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Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist

Department of Veterans Affairs
Veterans Health Administration
West Texas VA Health Care System
This job announcement has closed

Summary

The primary purpose of this position is to provide vocational rehabilitation, training, and placement for veterans within the Compensated Work Therapy (CWT) programs providing therapeutic vocational services through Transitional Work (TW), Supported Employment (SE), Community Based Employment
Services (CBES), Supported Education (SEd), Supported Self-Employment (SSE), and Vocational Assistance.

Overview

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Job canceled
Open & closing dates
10/30/2024 to 01/02/2025
Salary
$72,553 to - $94,317 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 11
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Big Spring, TX
1 vacancy
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—Ad/Hoc Telework may be authorized.
Travel Required
25% or less - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
None
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Financial disclosure
No
Bargaining unit status
Yes
Announcement number
CAZM-12595208-25-JRH
Control number
816684600

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Duties

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The Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist (VRS) is responsible for the implementation of the program goals of vocational rehabilitation, training, and placement for veterans who have serious behavioral illness, physical and substance abuse disorders. The VRS

The VRS:

  • Monitors the case findings of vocational rehabilitation candidates and develops and disseminates information on vocational rehabilitation resources to program staff and patients.
  • Solicits and develops employment opportunities for veterans with SMI, addiction and specific physical disorders through a wide array of employment search approaches and activities within the local community, industry, state, and federal agencies.
  • Oversees and places veterans assigned to various competitive employment positions and TW assignments through the Compensated Work Therapy Program.
  • Provides and assists in arranging suitable placement of more severely disabled, difficult to place veterans who may require more individualized treatment plans in vocational and academic training, community employment, and conducts follow-up and follow along services on these placements.
  • Provides job coaching, job accommodation and adaptation services to both veterans with psychosis and to those employers who employ these veterans either here at this Hospital or within the local community.
  • Provides vocational rehabilitation, including the assessment of vocational interests, aptitude and abilities, through the use of clinical tests, observations, interviews, and specialized vocational assessment equipment.
  • Provides and coordinates a variety of professional rehabilitation counseling and case management services. Assesses data received from medical and psychological reports, develops rehabilitation plans, and as appropriate, provides rehabilitation services.
  • Provides personal adjustment and problem-solving counseling. Determines the causes and extent of the adjustment problem and makes appropriate as clinically indicated.
  • Serves as case manager for veterans participating within the CWT program with the following responsibilities:
  • Conducts an initial assessment of the veteran's overall life situation and documents an initial individualized treatment/rehabilitation plan, revising it when necessary.
  • Applies a variety of professional counseling techniques to assist veterans in receiving, assimilating, and acting upon information obtained from medical and/or case records, tests, and interviews.
  • Establishes and maintains a therapeutic relationship.
  • Locates and makes referral(s) to appropriate treatment/rehabilitation resources within the
  • Medical Center and/or the community.
  • Coordinates programming and expedites services.
  • Serves as a liaison with the veteran and treatment/rehabilitation resources where indicated.
  • Confers with prospective employers and customers in developing contractual work opportunities.
  • Serves as a consultant to the interdisciplinary treatment team regarding veteran's problems in his/her area of specialized knowledge. Provides consultation on vocational rehabilitation for the interdisciplinary treatment team and other clinical staff.
  • Establishes and maintains a liaison between the Hospital and those organizations within the community which provides competitive employment opportunities for veterans under the initiative of the CWT program.
  • As a staff member of Vocational Rehabilitation Section under the Mental Health Service Line
  • Participates in policy making, goal setting, and treatment service planning processes of the Vocational Rehabilitation Section, Behavioral Health Service Line, VISN and VACO initiative for veterans with psychosis.
  • Provides psychological/rehabilitation services, including assessment and intervention, to the assigned area within the scope of his/her clinical privileges and special proficiencies, and determines when consultation for specialized psychological services is required.
  • Participates in quality assurance and improvement activities of the Vocational Rehabilitation
  • Section, Behavioral Health Service Line, Hospital, and the VISN.
  • Participates in professional peer review and individual case review of his/her own work and that of other vocational rehabilitation counseling staff.
Duties are continued in the education section of this announcement.


Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8 AM - 4:30 PM
Telework: VA supports the use of telework as a way to help attract and retain talented individuals in public service, increase worker productivity, and better prepare the agency to operate during emergencies. This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Ad/Hoc Telework may be authorized
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist/PD00809A
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
  • Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
  • You may be required to serve a probationary period
  • Subject to background/security investigation
  • Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process
  • Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP)
  • Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 01/02/2025.

Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09 level. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment.



You may qualify based on your specialized experience and/or graduate education as described below:

  • Specialized Experience: one year of specialized experience, equivalent to at least the GS-09 level in the federal service, that equipped you with the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to successfully perform the duties of this position and that is typically in and/or related to the position being filled. Specialized experience includes:
    • Work that required obtaining and applying occupational information for people with disabilities, knowledge of the interrelationships of the involved professional and specialist services, and skill in employing the methodology and techniques of counseling to motivate and encourage individuals served by the program.
    • Experience that demonstrated knowledge of the vocational rehabilitation problems characteristic of the disabled, including familiarity with available resources and skill in identifying, evaluating, and making effective use of such resources to serve individuals with disabilities; or of the disadvantaged, including knowledge of adjustment problems of the educationally or culturally disadvantaged, familiarity with available adult education and training resources, and ability to recognize problem areas needing special attention.
    • Experience in vocational guidance or teaching in a recognized vocational rehabilitation program or school, developmental or supervisory work in programs of vocational rehabilitation or training programs for the disadvantaged, or personnel or employment placement work that provided extensive knowledge of the training and adjustment requirements necessary to place persons having disabilities or social adjustment problems.
  • Graduate Education: a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in vocational rehabilitation, vocational or educational counseling, or another field related to this position. (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED)
  • Graduate Education: completed 3 full years (54 semester hours) of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in vocational rehabilitation, vocational or educational counseling, or another field related to this position. (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED)
  • Specialized Experience/Graduate Education Combination: possess a combination of graduate education and specialized experience as described above. Only graduate education in excess of 36 Semester Hours leading towards a PH.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in vocational rehabilitation, vocational or educational counseling, or another field related to this position may be counted towards qualification at the GS-11 level. (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED)
You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:
  • Oral Communication
  • Critical Thinking
  • Customer Service

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.

Physical Requirements: The physical demands of the work are generally minor. The work is primarily sedentary, although the stress involved in dealing continually with persons in emotional distress and who may be uncooperative and occasionally assaultive makes this work notably more demanding than most sedentary positions.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

Education

A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

NOTE: If your school has changed names, or is no longer in existence, you must provide this information in your application.

NOTE: If your school was accredited by an accrediting organization recognized by the US. Department of Education at the time of graduation but is no longer listed on the U.S. Department of Education website, you must provide documentation of accreditation with your application packet.

Duties Continued:

  • Serves on or chairs task groups or administrative committees of the Vocational Rehabilitation Section, Behavioral Health Service Line, Hospital, and the VISN at the direction or approval of the Behavioral Health Service Line Manager.
  • Participates in the following:
  • Provides educational experiences including in-service education for staff, trainees, and other disciplines.
  • Designs, conducts, and reports the results of research relevant to Vocational Rehabilitation as a body of knowledge and to contribute to the effective delivery of high-quality services.
  • Designs and implements the evaluation of treatment efforts and programs.
  • Serves on health care delivery programs and support services in the hospital.
  • Consults with or provides vocational services to treatment programs or services outside of his/her primary duty assignment.

Additional information

Receiving Service Credit or Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process.

If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.

Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.

Narrative responses are not required at this time. If you are referred for consideration, you may be asked to submit additional job related information, which may include, but not limited to; responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities; completion of a work sample, and/or contact for an interview. Your resume and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment.

The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.

For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the OHRM Status Candidates and Other Candidate Definitions document.

Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the position.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.

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