Peer Guide

About North-Star Care

NorthStar Care (NSC) is a startup founded in 2020 focused on providing comprehensive, next generation, virtual treatment to patients suffering from Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD). The company uses cutting edge genetic and diagnostic testing to create personalized treatment plan for every patient. All patient appointments are performed via telehealth and care coordination is orchestrated seamlessly using North-Star Care’s mobile app. Peer support sessions are performed from the comfort of the patient’s home using virtual reality for a 100% anonymous experience.

NSC is a US-based, 100% remote company that welcomes and encourages diversity of all kinds. NSC is committed to recruiting; training and supporting staff who identify as Black, Indigenous and People of Color; bicultural/bilingual Spanish. As a company, we are committed to undoing systems of oppression and the harms they have caused. We actively work toward building an anti-racist environment and a sense of belonging.

To learn more about North-Star, visit https://www.northstarcare.com.

Job Overview

The Peer Guide serves as a compassionate, patient-centered support specialist within NorthStar’s multidisciplinary Care Team. Drawing on personal lived experience with Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) and Substance Use Disorder (SUD), the Peer Guide walks alongside patients as they navigate their own path of healing and transformation. This role embodies NorthStar’s core belief that healing happens in relationship, and that every individual is the expert of their own recovery journey. 

The Peer Guide provides both individual and group support through NorthStar’s virtual engagement platforms, including telehealth and virtual reality (VR), ensuring a trauma-informed, harm reduction-oriented presence throughout every interaction.  

Organizational Context 

NorthStar is a 100% remote behavioral health organization founded in 2020, providing next-generation virtual treatment to adults with Alcohol Use Disorder and Substance Use Disorder and co-occurring conditions. NSC integrates pharmacogenomic testing, remote biometric monitoring, virtual reality therapy, and AI-assisted care coordination to deliver personalized, evidence-informed treatment at scale. 

NorthStar is deeply committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and actively recruits, supports, and develops staff who identify as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, and/or who are bicultural or bilingual in Spanish. We are an anti-racist organization dedicated to dismantling systems of oppression in behavioral health care. 

Essential Responsibilities 

The following responsibilities reflect the core functions of the Peer Guide role. Additional duties may be assigned consistent with organizational needs for peer support services. 

Direct Peer Support Services 

• Engage patients in a strengths-based, trauma-informed manner, affirming each person as the expert of their own healing and recovery goals. 

• Provide individual peer support via telephone, video conferencing, and Virtual Reality (VR) platforms, connecting with patients at least weekly during initial treatment phases. 

• Facilitate and co-facilitate virtual peer support groups and recovery-focused educational sessions, including VR-based group programming. 

• Share personal lived experience with AUD and SUD authentically and appropriately to motivate, encourage, and reduce stigma for patients. 

• Support patients in identifying and pursuing personal recovery goals, building on individual strengths and resiliency. 

• Assist patients with community networking, resource navigation, and bridging to community supports and services. 

• Advocate with and on behalf of patients to ensure their voices are heard and their rights are upheld throughout the course of care. 

Care Team Collaboration 

• Function as an active member of NorthStar’s four-person interdisciplinary Care Team, participating in care coordination, team huddles, and collaborative treatment planning. 

• Communicate patient needs, observations, and concerns to the clinical team in a timely, professional manner, maintaining appropriate boundaries and confidentiality. 

• Align all peer support activities with the patient’s identified treatment plan, as developed and updated by the clinical team. 

• Contribute to the organization’s quality improvement efforts by providing input on peer support service design, delivery, and outcomes. 

Organizational Engagement 

• Use your lived experience voice to inform NS’s ongoing efforts to improve care quality and reduce systemic harm in behavioral health treatment. 

• Participate in mandatory orientation and ongoing training programs, including training on peer support principles, HIPAA and 42 CFR Part 2 confidentiality, trauma-informed care, harm reduction, and NorthStar’s clinical technology platforms. 

• Attend and contribute to organizational meetings, staff development activities, and peer workforce engagement initiatives. 

• Maintain a flexible schedule including availability for evening, weekend, and holiday coverage as operationally required. 

Documentation and Compliance 

• Complete timely and accurate documentation of peer support contacts, group sessions, and patient interactions in accordance with NorthStar’s Clinical Documentation Policy. 

• Maintain strict confidentiality of patient information in compliance with HIPAA, 42 CFR Part 2 (SUD-specific confidentiality protections), and applicable state laws. 

• Adhere to NorthStar’s Code of Conduct, Ethics and Corporate Compliance Policy, and peer-specific ethical boundaries as outlined in organizational policy. 

• Report concerns related to patient safety, critical incidents, or compliance issues through established reporting channels. 

Requirements

• Lived Experience: Personal lived experience with Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) and/or Substance Use Disorder diagnosis and/or treatment. This is a non-negotiable foundational requirement of the Peer Guide role. 

• Commitment to Harm Reduction: Demonstrated support for a harm reduction philosophy, including an all-paths-to-recovery approach, and respect for patient autonomy and self-determination. 

• Communication Skills: Strong verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to engage empathetically and effectively in a remote environment. 

• Technology Proficiency: Demonstrated comfort with or strong interest in virtual engagement tools, including video conferencing platforms, mobile applications, and virtual reality technologies. 

• Reliability and Flexibility: Ability to maintain a flexible schedule, including evenings, weekends, and holidays, and to respond consistently to patient engagement expectations. 

Preferred 

• Certification as a Peer Specialist, Recovery Coach, or equivalent credential recognized at the state or national level (e.g., Certified Peer Specialist, CCAR Recovery Coach). 

• Formal training or coursework in peer support principles including mutuality, self-determination, healing in relationship, and recovery-oriented systems of care 

• Lived experience as a Veteran, or experience providing peer support to Veterans or military-affiliated individuals. 

• Bilingual proficiency in Spanish and English. 

• Experience in a remote, telehealth, or technology-forward healthcare setting. 

Background Check 

• All offers of employment are contingent upon successful completion of a background check in accordance with NorthStar’s Staff Background Checks and Exclusion Checks Policy and applicable state requirements. A criminal record (CORI) does not automatically disqualify candidates from consideration for this role. NS evaluates criminal history on an individualized, job-related basis.

• Working Conditions 

• Environment: 100% remote; employees must maintain a private, professional workspace suitable for confidential patient interaction via telehealth and virtual reality platforms. 

• Schedule: Full-time (40 hours/week). Schedules include evening and weekend hours. Specific schedules are determined in coordination with the CSO. 

• Technology Requirements: Reliable high-speed internet connection, webcam-equipped computer, and ability to operate VR hardware (training provided). NS provides relevant software access. 

• Physical Demands: Primarily sedentary work performed at a computer workstation. May involve extended periods of screen use. 

Benefits

• Paid Time Off (Vacation, Sick Leave, and Public Holidays) 

• Training and Professional Development 

• Work From Home 

• Employee Assistance Program (EAP) — see HR for current program details 

• Additional benefits as outlined in the NorthStar Care Employee Handbook