Peer Specialist

Community Reach Center • Thornton, CO

16h • $24 - $26 • Onsite

About The Position

The Peer Specialist uses lived experience and peer support skills to help consumers work toward their recovery goals. The role serves assigned consumers through individual and group peer services, outreach and follow-up, community-resource connections, and support with continued engagement in care. The position is split between the ACT and ASCENT programs and is based out of the Thornton office, with work in the office and community, including the Aware Center, consumers’ homes, and other community settings.

The Peer Specialist plans daily services, maintains timely and role-appropriate documentation, monitors assigned KPIs, and alerts the manager promptly when barriers could prevent work from being completed. The role follows the program manual, approved peer model, ethical standards, documentation rules, and peer-role boundaries. Peer Specialists do not provide therapy, diagnosis, clinical assessment, or services outside the peer role. The Supervisor of Staff may assign other duties.

Requirements

• High school diploma or equivalent.
• Lived experience with behavioral health recovery, substance use recovery, or supporting a family member, as appropriate to the assigned peer role and population.
• Peer support certification or credential; required credentials and continuing education must be maintained.
• Ability to work independently in clinic, residential, and community-based settings.
• Valid Colorado driver's license with a clean driving record.

Nice To Haves

• Bachelor’s degree preferred.
• Bilingual Spanish preferred but not required.

Responsibilities

• Provide scheduled and assigned peer services, including individual and group support, community-based services, outreach, follow-up, and care coordination.
• Know assigned consumers’ recovery goals, engagement, upcoming contacts, follow-up needs, referrals, barriers, and documentation requirements; prioritize daily work and escalate barriers appropriately.
• Use lived experience selectively and appropriately to offer hope, reduce isolation, model recovery, and support consumer-defined goals while maintaining professional boundaries.
• Build respectful, recovery-oriented relationships that promote consumer choice, dignity, self-direction, cultural humility, strengths, and voice.
• Support consumers with recovery plans, wellness tools, personal safety plans, relapse-prevention strategies, coping skills, self-advocacy, and natural supports, consistent with program guidance and the peer role.
• Orient new consumers to program services, rights, expectations, and participation, using plain language and checking for understanding.
• Facilitate groups using approved peer practices and curricula, encouraging participation, shared learning, connection, hope, and consumer leadership while maintaining safety and role boundaries.
• Support community inclusion and practical recovery activities, including connections to housing, benefits, transportation, food, medical care, education, employment, social supports, recreation, and other resources.
• Help consumers prepare for and participate in appointments and team meetings, communicate preferences, understand options, and advocate for their goals without speaking for them when they can speak for themselves.
• Collaborate with treatment teams and community partners, share relevant consumer-directed information, represent the consumer perspective, identify barriers, and remain within the peer role.
• Complete accurate and timely documentation in accordance with program manuals, peer documentation standards, EHR requirements, billing rules, and agency policy.
• Use EHR data and agency dashboards to identify missed contacts, overdue follow-up, documentation gaps, service trends, consumers needing re-engagement, and KPI progress; review data with the manager and complete corrective action steps as needed.
• Meet annual performance expectations for productivity, quality, documentation, consumer engagement, role-specific KPIs, and 1,200 clinical interaction hours per year, unless adjusted for role, leave, program need, or organizational need.
• Participate in treatment team meetings, case reviews, supervision, huddles, and other required meetings; provide peer-lens updates and promptly communicate consumer-identified priorities and safety or access concerns.
• Maintain ethical peer boundaries, confidentiality, and appropriate use of personal recovery information; identify boundary risks and bring them to supervision early.
• Respond to urgent safety concerns according to training, agency policy, program manuals, and peer-role scope; immediately communicate concerns to appropriate clinical or supervisory staff.
• Complete required peer, program, compliance, safety, documentation, EHR, evidence-based practice, and population-specific training on time and apply the skills in daily work.
• Participate in audits and quality reviews, which may include observation, chart and documentation review, service verification, dashboard review, and supervision discussions.
• Use program resources responsibly and understand how peer services affect service access, staffing capacity, program utilization, transportation, billing, and program sustainability.
• Provide consumer transportation in agency vehicles when appropriate, authorized, and consistent with the program manual and role.
• Represent the agency and peer profession professionally with consumers, families, community partners, agencies, and the public.
• Identify system or program barriers from the peer perspective and participate in problem solving, implementation, and follow-up; elevate patterns affecting consumer voice, access, dignity, inclusion, engagement, and continuity of care.

Benefits

• 401(k) with matching
• Wellness program
• Health insurance reimbursement allocation
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Internal opportunities and free trainings
• Shift differential pay when applicable
• Bilingual stipend pay
• 24/7 Employee Assistance Program
• Cross-licensure sponsorship opportunity if eligible and applicable
• Healthy work-life balance
• PTO and paid holidays
• Tuition reimbursement
• Loan forgiveness options, including National Health Service Corps, Colorado Health Service Corps, and Public Student Loan Forgiveness
• Eligible for a $250/month bilingual stipend

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Education Level: High school or GED