Salary: $41,200

Candidates currently residing in Orange, Osceola, or Seminole counties preferred.

POSITION OBJECTIVE:  

The overall primary function of the Peer Support Specialist will include peer mentoring, advocacy, and connecting clients to resources. Using their lived experience, Peer Support Specialists will focus on mentoring those with a substance abuse disorder (SUD). This will involve building healthy relationships and trust and walking alongside individuals moving towards or currently involved in the recovery process. More specifically, peers can assist clients with exploring treatment options, facilitating communication with service providers, and helping develop realistic recovery goals tailored to each participant. Peers will share and utilize tools to support the recovery process. This will include the development of a personalized recovery action plan, designed to help manage challenges associated with recovery.

Peers will advocate for participants’ needs across social service systems and will provide coaching focused on strengthening self-advocacy skills. Social support and access to a variety of resources and services are essential in the recovery process. SUDs often co-exist with other issues, such as homelessness, financial instability, damaged relationships, parenting struggles, mental health disorders, and medical conditions. Connecting clients to resources and ensuring the linkages to services in the community that address specialized needs are critical for long-term, sustained recovery.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

·         Communicate with individuals referred to the Peer Support Services program and coordinate their care with peer specialists and nonpeer staff.

·         Provide assistance to individuals presenting at multiple points of community contact to access treatment

·         Provide recovery education to service recipients for every phase of the recovery journey.

·         Assist recovering persons to identify their personal interests, goals, strengths and weaknesses to develop a specialized care plan.

·         Provide peer counseling and support individuals in establishing treatment goals and achieving and maintaining recovery

·         Actively identify and support linkages to community resources (communities of recovery, educational, vocational, social, cultural, spiritual resources, mutual self-help groups, etc.) that support the recovering person's goals and interests.

·         Addresses barriers to successful recovery and serves as role model and advocate.

·         Ability to safely & successfully perform essential job duties consistent with the ADA, FMLA, and other federal, state, and local standards.

·         Ability to maintain reasonably regular, punctual attendance consistent with ADA, FMLA, and other federal, state, and local standards.

·         Ability to comply with all personnel policies and procedures.

·         Other duties as assigned.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:

High school diploma or equivalent·        

Candidate must demonstrate an understanding of, and belief in, the addiction recovery process

·         Must be a person with lived recovery experience, with minimum 2 years of continuous recovery

·         Strong communication skills

·         Cultural and linguistic competence and sensitivity to population served.

·         Knowledgeable about community resources in the central Florida area.

·         Registered with the Florida Certification Board as a Certified Recovery Peer Specialist OR meets the qualifications to seek certification

·         Must be 21 years old or old

PREFERRED REQUIREMENTS:

·         Current resident of Orange, Osceola, or Seminole County preferred

          Certified Recovery Peer Specialist

·         Degree in Social Work or related human services field

·         Bilingual (Spanish and/or Haitian/Creole)

SPECIAL SKILLS & OTHER REQUIREMENTS:

·         Strong knowledge of principles, ethics and practices of peer recovery support.

·         Responsible for establishing trusting relationships with individuals and their families while providing support.

·         Must possess the ability and willingness to provide emotional support, encouragement, and motivation to individuals in the community.

·         Ability to work well under pressure.

·         Provide on-going follow-up and goal setting with individuals and their families when appropriate.

·         Excellent verbal communication, interpersonal and relationship-building skills to effectively work with a variety of people and personalities; ability to communicate clearly in person and in writing.

·         Ability to manage and share pertinent information.

SPECIAL CONDITIONS:

·         Thorough Background Screening upon hire including FBI, FDLE, Local Law check, Employment Reference check, DMV check, Criminal Records check, Social Security Trace & Drug Screening.  FDLE check will be run at least every 5 years.

·         On-call assignments- Yes

·         Travel- local: over 50% per week, long-distance: 1% per month

·         Attend at least 15 hours of in-service training annually

PHYSICAL & MENTAL REQUIREMENTS:                    (N=Needed    P=Preferred)

Analyzing (N), Bending-neck (P), Bending-waist (P), Calculations (P),

Carrying/Lifting (P), Climbing (P), Crawling/Crouching (P), 25Finger Movements (N), Handling Objects (N), Kneeling (P), Pushing/Pulling (P), Reaching (P), Reading & Comprehending (N), Reasoning (N), Sitting (P), Squatting (P), Standing (P), Twisting-neck (P), Twisting-waist (P), Walking (P), Writing (N)