Employment Specialist-Cookeville, TN

If you are an individual who has received, or currently receives mental health and/or substance abuse services with a desire to support others, we have a wonderful opportunity for you.

This position will allow you to combine your personal experience in recovery with skills to promote hope in others as they work to improve their health and wellness, live self-directed lives, and strive to reach their full potential.

Applicant must also meet the following criteria:

• Possess a valid driver's license for the state listed on your home address, reliable transportation, and proof of automobile insurance.
  
• Meet and agree to all the following environmental conditions: work in both in office and community settings with local and state travel required.
• Must be an individual with a minimum bachelor's degree.
• Experience in job development and working with people with some type of disability is recommended.
• Clean Criminal history
• Clean Abuse Registry
• Be a current of former recipient of mental health and/or substance abuse services and willing to self-disclose as such.
• Possess a current Tennessee State Certified Peer Recovery Specialist (CPRS) certification or be eligible and willing to pursue with company provided training within 6 months of hire. To learn about accreditation visit: https://www.tn.gov/behavioral-health/cprs.html

For successful employment, a candidate would be:

• Recovery-oriented
• Hopeful about every person's ability to succeed in employment
  
• Open minded about helping people move into competitive jobs, regardless of active substance use disorders
• Believe that work can help people manage mental illness
• Believe that people learn and grow from their experiences.
• A creative problem solver
• Willing to change their perspective about a problem by learning new information
• Able to think of more than one possible solution to a problem.
• A good job developer
• Would present him or herself in a professional manner
• A good listener and interested in learning about other people.

Employment specialist competencies and job duties:

• Develop relationships with employers by learning about their businesses, hiring practices, hiring preferences etc., over multiple visits.
• Investigate the local business community in order to learn about different employers and types of jobs available.
• Utilize good client interviewing skills in order to learn about individual preferences, past experiences, hopes and concerns regarding employment.
• Effectively collaborate with mental health practitioners, Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) counselors, family members and other members of the vocational unit.
• Utilize a strength's-based approach when serving clients by recognizing each person's skills, experiences, and values that support employment.
• Assist with finding and accessing resources such as work incentives planning, available transportation, etc.
• Use a problem-solving approach when faced with challenging or difficult situations.
• Conduct work in community settings (at least 65% of scheduled work hours).
• Develop person-specific plans that are congruent with each person's goals and includes a plan to meet those goals.
• Provide timely documentation that meets requirements of various funding sources including Vocational Rehabilitation, Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (TDMHSAS) and others.

Job Type: Full-time

Benefits: (Waiting period may apply Only full-time employees eligible)

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Dental insurance
• Employee assistance program
• Health insurance
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Vision insurance

Schedule:

• 8 hour shift
• Day shift
• Monday to Friday

Education:

• Bachelor's (Required)

Experience:

• Job development: 1 year (Recommended)