NY HELPNo

AgencyMental Health, Office of

TitleAdvocacy Specialist 2, Central Office;

Occupational CategoryHealth Care, Human/Social Services

Salary Grade18

Bargaining UnitPS&T - Professional, Scientific, and Technical (PEF)

Salary RangeFrom $66591 to $85138 Annually

Employment Type Full-Time

Appointment Type Permanent

Jurisdictional Class Non-competitive Class

Travel Percentage 30%

Workweek Mon-Fri

Hours Per Week 37.5

Workday

From 8 AM

To 5 PM

Flextime allowed? No

Mandatory overtime? No

Compressed workweek allowed? No

Telecommuting allowed? Yes

County New York

Street Address New York State Office of Mental Health, New York City Field Office

330 5th Avenue

City New York

StateNY

Zip Code10001

Duties Description The New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH) is recruiting to fill an Advocacy Specialist 2, SG-18, position in the Office of Advocacy and Peer Support Services (OAPSS) located at the New York City Field Office in Manhattan. OAPSS works to ensure the inclusion of recipients across the lifespan (youth, transition age youth, adults, and older adults) and their family’s perspectives into OMH policy making and program planning, development, and evaluation. The incumbent will work to promote peer recovery values and the inclusion of people of all ages and families who receive or have received mental health services, as well as peers support workers, advocates, and the community. The incumbent will serve at a Regional level and function as a Regional Advocacy Specialist interacting and collaborating with all relevant programs and departments, Field Offices, Central Office, and local mental health providers to deliver technical assistance, lived expertise, and training to State and local mental health programs statewide.

Successful Advocacy Specialists will perform a range of professional functions which include promoting changes in policies, procedures, and practices in services and supports across New York State. The incumbent functions as a systems-level advocate promoting the voice of individuals and families. Advocacy Specialists provide information and resources to the community about available services and programs and seek to identify and eliminate disparities by promoting peer recovery values in a trauma-informed and culturally sensitive manner.

Specific duties include, but are not limited to, the following:

Advocacy specialists serve as the liaison between the Office of Mental Health (OMH) and the community, seeking input from individuals and families in a variety of forums to create a feedback loop, and to promote voice, choice, and meaningful participation in services. Community engagement activities include but are not limited to facilitating and notetaking for the Regional Advisory Committee (RAC), participating in community forums, and working with advocacy groups to address issues and concerns.

Advocacy Specialists will perform community outreach tasks with the goal of building relationships with providers and partners. These tasks will include providing support to Peer-run agencies/Peer-directed programs and family-run agencies/family-directed programs, attending community events, tabling at conferences, and providing presentations. Presentation topics will include peer support best practices, stigma reduction, and other topics that support recovery, self-determination, cultural curiosity, and trauma responsiveness.

Advocacy Specialists may also provide individual mentoring and guidance by helping to facilitate connection to peer services as well as guidance to community programs on peer support best practices, and ways to reduce the stigma and discrimination faced by individuals and families within the mental health and intersecting systems.

Advocacy Specialists provide guidance to agencies on developing peer/recovery-oriented services and support to enhance the provision of peer support services regionally and foster growth of the peer support workforce. This includes but is not limited to providing guidance to a program on person-centered language, guiding interested individuals to peer discipline training programs, and providing guidance on implementing peer services.

The Advocacy Specialist will also function in a quality and licensing support capacity, where they will participate in licensing or unlicensed program visits and provide feedback on the program’s strengths and improvement needs including but not limited to, participating as a reviewer for a licensing visit, participating in a supportive housing visit, and providing feedback to licensing on a program's peer specialist job description.

The Advocacy Specialist should be proficient in systems advocacy, working internally within the Office of Mental Health (OMH) toward systemic changes through participation in internal workgroups, providing data/feedback to other departments, and reviewing potential new programs including but not limited to, participating in the OMH redesign efforts, reviewing Requests for Proposals (RFPs), providing guidance to OMH departments, and monitoring existing OMH programs. The person in this role will complete these and other duties as assigned; to successfully perform various functions, they will demonstrate effective time management, organization, and communication.

The Advocacy Specialist must demonstrate effective time management, organization, and communication to perform a variety of functions within the scope of their role. Other specific tasks are assigned as necessary.

Minimum Qualifications Non-Competitive Appointment:
Candidates must have a bachelor’s degree in a human services field, and two years of experience as a professional advocate or service provider in rehabilitation, developmental disabilities, or mental health.

OR

A Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in a human services field AND one year of experience as a professional advocate or service provider in the field of rehabilitation, developmental disabilities, or mental health.

OR

Six years of experience as a professional advocate or service provider in the field of rehabilitation, developmental disabilities, or mental health.

Additional Comments The Mission of the New York State Office of Mental Health is to promote the mental health of all New Yorkers, with a focus on providing hope and supporting recovery for adults with serious mental illness and children with serious emotional disturbances. Applicants with lived mental health experience are encouraged to apply. OMH is deeply committed to supporting underserved individuals, organizations, and communities. To this end, OMH is focused on implementing activities and initiatives to reduce disparities in access, quality, and treatment outcomes for underserved populations. A critical component of these efforts is ensuring OMH is a diverse and inclusive workplace where all employees' unique attributes and skills are valued and utilized to support the mission of the Agency. OMH is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer.

Specific scheduled hours and telecommuting availability for this position will be discussed during the interview process. Please note, employees are required to apply and obtain approval through management to telecommute according to operational needs and Agency Telecommuting Program Guidelines.

Some positions may require additional credentials or a background check to verify your identity.

Name Aurora Korotchen

Telephone

Fax (518) 486-3897

Email Address OMHHRM@OMH.NY.GOV

Address

Street 44 Holland Avenue

City Albany

State NY

Zip Code 12229

Notes on ApplyingTo be considered for this position, interested candidates should email a cover letter and resume in Microsoft Word or PDF format as an attachment to omhhrm@omh.ny.gov. Please include the title of the position and Vacancy ID #188399 in the subject line of your email when applying.

You are advised that, should you accept a job offer with the Office of Mental Health, you may be required to be fingerprinted and pay a fingerprint fee.