As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness & whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:
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.
To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 06/23/2026.
Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS-12 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-13 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-12. 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.
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 education as described below:
NOTE: Applicants must meet both the basic and the specialized experience requirements.
BASIC REQUIREMENT: To qualify for the SVRC position, candidates must meet the following basic requirements:
- Education. Successful completion of a master's degree (or higher) in rehabilitation counseling, rehabilitation services, clinical rehabilitation counseling, counseling psychology, mental health counseling, career counseling or social work from an accredited college or university.
AND
- Internship or Experience Requirement. The required (1) supervised internship or (2) post-master's degree experience is described as follows:
Supervised Internship: The education in paragraph 3a must have included a supervised internship in rehabilitation counseling or case management specialization. The internship must have been supervised by a professional invocational rehabilitation or a closely related professional field that typically has oversight for vocational rehabilitation programs.OR
(2) Experience: One-year post-master's degree experience in direct delivery of professional vocational rehabilitation services to individuals with disabilities.
c.
Grandfathering Provision. VRCs employed in VBA on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series and grade held, including certifications that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation. For employees who do not meet all the basic requirements in this standard but met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed, the following provisions apply:
- VRCs who are grandfathered into the GS-0101 occupational series may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance level of a career ladder or changed to a lower grade within the occupation or placed in a supervisory or managerial position.
- VRCs who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of this qualification standard may not be extended or reappointed on a temporary or permanent basis until they fully meet the basic requirements of this standard.
- If VRCs who are grandfathered under this provision leave the occupation, they lose protected status and must meet the full qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of re-entry to the occupation.
- Minimum Qualifications for this GS-0101-13 Supervisory Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor position: In addition to meeting the basic requirements, applicants must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-12 working with employment and vocational rehabilitation programs; possessing knowledge and expertise in the procedures for vocational and rehabilitation law; administering counsel in the areas of career development, job placement, psychology, rehabilitation and counseling; and providing individual and group training, orientation, consultation and guidance within specialization of rehabilitation counseling practice to develop, improve and maintain programming.
GS-13 SPECIALIED EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS:
One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-12). Specialized experience is defined as one (1) full year of performance of technical assignments affecting the entire field of VA's Veteran Readiness & Employment (VR&E) division. Your resume/application must support your response. To meet the specialized experience, your resume should reflect:
- Experience in conducting assessments of veteran's employability;
- Involvement in the development of appropriate vocational goals and subsequent objectives outlined in rehabilitation plans;
- Providing case management services to veterans while pursuing their rehabilitation plans (e.g. personal contact regarding achievement of vocational goals, referral for medical or ancillary services, and responding efficiently to veterans concerns);
- Experience in training, understanding, and clearly explaining to veterans, the benefits and services available through the VR&E program.
After you have met the minimum qualifications, you will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:
Quality Management: Knowledge of the principles, methods, and tools of quality assurance, quality control, and reliability used to ensure that a project, system, or product fulfills requirements and standards.
Leadership: Inspires, motivates and guides others toward goal accomplishment; coaches, mentors, and challenges subordinates; adapts leadership styles to a variety of situations; models high standards of honesty, integrity, trust, openness, and respect for the individual by applying these values to daily behaviors.
Planning and Evaluating: Organizes work, sets priorities, and determines resource requirements; determines short- or long-term goals and strategies to achieve them; coordinates with other organizations or parts of the organization to accomplish goals; monitors progress and evaluates outcomes.
Analysis and Problem Solving: Applies the process of discovery that involves the diagnosis of a problem or issue, identification and gathering of relevant information, formulation and evaluation of alternative solutions or courses of action, and selection or recommendation of the preferred solution or course of action.
Communications: Effectively expresses information to multiple audiences through clear, convincing oral and written communications; demonstrates logical thinking when describing facts and concepts, and shapes communications to meet the needs of a specific audience; actively listens to others and demonstrates understanding of their comments and/or questions.
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 work normally involves mental rather than physical exertion.
For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at
http://://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.
