Clarification from the agency

Special authorities include: Former overseas employees and foreign service employees. Clarification for these authorities is provided in the questionnaire. First AOC (Area of Consideration) is Facility employees; Second AOC is VA Agency; Third AOC are all other eligible applicants.

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The VRS Chief is responsible for the organization, budgeting, planning, development, and overall management of the Vocational Rehabilitation Service (VRS), including Compensated Work Therapy (CWT), Supported Employment (SE), Transitional Work Experience (TVVE}, Incentive Therapy, and Vocational Assistance, consistent with the VA's Uniform Mental Health Services Handbook 1160.01, VHA Handbook 1162.02, and VHA Handbook 1162.03. The incumbent is responsible for the daily operation of VRS programs and supervision of its employees, including ensuring compliance with various accreditation organizations', such as CARF and Joint Commission, standards. Major duties include but is not limited to:

Program Development and Management:

• Ensures VRS employees provide therapeutic psychosocial rehabilitative and health maintenance services to bring each Veteran to an optimal level of functional work capacity, independence, and health.
• Directs employees in providing the best evidence-based practices that individualize services, address barriers to employment, and implement solutions for successful outcomes.
• Identifies and integrates internal and external issues affecting the immediate organization, such as those involving technical and administrative factors.
• Applies a wide range of qualitative and quantitative methods to evaluate and improve program access, effectiveness, efficiency, and consumer satisfaction.
• Maintains accounting controls, billings, payroll, pay records, and Fund Control Points specific to VRS Program.
• Maintains program and administrative reference materials, project files, and relevant background documents and makes available policies, procedures, and written instructions.

Staff Supervision:

• Supervises a team of employees providing guidance and technical direction necessary for accomplishing the work of the Vocational Rehabilitation Service.
• Coaches the team in the selection and application of appropriate problem-solving methods and techniques, provides advice on work methods, practices, and procedures, and assists the team and individual members in identifying the parameters of a viable solution.
• Identifies, distributes, and balances workload and tasks among employees in accordance with established workflow, skill level, and occupational specialization.
• Trains or arranges for the training of team members in methods and techniques of team building and working in teams to accomplish tasks or projects, and provides or arranges for specific administrative or technical training necessary for accomplishment of individual and team tasks.
• Acts as an approving official for time and leave issues for VRS groups, and for other work groups as needed and assigned.

Community Contacts:

• Initiates and follows up on labor cost studies on both an hourly and piecework basis to assure compliance with present minimum wage laws.
• Conducts internal and external marketing, developing and maintaining relationships with various stakeholders to strengthen opportunities and outcomes.
• Maintains awareness of community employment resources and fosters community contacts.
• Maintains day-to-day contact with potential employers and supervises staff to ensure they are maintaining lists of employment leads for Veterans.

Work Schedule: Full Time, Monday - Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm PST
Telework: Not authorized.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Supervisory Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist/PD902520
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized.
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not approved.
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized.

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
• Subject to background/security investigation
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP)

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your probationary period or trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet Time-In-Grade and Specialized Experience requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement, 12/18/2025.

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 within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-12 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-11. 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 experience and/or education as described below:

Individual Occupational Requirements: The 1715 series requires specific education or experience to be met in order to be appointed into a position of this series. The Individual Occupational Requirement as set by Office of Personnel Management (OPM) for this occupation and grade level include:

• Education: Undergraduate and Graduate Education with a major study -- vocational rehabilitation, vocational or educational counseling, or other fields related to the position. OR,
• Experience: Experience that provided a knowledge of training practices, techniques, and requirements as they relate to vocational development or rehabilitation. Examples of qualifying experience include:
  • 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.

In addition to meeting the Individual Occupational Requirements above, applicants must also meet the Specialized Experience as listed below:

• Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade, GS-11, in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Assisting with the development, implementation, and evaluation of vocational rehabilitation services; assisting with the management of an administrative component of a health care program; analyzing and evaluating data to make recommendations regarding the efficiency and effectiveness of a program; providing training on vocational rehabilitation concepts and principles; and performing budget activities. NOTE: 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.
• Education: There is no educational substitution at the GS-12

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 this position involve active listening, reading, observing and evaluating verbal and nonverbal behavior, walking, speaking, writing reports, writing policies and procedures, writing clinical notes, using office equipment such as computers, telephones, fax machines, and photocopy machines. Lifting and transporting goods and products for CWT projects/placements and direct patient care are required.

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/.

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.

Resume Reminder - Your resume must include the following information for each job listed:

• Job title
• Duties (be as detailed as possible)
• Month & year start/end dates (e.g. June 2007 to April 2008)
• Full-time or part-time status (include hours worked per week)
• Salary/Rank etc.
• Series and Grade, if applicable, for all Federal positions you have held
• References, current or recent supervisor

Do not include the following types of information in your resume:

• Classified or Government sensitive information
• Social Security Number (SSN)
• Photos of yourself
• Personal information, such as age, gender, religious affiliation, etc.

Please be aware that your answers will be verified against information provided on your resume. Be sure that your resume clearly supports your responses to all of the questions by addressing your work experience in detail. The experience stated in your resume must support your assessment responses.

Recommended: Even though we do not require a specific resume format, your resume must be clear so that we are able to fully evaluate your qualifications. To ensure you receive appropriate consideration, please list the duties you performed under each individual job title. If we are unable to match your experiences with the positions held, you may lose consideration for this vacancy. We cannot make assumptions regarding your qualifications.

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.