the same type of work. At this level routine work has been completed with minimal supervisory oversight and review, however close supervision will have been provided for complex and unusual tasks.
GS‑8: In addition to the basic requirements, candidates must have at least one (1) year of specialized experience at the GS‑07 level involving the same type of work. At this level you have the ability to work with general instructions for routine duties and detailed instructions and/or training for non‑routine functions and special assignments. Non‑routine/novel work will have been reviewed by spot checking and after completion to evaluate adequacy of methods, procedures, results, ability to solve new and changing problems, etc.
GS‑9: In addition to the basic requirements, candidates must have at least one (1) year of specialized experience at the GS‑08 level involving the same type of work. At this level work will have been performed with considerable independence and you are responsible for making recommendations to the interdisciplinary treatment team that can be relied on for soundness of judgment and maturity of insight on problem situations.
Education Substitution (transcripts required)
GS‑6: Successful completion of six (6) months of graduate education or a 1‑year post‑bachelor's degree internship meets the requirements. Only education directly related to the work of the position is creditable.
GS‑7: Successful completion of one (1) full year of graduate education meets the requirements.
GS