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Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist

Department of Veterans Affairs
Veterans Health Administration
Coatesville VA Medical Center

Summary

The Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist is assigned to the Housing and Urban Development VA Supported Housing (HUD-V ASH) program at the Coatesville VA Medical Center, including outpatient clinics. You will be responsible for recruiting, interviewing, completing vocational assessments, and assisting Veterans with severe disabilities and employment barriers in work hardening, work evaluation, finding, and retaining competitive employment.

Overview

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Accepting applications
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Work site options
Telework eligible
No
Remote job
No
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Salary
$68,013 - $106,982 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 9 - 11
Promotion potential
11
Pay scale and grade determines the salary of the job.
Work schedule
Full-time
Travel Required
50% or less - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Appointment type
Permanent
Occupations and job series
Supervisory status
No
Federal service type
This job is in the Competitive Service
Represented by a union
Yes
Drug test
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Jobs require a background check and some require a security clearance. The type depends on the job.
Background check type
Financial disclosure required
No
Some jobs require financial disclosure to identify conflicts of interests.
Announcement number
CBSZ-13077723-26-KH
Control number
886785900

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Duties

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The Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist will provide and coordinate a wide range of vocational rehabilitation and case management services to assigned veterans, whose employability or work adjustment is impaired by a physical, mental, emotional or other disability, or by a lack of basic education and job skills. Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

  • Assesses Veterans' vocational needs through interviews, referrals, and evaluations to develop individualized vocational goals and objectives.
  • Analyzes the impact of mental and physical disabilities on a veteran's motivation, training adjustment, and employment potential.
  • Facilitates access to training programs and coordinates with resources to identify, evaluate, and select appropriate training facilities.
  • Provides advanced rehabilitation counseling to veterans with severe and multiple disabilities, including traumatic brain injury and psychiatric conditions.
  • Develops individualized, mutually acceptable rehabilitation service plans tailored to complex and non-standard vocational needs.
  • Builds and maintains professional relationships with community businesses, service providers, and vocational/educational institutions.
  • Refers eligible participants to appropriate funding sources, including Chapter 31, Chapter 34, state vocational rehabilitation divisions, or grant/scholarship programs.
  • Educates employers and educators on reasonable accommodations and the value of hiring or training veterans with disabilities.
  • Provides job placement and job-carving services, including resume assistance, application support, and interview preparation.
  • Maintains ongoing contact with employers and community placement resources to identify job and small business opportunities.
  • Collaborates with an interdisciplinary team to support participants throughout the job search and placement process.
  • Provides continuity of care and job retention support, including problem-solving and guidance through workplace transitions.
  • Helps employers understand participant limitations while promoting a positive perception of the veteran's capabilities.

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.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday; 8:00 am - 4:30 pm
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist/PD02564
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
  • To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job.
  • Physical Requirements: The work is primarily sedentary, although some slight physical effort may be required. A pre-placement physical examination is not required.
  • 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 identification 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)
  • A current, valid state-issued Driver's License is required for this position.
As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may 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, 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 all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/14/2026.

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-9 position, you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-7. For a GS-11 position, you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-9. 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.

For the GS-9 grade, you may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:

  • Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience that provided a knowledge of training practices, techniques, and requirements as they relate to vocational development or rehabilitation. To be creditable, experience must have been at the GS-7 grade level in Federal service. Examples of qualifying specialized 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. This experience must be detailed in your resume to receive credit. OR,
  • Education: A Master's or equivalent graduate degree, or 2 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree, or an LL.B or J.D. with a major study in vocational rehabilitation, vocational or educational counseling, or other fields related to the position. Transcripts required. OR,
  • Combination: An equivalent combination of specialized experience and higher-level graduate education as described that demonstrates your ability to perform the duties of this position. Transcripts required, and experience must be detailed in your resume to receive credit.
For the GS-11 grade, you may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:
  • Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience that provided a knowledge of training practices, techniques, and requirements as they relate to vocational development or rehabilitation. To be creditable, experience must have been at the GS-9 grade level in Federal service. Examples of qualifying specialized experience include: 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. This experience must be detailed in your resume to receive credit. OR,
  • Education: A Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree, or an LL.M. with a major study in vocational rehabilitation, vocational or educational counseling, or other fields related to the position. Transcripts required. OR,
  • Combination: An equivalent combination of specialized experience and higher-level graduate education as described that demonstrates your ability to perform the duties of this position. Transcripts required, and experience must be detailed in your resume to receive credit.

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/.

Additional information

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.

Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments.

Receiving Service Credit for 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. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. 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.

The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well-qualified: applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the required competencies of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

How you will be evaluated

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

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 for this position:

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

Your experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hours worked per week. 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. IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on the online assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.

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.

During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.

Special Employment Consideration: VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply, including those eligible for hiring under 5 CFR 213.3102(u), Schedule A, Appointment of persons with disabilities [i.e., intellectual disabilities, severe physical disabilities, or psychiatric disabilities], and/or Disabled veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more. Contact the Agency Contact for information on how to apply under this appointment authority via the Selective Placement Coordinator.

Veterans Health Administration

OUR MISSION: To fulfill President Lincoln's promise "To care for those who have served in our nation's military and for their families, caregivers, and survivors" - by serving and honoring the men and women who are America's Veterans. How would you like to become a part of a team providing compassionate whole health care to Veterans?

Coatesville VA Medical Center is a 42-building campus-style facility which sits on 128 acres and celebrated its 95th anniversary in November 2025. There are 221 inpatient and residential operating beds, and the medical center serves as a VA specialty referral facility for inpatient and residential mental health programs. In terms of inpatient beds, there are psychiatry, and community living center (24-hour nursing care). Additional information can be found on our internet site VA Coatesville Health Care | Veterans Affairs.

Agency contact information

Kevin Hicks
Phone
904-219-6715
Email
Kevin.Hicks@va.gov
Address
Coatesville VA Medical Center
1400 Black Horse Hill Road
Coatesville, PA 19320
US

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