To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 04 / 30 / 2024.

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 of this announcement.

The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials.

If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement.

In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note : Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment.

BASIC REQUIREMENTS FOR PEER SUPPORT APPRENTICES, GS-0102-05 : As a Peer Support Apprentice hired to become a certified Peer Specialist, a Veteran must have spent a minimum of 1 year in recovery from a mental health condition.

In all cases, Peer Support Apprentices must actively pursue becoming certified as required to serve as a Peer Specialist by 38 U.

S.C. 7402(b)(13)(B). At the time of appointment, the supervisor will provide the Peer Support Apprentice with the written requirements for becoming certified, the date by which he or she must become certified, and the consequences for not becoming certified by the deadline.

Failure to become certified by the prescribed date will result in removal from this GS-0102 occupation and may result in termination of employment.

• A. Statutory Requirements. Section 405 of Public Law 110-387, as codified in 38 U.S.C. 7402(b)(13), established that to be eligible to receive 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 such criteria as the Secretary shall establish for a peer specialist position;

OR (b) a State as having satisfied relevant State requirements for a peer specialist position. B. Length of Experience as a Consumer of Mental Health Recovery Services.

Veterans eligible under 38 U.S.C. 7402(b)(13) must have spent a minimum of 1 year in personal recovery from a mental health condition.

References : VA Handbook 5005 / 59, Part II, Appendix F3, Peer Support Apprentice / Peer Specialist QUALIFICATION STANDARD , dated July 17, 2012.

You may qualify based on your experience and / or education as described below : For GS-06 through GS-09 : Possess at least one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level that equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the Peer Specialist position, and that is typically in or directly related to the work of this position.

Examples of this specialized experience is progressively responsible, 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, OR SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION FOR PEER SPECIALISTS, GS-0102-06 through GS-09 : Graduate education or a post-bachelor's degree internship meets the specialized experience required for GS-06 / 09.

NOTE : EDUCATION MUST BE DIRECTLY RELATED TO THE WORK OF THIS POSITION (Transcripts are REQUIRED and must show the course work directly related to this position.

GS-6 : 6 months of directly related graduate education (9 semester hours) GS-7 : 1 full year of directly related graduate education (18 semester hours) GS-8 : 1 1 / 2 years of directly related graduate education (27 semester hours) GS-9 : 2 full years of directly related graduate education (36 semester hours) PLEASE NOTE : Only education or degrees recognized by the U.

S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment.

You can verify your education here : http : / / ope.ed.gov / accreditation / . If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education.

Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at the GS-06 through GS-09 level. To calculate, first identify the percentage of required education you have earned (when substituting, you cannot use the first 60 semester hours that you earned).

Then identify the percentage of required experience you possess. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify.

For example, an applicant who has 9 semester hours of directly related graduate level education (i.e. 50% of graduate education required) and 6 months of creditable specialized experience (i.

e. 50% of the required experience) would equal 100% of the required experience for the position at the GS-7 level. A transcript MUST be submitted with your application if you are basing any part of your qualifications on education for GS-06 through GS-09.

Unofficial transcripts are OK.) There is no educational substitution for the GS-05 level. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.

g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community;

student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment.

You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS : Satisfactory physical examination as determined by the Employee Health Unit upon appointment only.

This work is primarily sedentary. Typically, the employee will sit to do the work. However, there may be some walking, standing, bending, carrying of light items (such a books, papers, etc.

accessing transportation, and / or driving a government vehicle. The work requires patience and control of emotions. The work may require occasional use of appropriate techniques to physically restrain clients who present a danger to self or others.

VA facilities must make reasonable accommodation for the physical or mental limitations of an applicant or employee who is a qualified person with a disability unless the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the department or agency.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https : / / www.

opm.gov / policy-data-oversight / classification-qualifications / general-schedule-qualification-standards / .