Description

San Diego State University Research Foundation


Lead Peer Recovery Support Navigator

US-CA-San Diego

Job ID: 2026-19923
Type: Full-Time Contract
# of Openings: 1
Category: Healthcare
SDSU Research Foundation

Overview

The starting salary range for this position is $9706.67 per month depending upon qualifications and is non-negotiable.Established in 1943, the mission of the SDSU Research Foundation (SDSURF) is to support the research objectives of San Diego State University by helping faculty and staff find, obtain, and administer funding for their research and sponsored programs. SDSU achieved its strategic plan goal of becoming an R1, premier public research university in early 2025 furthering discoveries, interventions, and solutions that improve communities and change the world. SDSURF provides the full life cycle of grants services to faculty and staff to further their important work. Our vision is to foster a culture of creativity and collaboration with integrity and respect for individuals that results in the delivery of superior service to support the university's strategic aspirations. Our core values:

• Service: We are a service organization that strives to provide superior support to the university community to achieve SDSU's goals; we are committed to being professionally competent by setting high standards and working hard to achieve results; and we continually seeking to improve our skills and capabilities by valuing education and professional development.
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• Collaboration: We seek to actively engage with our stakeholders and employees to identify issues and design solutions, build strong relationships grounded in trust, openness, and inclusion and achieve the best results by taking pride in the accomplishments of our colleagues.
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• Innovation: We work towards inspired solutions to improve and adapt to emerging opportunities and challenges, creative ways to streamline and enhance our delivery of services through resourceful and proactive problem solving and strategic use of technology and reduction of obstacles.
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• Respect: We promote a culture where every individual is valued and treated with dignity, we
• honor open-mindedness toward different viewpoints and ideas and have a genuine appreciation for varied backgrounds, experiences, and ways of thinking.
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• Integrity: We are committed to act with the highest ethical standards, with honesty, integrity, and transparency, provide consistent and accurate information and value and respect all individuals.

FUNCTION OF THE UNIT               The RESTORE program is a community-academic research collaborative within the Division of Health Promotion and Behavioral Science in the School of Public Health at San Diego State University, under the leadership and supervision of Dr. Sabrina L. Smiley. The RESTORE program is funded by the National Institutes of Health-National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIH-NIDA) to initiate a research agenda on how to increase access to opioid use disorder treatment in community health clinics to help Black people with opioid use disorder start and stay in treatment. Opioid-involved overdose death rates are rising fastest among Black people compared with other groups, and nonfatal overdoses are also more frequent in this population. Although U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved medications for opioid use disorder (MOUDs) are the gold standard treatment for opioid use disorder, Black people and individuals living in low-income communities receive MOUD at disproportionately lower rates, contributing to ongoing inequities in the overdose epidemic.Please see the following for additional information about the RESTORE program: https://newscenter.sdsu.edu/sdsu_newscenter/news_story.aspx?sid=79370; https://youtu.be/Qu49eNmiHUM

Responsibilities

The Lead Peer Recovery Support Navigator is responsible for but not limited to:  Principal Responsibilities (100%):

• Leads and directs Peer Recovery Support Navigators (PRSNs) to ensure proper coordination of
• Mentors, orients, and coaches PRSNs in study specific operations and
• Utilizes communication strategies including chain of command and issue
• Complies with regulatory requirements, policies, procedures, and standards of
• Well versed in a variety of substance use treatment models, patterns of substance use, effects of intoxicants and withdrawal of various substances.
• Knowledgeable in local and regional substance use treatment options and harm reduction
• Makes appropriate referrals and facilitates the study participant's ability to utilize
• Discusses study participant progress toward outcomes and referrals with members of the RESTORE Intervention Team.
• Attends all mandatory study-related meetings and activities (i.e., planning, measuring/monitoring, assessing, and improving).
• Nonjudgmental, energetic, empathetic positive approach to assisting study participants with opioid use disorder.
• Available for a flexible schedule to develop realistic individualized action plans for study
• Able to interact with study participants in a culturally relatable
• Respect for confidentiality and
• Gives study participants information in a way they can understand and ensure
• Treats everyone with courtesy, respect, kindness, compassion, and
• Actively listens to the needs of study participants and family members and takes responsibility for meeting those identified needs.
• Reports to assigned area promptly, being present and available for discussion or study participant review at the beginning of an assigned shifts.
• Supervised at all times by a qualified mental health professional; LCSW, LMFT, PhD, etc.

Qualifications



Knowledge and Abilities

• Be self-identified as having lived experience with the process of recovery from a substance use
• Demonstrates knowledge about and basic competence in the following areas: harm reduction, motivational interviewing, strengths-based care, patient-centered care, trauma-informed care, and experience with evidence-based behavioral health interventions.
• Demonstrated experience working with substance use disorders and behavioral health for at least eight years.
• Demonstrated experience managing and/or mentoring while setting performance expectations for day-to-day activity of PRSNs.
• Proficiency in operating a computer, including logging into and maneuvering around multiple systems such as online timesheets (time and attendance).
  
• Demonstrates effective interpersonal, oral, and written communication
• Ability to organize effectively and collaborate effectively in a team
• Ability to prioritize competing and multiple
• Maintenance of reliable transportation; Travel 50% or more proof of valid California Driver's License, automobile insurance, and clean driving record.

Experience/EducationMINIMUM EDUCATION

• Bachelor's degree and/or equivalent training and administration work experience involving study, analysis, and/or evaluation leading to the development or improvement of administrative policies, procedures, practices, or programs.

MINIMUM EXPERIENCE

• Eight years of progressively responsible experience in office or administrative environment

Preferred Qualifications

Demonstrated experience working with substance use disorders and behavioral health for 15+ years.At least 500 hours of direct, supervised work experience and training with people experiencing substance use disorder(s).10+ years managing and/or mentoring while setting performance expectations for day-to-day activity of PRSNs.

ADDITIONAL APPLICANT INFORMATION

• Candidate must reside in California and live within a commutable distance from SDSU at time of hire.
• Job offer is contingent upon satisfactory clearance based on background check results (including a criminal record check).
• San Diego State University Research Foundation is an equal opportunity employer. Consistent with California law and federal civil rights laws, SDSU Research Foundation provides equal opportunity in employment without unlawful discrimination or preferential treatment based on race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin or any other categories protected by federal or state law.  
• Employment decisions are based on an individual's qualifications as they relate to the job under consideration. Our commitment to equal opportunity means ensuring that every employee has equal access to resources and support. 
• SDSU Research Foundation complies with Titles VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the California Equity in Higher Education Act, California's Proposition 209 (Art. I, Section 31 of the California Constitution), and other applicable state and federal anti-discrimination laws including grant or contract terms and conditions related to funded program activities. Further the SDSU Research Foundation maintains a Nondiscrimination Policy that prohibits discriminatory preferential treatment, segregation based on race or any other protected status, and all forms of unlawful discrimination, harassment, and retaliation in all programs, policies, and practices.  
• SDSU Research Foundation makes all employment decisions including, but not limited to, applicant screening, hiring, promotion, demotion, compensation, benefits, disciplinary actions, and terminations on the basis of merit.

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