Clarification from the agency

This vacancy is open to Department of Veterans Affairs employees and those covered by the indicated hiring paths that have a valid status hiring eligibility. Status Candidates (this includes current or former Federal employees with career or career-conditional tenure in the competitive service; Former Overseas Employees, CTAP/ICTAP, VRA, VEOA, 30% or More Disabled Veterans, Schedule A, Military Spouses, Americorps, Peace Corps, Vista and Interchange Agreement)

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Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors (VRCs) provide and coordinate a wide range of rehabilitation, counseling, and case management services to disabled veterans and other eligible individuals. The purpose, objectives, services, and outcomes are developed by the VRC during the evaluation. The program's primary focus will be on helping the Veteran find work and set goals and objectives to help them become more independent in their daily lives.

Duties are divided between counseling duties and case management which include the following, but are not limited to:

• Performs initial rehabilitation evaluations, entitlement assessments, rehabilitation planning, problem-solving and adjustment counseling, case management, including the coordination of all rehabilitation services, case documentation, employment services, and, as necessary, the administration and interpretation of vocation testing.
• Provides services for employer consultation, employment development and placement, career counseling, and vocational planning and assessment.
• Combines data from diagnostic tests and medical records to give a comprehensive picture of strengths, weaknesses, capabilities, and interests to help patients find a suitable employment or independent living objective.
• Partners with Vet Centers, career centers, local Disabled Veterans' Outreach Program, Specialists, Local Veterans' Employment Representatives, VA employment programs, and others to provide job search and placement services.
• Provides information and assistance with the Veteran Readiness and Employment (VR&E) program through individual and group therapy sessions.
• Conducts counseling using a variety of approaches, including tele-counseling, depending on the needs of the Veteran.
• Partners with administrators at schools, Vet Centers, military bases, and federal, state, and local agencies to determine the individual needs of service members and Veterans and to provide the essential assistance.

Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level. The grade progression for this position is: GS-09/11/12.

Work Schedule: Full time, Monday through Friday
Compressed/Flexible Schedule: Available
Telework: This position is eligible for situational (ad hoc) telework only. The selectee is required to report to the official duty station each scheduled workday. Telework may be approved only on a case-by-case basis with supervisory approval. Routine or recurring telework is not authorized for this position.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position
Position Description Title/PD#: Vocational Rehab Counselor; 38544A, 38543A, 38542A
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Required
Bargaining Unit: No

Conditions of employment

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be serving in a position in Schedule Policy/Career of the excepted service. You will obtain competitive status after two years of service in this position, if applicable. Your employment in this position will be at-will. Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) appeals of adverse actions concerning performance, discipline, and other matters arising under 5 U.S.C. Chapters 23, 43, and 75 will not be available to an individual serving in this position. Prohibitions on prohibited personnel practices will be enforced by the Office of General Counsel and not the Office of Special Counsel.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary 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, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Additional Conditions of Employment are as follows:

• 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 or trial period
• 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 I-9 Acceptable Documents.
• Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.

Qualifications

1. TIME-IN-GRADE REQUIREMENT: As a current Federal, GS employee you must meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

• For a GS-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07 level.
• For a GS-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09 level.
• For a GS-12 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-11 level.
• If you are a current VBA employee requesting a reassignment or change to lower grade via this vacancy announcement, you must currently hold the GS-09 (or higher) and the promotion potential of your current position must be at least 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. 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.

2. BASIC REQUIREMENTS: To be eligible for this position, candidates must meet the following basic requirements:

a. 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

b. Internship or Experience Requirement: The required supervised internship or post-master's degree experience is described as follows:

1. Supervised Internship: The education in the Basic Requirements above must have included a supervised internship in rehabilitation counseling or case management specialization. The internship must have been supervised by a professional in vocational 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, July 28, 2023, 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:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.

Reference: Additional information on the qualification requirements for this position can be located on the OCHCO VA Qualifications Standards website found here.

3. SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS: In addition to the time-in-grade and education/internship requirements, you must also meet the following grade-specific qualification requirements. Creditable experience must have been obtained post-graduate and be directly related to the duties to be performed to qualify to work as a professional VRC.

NOTE: If work experience is credited for the basic requirement, that experience cannot also be used for qualifying at the GS-11 or GS-12 levels.

GS-09 Grade Level: None above the basic requirements listed above.

GS-11 Grade Level: In addition to meeting the Basic Requirements stated above, applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-09 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization.

• Specialized Experience: Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: working with vocational rehabilitation service programs developing individualized written rehabilitation plans, developing individualized employment plans, counseling adult clients with emotional and physical disabilities, administering and interpreting vocational testing, coordinating rehabilitation services for adults with disabilities to prepare them for suitable work, performing initial evaluations and entitlement determinations.

OR

• Education Substitution: In addition to meeting the Basic Requirements, successful completion of 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education or a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in rehabilitation counseling or counseling psychology.

GS-12 Grade Level: In addition to meeting the Basic Requirements stated above, applicants 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.

• Specialized Experience: Examples of specialized experience would typically include but are not limited to; the ability to manage a large case load of complex cases including clients with severe injuries. Extensive experience with specialized adaptive technology and with assessing the independent living needs of individuals with disabilities. Skills as providing expert vocational testimony and/or served as an Individual Vocational Evaluator appointed at the State or Federal level.

• Education cannot be used to qualify for the GS-12.

Combining Education & Experience: If you do not fully meet the length of experience and education described for a specific grade level (e.g., have six months of experience and some coursework but not a degree), the two can be combined to total 100% of the requirement. Click here for more information.

Full vs. Part-Time Employment: Full-time employment is considered to be at least 35 hours per week. Part-time experience will be credited on a pro-rated basis. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.

Physical Requirements: The position is primarily in an office setting. Some travel may be necessary on occasion for training, meetings, or customer interactions.

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/.

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. You will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position.

You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):

• Attention to Detail
• Customer Service
• Flexibility
• Influencing/Negotiating
• Integrity/Honesty
• Interpersonal Skills
• Learning
• Reading Comprehension
• Self-Management
• Stress Tolerance
• Teamwork

Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on an assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.

To preview the application questionnaire, click the following link:https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12998031

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 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.