Youth Partner - Peer Support Specialist

Yamhill County has one regular full-time position for a Peer Support Specialist to serve youth with mental health/substance use challenges. In this role you will work with multi-disciplinary teams to assist individuals in accessing resources, addressing barriers related to their mental health, and help develop skills that promote recovery and advocacy. Utilizing your life experiences to provide support to youth, your responsibilities will include assisting in utilizing recovery skills, providing linkage with local peer organizations, identifying strengths to achieve individual goals, and providing individual and group peer services. You may also be needed to provide coordination of peer wrap around supports including community outreach to recruit volunteers, facilitating training, documentation tracking, and team facilitation.

The Benefits:

Yamhill County offers generous employee benefits:

• 15 paid holidays per year.
• 19.5 days of Flexible Earned Time (FET) accrual in the first year (based on an 8-hr day).*
• PERS (Public Employee Retirement System) - 100% employer funded contributions. 
• Full health benefit offerings with employee premiums starting as low as $89.02/month for PPO or $0/month for HMO during current plan year 2025-2026. *

Additional benefits for HHS employees: 

• $750 and 40 hours of paid time annually for professional development/training.  
• $200 annually toward required license and/or certification fees.
• HRSA/NHSC approved site with many loan repayment opportunities available.
• Qualifying employer for public service student loan forgiveness. 
• Most positions are eligible to accrue overtime.*

*Subject to the AFSCME Collective Bargaining Agreement (7/1/2023 – 6/30/2026). 

The Qualifications:

• A Bachelor’s degree in a human services related field.

OR

• At least one year’s work experience AND two years’ post-secondary education in a human service related field.

OR

• A high school diploma AND three years’ work experience in a human service related field.

• Must be a self-identified current or former recipient of mental health services
• PSS certification from a state-approved program or ability to obtain certification within 2 months of hire. 
• Or Certified Recovery Mentor certification
• NPI number or the ability to obtain one upon employment. 

Preference will be given to those with fluency in Spanish and English.

The Candidate:

If you have been the recipient of mental health services, have a personal experience and knowledge of recovery, you embrace the philosophy of resilience and recovery, and are willing to be a role model for individuals receiving mental health services, then we are looking for you. 

To be successful in this role you will need to show excellence in organization, paperwork management, and communication – both verbally and in writing, in addition to typing and computer proficiency. Further, you will also need to be dependable, self-directed, detail-oriented, and possess the ability to interact with coworkers, clients, and the public in a courteous, professional manner. 

It is crucial that you have the ability to understand the behavior of people under stress, to develop cooperative relationships with clients, their families, and the community while maintaining relationships with physicians, law enforcement agencies, the courts, public and private administrators, and the community in general. 

Employees must be able to perform the essential functions of this classification with or without accommodation.  

In order to qualify for most HHS positions, applicants:  

Must not be excluded from participation in federal health care programs (Medicaid, Medicare, and other federally funded programs that provide health benefits); and 

Must not be excluded from participation in federal procurement (Federal Acquisition Regulation) and non-procurement activities (Executive Order No. 12549).

Our Community

Yamhill County has approximately 109,000 residents and is a very desirable place to live in the heart of the Willamette Valley wine country.   Yamhill County is home to Linfield University and Chemeketa Community College in McMinnville and George Fox University and Portland Community College in Newberg.  Yamhill County is centrally located in the Willamette Valley, within close proximity to the Oregon Coast, the Portland and Salem metropolitan areas, and the Oregon Cascade Mountains.  Wide varieties of indoor and outdoor recreation opportunities are available.   We have the benefits, appeal and superior quality of life found in a small-town community, while enjoying active social and cultural lifestyles found in larger metropolitan areas. 

Required Information

Under the provisions of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, any person hired or rehired is required to provide evidence of identity and eligibility for employment. Yamhill County does not offer VISA sponsorships. The County verifies the valid work authorization of each employee using Form I-9 and the E-Verify Program.

Yamhill County is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer and values diversity.  All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply. Applicants are considered for employment based on their qualifications without regard to race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, marital or veteran status, medical condition or disability, or any other factor prohibited by law or regulation. Veterans are encouraged to apply. Do not include information or photos that would identify those personal traits.  Any documents submitted with the application that include this identifying information will not be accepted with the application.

Some positions require a criminal history check and a review of driving record. All County positions require regular, prompt, and consistent attendance.

Accommodation Under the Americans With Disabilities Act

Reasonable accommodation is available to anyone whose specific disability prevents them from completing this application or participating in the selection process for this recruitment. To obtain confidential assistance, please contact Human Resources at 503-474-4901 or via email at Human_Resources@yamhillcounty.gov.

Veterans’ Preference

Under Oregon law ORS 408.225-408.238, veterans who meet the minimum qualifications for a position may be eligible for hiring preference. If you think you may qualify, please complete and attach all of the following.

• Veteran’s Hiring Preference (Veterans Preference Hiring Form-PDF))
  1. Form must be completed and submitted with application.(Download PDF reader)
• Supporting Documentation (Refer to Veterans Preference form for list)

If you need assistance with completing an application for employment or with obtaining a Veteran’s Hiring Preference Form, please contact Human Resources at 503-474-4901 or via email at Human_Resources@yamhillcounty.gov.

Status of your application

Please note that Yamhill County regularly communicates with candidates via e-mail. If you "opt out" or "unsubscribe" from e-mail notifications from NEOGOV, it may impact our ability to communicate with you about job postings through NEOGOV and responses could be delayed.

Please refer to the Classification Specification for the knowledge, skills & abilities required for this position.

Please refer to the Classification Specification for the minimum experience and training/other requirements for this position.

Please refer to the Classification Specification for the work environment/physical demands for this position.

Salary : $3,966 - $5,509