Job Details
Job Location
Beaverton, OR
Position Type
Full Time
Salary Range
$23.44 Hourly
Job Shift
Day
Job Category
Nonprofit – Social Services
Description
Purpose: (General description and summary)
The Lead Peer Support Specialist is a member of the Polaris Transition team and will supervise daily operations, including support for staff and program needs which includes administrative support to program needs and oversight of the Polaris staff, as well as weekly supervision and team meetings. The Lead will ensure the coordination and provision of services and contract deliverables which include: advocacy, crisis prevention and de-escalation, skills training, community navigation, case management, transportation to appointments or facilitation of transportation (ie. Ride to Care, Trimet LIFT, etc.), participation in meetings with treatment teams and other external providers to ensure safe housing placement, obtaining food boxes, and referring to community based mental health and substance use disorder providers if needed, as well as effectively assisting participants in navigating the judicial system. This job requires the Lead to be on site to provide services and cannot be performed remotely.
The Lead will report to the Director of Peer Support Services. Polaris Transition Team will provide wraparound services to individuals who have been referred to New Narrative by the Washington County Forensic Mental Health Team and other external community providers, with the aim of assisting the referred individuals in accessing transitional housing, connecting to community based mental health or substance use treatment services, and resource gathering (food boxes, medical needs, etc.) to promote overall stabilization while navigating the legal system. Polaris Transition Team will work with referred individuals who may be experiencing co-occurring disorders, and support them as they transition into becoming their own best advocate.
Accountabilities: (Responsibilities of the job)
Leadership and Support:
- Provide direct supervision to staff of Polaris Transition Team, including individual supervision/check-in meetings at a minimum of every two weeks, professional development, and performance management (e.g. annual reviews)
- Provide day to day support to staff for questions, consultation, and other collaborative and supportive efforts, including but not limited to, coverage for absent staff to ensure consistent participant support
- Maintain weekly meeting for staff cohesion, consultation, and team-building.
- Provide supervision to staff and additional support as needed.
- Review documentation, IRs, and performance, as well as programming and provide clear and direct feedback to support best practice with person centered, trauma informed, harm reduction, inclusive, lens.
- Maintain program budget, technology tracking, and reporting requirements for grant-funding in collaboration with Director of Peer Support Services.
- Oversee personal and staff expense reports, ensuring that they are submitted weekly and completed monthly
- Approve staff timecards within the deadline provided
- Build and maintain effective community partner relationships, including referral partner relationships, to support mutual access and awareness of area services and what Polaris offers
- Attend all required meetings with county and external community partners in collaboration with Director of Peer Support Services
- Exude and model New Narrative values and mission in all interactions.
- Adhere to National Guidelines for Peer Supporters and uphold those standards within the team.
Engagement and Collaboration
- Provide skills training, advocacy, case management, community navigation to support participants in working towards their identified goals
- Willing to meet and engage with people “where they are,” including their environment and readiness for change.
- Provide support to participants in a variety of settings including the Oregon State Hospital, Washington County Jail, Northwest Regional Re-Entry Center, motels, Community Mental Health clinics, the outdoors, and shared community spaces, among others
- Maintain professionalism in encounters with participants and other providers.
Service Coordination
- Ability to work in collaboration with emergency services (Hawthorn Walk-in Center, Mental Health Response Team, etc.)
- Coordinate with community resources to access food, housing, and medical care while providing assistance with navigating the judicial system, including transition planning
- Ability to work in collaboration with acute care settings if necessary.
- Provide support, assistance, and advocacy for linkage to resources and maintenance of resources.
- Coordinate with providers and resources involved in participant goals and care consistently, including but not limited to weekly contact and multi-disciplinary support team staffings as indicated.
- Ensure staff are assisting program participants in attending all required court dates, filing legal paperwork on time, and communicating with all necessary agencies to support their recovery
Crisis Prevention/De-escalation/Harm Reduction
- Provide crisis response and de-escalation in a community based setting.
- Use crisis prevention approach to decrease use of crisis services, Hawthorn Walk-in Center, EMS, police, hospitalization, etc.
- Ability to work in collaboration with acute care settings if necessary
- Must be able to assist in de-escalation and crisis as needed
- Support harm reduction approach, linkage to resources such as, but not limited to: clean needle exchange, NARCAN, MAT, SUD services, education around harm reduction, etc.
Supportive Skills Training
- Providing direct support in one-on-one settings within transitional housing or the community as needed
- Provide group skills training opportunities and facilitation of opportunities.
- Assess the support level and program needs of each participant, providing skills training as indicated.
- Provide staff with coaching and skills training as needed to enhance their support of participants
Documentation/Expectations
- Complete documentation and data entry as required by contract (ie. Electronic Health Record, Credible, Milestones.) within 48 hrs.
- Utilize and provide oversight for goal setting and outcomes based care tools in order to provide outcome informed care
- Ensure timely completion of all required paperwork for Polaris Team
- Maintain a regular work schedule
- Work to increase level of cultural sensitivity, awareness and competency regarding Person-Centered Services individually and within the team
- Attend and positively participate in required team, agency, and interdisciplinary meetings.
- Use trauma-informed, person-centered approach and language and participate in ongoing training and education.
- Provide crisis response in a community-based setting.
Positions Reporting: (Listing of job incumbents reporting into this position)
- Polaris Team Members, including Peer Specialists (PSS, PWS, CRM) and/or Case Manager (QMHA)
Supervision Received:
- Receive regular supervision from the Director of Peer Support Services, seeking additional supervision whenever necessary.
- Participate in interdisciplinary team meetings and group supervision as required.
Qualifications:
- Peer Support Certification required
- 1 year of direct support experience in the mental wellness field required, 1 year of direct support experience as a peer specialist preferred
- Lived experience with either mental health, substance use, the judicial system, restrictive environments, and/or altered states required.
- Prior management experience preferred
- Bilingual (Spanish/English) preferred
- Incumbents with a substance use disorder must be sober and free of substance use for 1 full year preceding date of hire and must maintain this sobriety.
- Must maintain current Oregon driver’s license as position requires the ability to drive.