Peer Specialist

Community Reach Center • Thornton, CO

4d • Onsite

About The Position

The Peer Specialist uses lived experience and peer support skills to help consumers work toward their recovery goals. The role provides individual and group peer services, outreach and follow-up, community resource connections, and support for ongoing 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 at Aware Center and in consumers’ homes and other community settings.

The Peer Specialist manages assigned consumers and daily service plans, maintains timely and accurate documentation, monitors role-specific KPIs, and alerts the manager promptly to barriers. The role follows the program manual, approved peer model, ethical standards, documentation requirements, and limits of peer practice. Peer Specialists do not provide therapy, diagnosis, clinical assessment, or services outside the peer role. The Supervisor of Staff may assign other duties.

This position is scheduled Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The starting pay range is $23.50 to $25.50 per hour. Eligible employees may receive a $250 monthly bilingual stipend.

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 peer services, individual and group support, community-based assistance, outreach, and follow-up.
• Review daily schedules and assigned consumers; plan and prioritize contacts and follow-up needs.
• Notify the manager as soon as possible when a consumer cannot be reached or another barrier may prevent completing daily work.
• Meet annual performance expectations for productivity, quality, documentation, engagement, role-specific KPIs, and 1,200 clinical interaction hours, unless adjusted for applicable circumstances.
• Track assigned KPIs using agency dashboards and work with the manager on corrective action when performance is below expectations.
• Use lived experience appropriately to offer hope, reduce isolation, model recovery, and support consumer-defined goals while maintaining professional boundaries.
• Build respectful, recovery-oriented relationships that support consumer choice, dignity, self-direction, cultural humility, strengths, and voice.
• Support consumers in developing and using recovery plans, wellness tools, safety plans, relapse-prevention strategies, coping and self-advocacy skills, and natural supports within the peer role.
• Orient new consumers to the program, services, rights, expectations, and ways to participate in care; use plain language and check for understanding.
• Facilitate groups that encourage participation, shared learning, hope, connection, 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 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, elevate consumer perspectives and barriers, and avoid clinical interpretation outside the peer role.
• Document consumer contacts and work performed 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 findings with the manager and complete action steps.
• Participate in treatment team meetings, case reviews, supervision, huddles, and other required meetings; provide peer-perspective updates and communicate safety or access concerns promptly.
• Maintain confidentiality, ethical peer boundaries, and appropriate use of personal recovery information; bring potential boundary risks, conflicts, or dual relationships to supervision.
• Respond to urgent safety concerns within training, agency policy, program manual, and peer-role limits; promptly alert appropriate clinical or supervisory staff and support the consumer while qualified staff respond.
• Complete required peer, program, compliance, safety, documentation, EHR, evidence-based practice, and population-specific training on time and apply it in daily work.
• Participate in audits and quality reviews, which may include observations, permitted audio or video review, group and chart reviews, documentation and service verification, dashboard review, and supervision discussions.
• Use program resources responsibly and understand how peer services affect access, staffing, utilization, transportation, billing, and program sustainability.
• Transport consumers 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 program or system 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

• Competitive compensation.
• 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 supporting mental health and a balanced lifestyle.
• Opportunity for cross-licensure sponsorship 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.

What This Job Offers

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