Hiring Range: $67,600 – $78,592

Salary Range: $67,600 – $91,300

Job Summary:

The Peer Specialist collaborates with clients to provide individualized and flexible support to engage and integrate them into the community and helps to facilitate their access to resources and support. The incumbent in this role works to maximize client independence and potential and promotes client recovery and may go out into the community and meet someone currently homeless on the street, encampments or in a shelter and support them through every step of the housing process. The Peer Specialist may obtain ID’s, help client(s) apply for rental subsidy, search for apartments, meet with landlords and provide support once housing for the client is secured. This may include and is not limited to providing crisis intervention services, developing goal plans, facilitating referrals, and serving as advocate on behalf of participant to assist them in securing services, entitlements, and support to reach their goals. The work is 80% based in the community, making home visits, and supporting people to become integrated back into their community.

Experience, Knowledge, Skills:

Minimum Requirements

• Associate’s degree in social work, psychology, or a closely related field
• Three (3) years of experience as a peer specialist or closely related work. 
• Personal experience or has been impacted by mental illness, substance issues, child, or family issues – or a combination of these challenges. 

OR 

• Any combination of related education, experience, certifications, and licenses will result in a candidate successfully performing the essential functions of the job.

Preferred

• Bachelor’s degree in social work, psychology, or a closely related field
• Bilingual in Spanish and English
• Peer Specialist Certification 
• Four (4) or more years of experience as a peer specialist or closely related work. 

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Skill with troubleshooting and analyzing work issues.
• Skills in customer service and project management.
• Ability to work independently in identifying and resolving issues, concerns, and problems.
• Ability to acquire subject matter expertise in the functions and activities of the department, including applicable laws, rules, regulations, procedures, and technical operations.
• Ability to oversee corrections within assigned specialty.
• Ability to read, interpret and apply complex technical documentation.
• Ability to analyze, evaluate and integrate business processes and procedures.
• Ability to write logical, comprehensive, and concise reports and correspondence.
• Ability to communicate effectively orally and in writing using language understandable to management and staff.
• Ability to work effectively with other employees, clients, users, and management and to promote and maintain a team environment.
• Ability to develop recommendations and solutions with sensitivity to the issue, impact to organizational precedence, and desires of those affected by the recommendations.
• Ability to follow through on assignments, accept work assignments from multiple managers and work areas, and to handle multiple and parallel projects.

Travel:

• Approximately 10% travel is required.

Essential Functions:

• Assesses treatment needs and develops client care plans accordingly for over 60 clients.
• Monitors client progress by conducting routine evaluations and maintains accurate client records.
• Ensures client is connected with all needed services (primary care, mental health care, employment services etc.) and attends appointments.
• Helps clients navigate complicated service systems addressing client needs as they arise and advocates on behalf of the client when issues and problems arise.
• Supports clients that are dealing with behavioral health challenges.
• Supports and encourage clients with shared lived experiences, as their ally, in their efforts to become healthier.
• Meets with clients and provides coaching and education around navigating the systems treating their physical and behavioral health needs.
• Provides a safe space for clients to process their emotional lives.
• Provides input around the challenges and successes of clients.
• Meets clients pre- or post- primary care appointments.
• Provides home visits after the client is house based.
• Supports the client with all activities of daily living as needed.
• Manages boundaries and provide expertise through personal experiences.
• Completes all required documentation in the homeless management information system database (HMIS). 
• Performs other duties, as assigned.
• Identifies goals and strategies to better conduct intake procedures, better serving the needs of the target population.
• Maintains up-to-date knowledge of regulations and requirements related to housing programs and client eligibility.
• Participates in planning efforts to evaluate program’s effectiveness, identify needs and trends, and develop strategies to overcome challenges and enhance program quality.
• Participates in monthly client group meetings, case reviews, staff meetings, training sessions, supervisory meetings, committee meetings, agency events, and other activities as directed.

Supervisory Responsibilities

•  None 

Work Environment and Physical Requirements:

Work Environment: 

• Employees are subject to working alone, with groups, and/or attending meetings.
• May be required to conduct business in alternate locations within City buildings or field sites, sometimes in formal settings.
• May be required to work extended hours in the evening, holidays, or weekends.
• Frequent interruptions and be required to manage competing priorities with inflexible deadlines.
• Frequent participation in meetings
• Frequent contact occurs with employees and the public, in person and on the telephone.
• Frequently is required to sit and talk or hear customers.
• Ability to manage competing priorities with frequent interruptions and an expected high level of accuracy in work is expected.
• Work is safe to have minimal hazards that are typically found in a general office environment where there is rarely little or no exposure to injury or accident.

Physical Requirements:

• Ability to sit, use hands to finger, handle, or feel, reach with hands and arms, and talk or hear.
• Ability to stand occasionally.
• Ability to lift and/or move up to 10 pounds occasionally.
• Ability to apply close vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and focus adjustment.
• Ability to read computer keyboards, reference books, and other written documents.
• Ability to communicate with the public via telephone and in person.
• Manual dexterity sufficient to input, retrieve, and verify work assignments in the computer.

EOE Statement: The City of Greeley provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.

ADA Statement: We are committed to an inclusive and barrier-free search process, and will provide accommodation, as needed, to those who request assistance through the ADA Coordinator at HR@Greeleygov.com..

Conditions of Employment: The City of Greeley is an at-will employer. Employees and the City may terminate employment at any time for any or no reason. Candidates must successfully complete all pre-employment screenings and employment eligibility verification. Pre-employment screenings include a drug test, a background and national sex offender search, a motor vehicle record search, and for some positions, a physical demands evaluation. For more information about City policies and practices during the recruitment process, including but not limited to EOE, Reasonable Accommodation, and pre-employment screenings, please visit our career page HERE.