Veteran recovery

Vet to Vet Program coordinator JOB DESCRIPTION Draft

Supervised by: GLA Vet to Vet VA Liaison

Hours: 40 Hours a week

Skills:

  • Ability to act genuinely and honestly as a role model to other veterans
  • Ability to model good self-care
  • Ability to maintain peer leader role (e.g., balancing self-disclosure and self-containment, self-awareness and awareness of others)
  • Ability to provide support and education in the peer group setting
  • Ability to respect the emotions and opinions of others
  • Ability to be assertive, and to set limits respectfully when needed
  • Ability to prevent more talkative members from dominating the group, and to allow space for quieter members
  • Ability to respect the boundaries of others
  • Ability to encourage give-and-take in the group setting
  • Ability to organize and manage time well
  • Ability to model good communication
  • Ability to listen well to other veterans
  • Ability to maintain patience and consistency
  • Ability to maintain confidentiality and trust with other veterans
  • Ability to collaborate flexibly with veterans and staff
  • Ability to identify circumstances when a referral to staff is needed
  • Ability to attend and utilize supervision
  • Ability to handle multiple tasks
  • Ability to manage people

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES:

1.      Train Peer Facilitators to lead support group:

  • Identify potential in veterans to become peer facilitators
  • Teach peer facilitators fundamentals of Vet to Vet program
  • Instruct peers how to conduct support groups using required texts

2.      Assist Veterans in finding the path to recovery:

  • Lead one or more peer groups
  • Help individuals to identify and work toward their goals
  • Help to empower individuals toward taking charge of their own lives
  • Encourage individual veterans within the peer group to develop their own skills in recovering from mental illness
  • Help to identify person-centered strengths and abilities
  • Distribute information to veterans
  • Maintain privacy of veterans (e.g., not accessing records, not keeping private information such as social security numbers, keeping information within the group private outside the treatment setting)
  • Share relevant information with staff (e.g., health or psychiatric risk)

3.      Develop skills

  • To attend trainings to develop skills as possible
  • To share knowledge with other veterans and staff

Reporting:

The program coordinator will comply with all program guidelines, agency directives, circulars, procedures and policies, maintain attendance statistics, and carry out assignments as agreed by the Vet to Vet program coordinator and VA liaison or designee as assigned.

Supervisory Controls:

The program coordinator will be supervised by the Vet to Vet VA liaison.  The incumbents will have latitude for determining his/her day to day work activities and decisions depending on the complexity and difficulty of the problem and or responsibility presented.  The Program coordinator supervision is different than traditional supervision. The supervisor is expected to be encouraging, nurturing, and supportive. The supervisor should be familiar with the practice of PSR and function as a dual role: supervisor, job developer/ job coach. As the Program coordinator is someone who has mental illness, the supervisor must have an understanding of psychiatric rehabilitation while at the same time ensuring that the person is able to perform the job as expected. Any unusual problems that develop are immediately referred to the supervisor for assistance.  VINFEN will provide periodic review of the program and training to ensure that the Vet to Vet program model is being adhered to.

Physical Demands:

The Program coordinator must be enthusiastic, mobile, and observant.  He/she must be stable with their own mental health issues and be spiritually resilient, resourceful and capable of flexibility in the face of stressful interpersonal and group situations.  Incumbent may be required to perform groups at satellite locations in the community and operate a motor vehicle for the transportation.  Work is primarily sedentary but also requires some standing, walking, bending, lifting, and carrying light items.  

Work Environment:

The program coordinator will be conducting training and facilitating groups of peers in a classroom setting.  The work requires a combination of settings from the sedentary office to travel to satellite locations. The position requires occasional light lifting.  The Program coordinator is expected to follow safety procedures and utilize good judgment at all times.

On The Job Training:

The program coordinator is someone who has grown up and experienced the mental health system. Their personal time in the mental health system is part of the training. However, the training should be put in perspective. Not everyone’s experiences in the mental health system are favorable. The program coordinator must understand what he/she has experienced; what was positive and what was negative and work through all the issues before he/she attempts to work in the mental health system. Being on the job is in and of itself, on the job training.

Personal Contacts:

Personal contacts are with VA Greater Los Angeles peers, stakeholders, consumers and other professionals within the health delivery system. The position may negotiate and participate in cooperative studies with various Federal agencies, states, and health related organizations. Contacts are primarily with consumers, their family members, personnel within VA Greater Los Angeles and with community agencies as necessary.

Customer Service:

Consistently communicates and treats customers (veterans, their representatives, visitors, and all VA staff) in a courteous, tactful and respectful manner. Provides the customer with consistent information according to established policies and procedures. Handles conflicts and problems in dealing with the customer constructively and appropriately.

Requirements:

Must be a veteran who has been a consumer of mental health services.  Must be willing to facilitate and mentor fellow veterans in their own recovery process. Must be willing to work in the mental health system to understand and continue to learn psychiatric rehabilitation skills and practices.