Clarification from the agency

This vacancy is ONLY open to current, permanent (career/career conditional) employees of the Veterans Benefits Administration and current/former VA employees who are Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) eligible. For purposes of this job announcement, Fiduciary Hub bargaining unit employees in the commuting area are considered facility employees.

Specific duties include:

• Serves as a first level supervisor for the VR&E personnel located at the Regional Office or out based facility, providing advice and guidance on unusual or unprecedented problems. The work supervised is vital to the processes through which VBA directly serves the public.
• Responsible for interviewing and recommending selection of employees to the VR&E Officer. Is also responsible for training and monitoring performance of employees within the unit. Prepares performance ratings, assist on preparing division reports, resolves disciplinary and performance problems, and assesses the ongoing training needs of the employees supervised at the out based locations.
• Reviewing and providing consultation and supervision regarding the most difficult cases, using expertise, training, and experience beyond the journeyman level of line VR&E Counselors. This also includes broad expertise of divisional operations to provide supervision and management of the Employment Coordinator and Program Specialist positions.
• Providing quality assurance, contributing to the development of reports, such as Strategic Oversight and Analysis Review (SOAR) quarterly reports, congressional and AVA inquiries and white papers. The SVRC is supervised and accountable to the VR&E officer, with consultation of the Assistant VR&E officer.
• Collecting data and preparing accurate reports and analysis as required by the VR&E officer, including systematic analysis of operations (SAO's) and reports on special projects. Identifies and recommends to the VR&E officer changes needed for improvement of operations or service and acts as directed. The incumbent prepares a budget for travel funds for employees under their supervision and monitors the use of travel funds.
• Providing technical support and supervision as needed for accomplishing the work of the unit. Analyzes, interprets, and managerially enforces the application of laws, regulations, and rules as they affect policies, procedures and methods of operations. Also performs administrative and personnel management functions relative to staff supervised as directed

Promotion Potential: None, this is the full performance level of the position.
Work Schedule: Full time, Monday through Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm
Compressed/Flexible: Not 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/PD#: Supervisory Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor PD414230
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized.
Financial Disclosure Report: Required. This position requires completion of a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report (OGE-450) under 5 C.F.R. § 2634.904(a). OGE Form 450 is used to assist agencies and employees to avoid conflicts between duties and financial interest. The selectee must submit the form before entering on duty and annually thereafter.

Conditions of employment

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
• Selectees are required to serve a one-year supervisory probationary period if not previously completed in a Federal position.
• 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

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement on .10/30/2026

BASIC REQUIREMENTS. To qualify for the VRC 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.

b. Internship or Experience Requirement. The required (1) supervised internship or (2) post-master's degree experience is described as follows:

• (1) 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 in vocational rehabilitation or a closely related professional field that typically has oversight for vocational rehabilitation programs.

OR

• (2) Experience: One-year post mater'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:

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.

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-13 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-12 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.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENT: You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:
GS-13 Grade Level:

• Specialized Experience: 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 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience is defined as experience in Veteran Readiness and Employment programs 1) a comprehension of independent living (IL) requirements; 2) experience with psychological and vocational testing principles; 3) experience with a broad range of vocational rehabilitation laws, regulations, rules, and policies in the realm of implementing adjudicative decisions and/or developing rehabilitation plans.
  

Volunteer Experience: 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.
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; when including part-time employment in your resume you must specify the average hours worked per week.
Physical Requirements: This position is primarily sedentary with some walking, standing, bending, and/or carrying lightweight items.

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.

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):

• Accountability
• Customer Service
• Decisiveness
• Flexibility
• Interpersonal Skills
• Problem Solving
• Resilience

• Conflict Management - Manages and resolves conflicts, grievances, confrontations, or disagreements in a constructive manner to minimize negative personal impact.
• Influencing/Negotiating - Persuades others to accept recommendations, cooperate, or change their behavior or opinion. Resolves points of difference by finding mutually acceptable solutions through compromise and agreement.
• Manages Resources - Selects, acquires, stores, and distributes resources such as materials, equipment, or money.
• Partnering - Develops networks and builds alliances. Collaborates across boundaries to build strategic relationships and achieve common goals.
• 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.

Supervisory Situational Judgement Test: Applicants will be required to complete a Supervisory Situational Judgment Test (SSJT) as part of the assessment process for this position. The SSJT evaluates judgment, decision-making, and leadership competencies associated with effective supervision in a Federal work environment. This is not a timed test, however, the assessment is expected to take approximately 45 minutes or less to complete. This assessment is required for all applicants. If you do not complete the assessment, it will result in an incomplete application and you will receive no further consideration.

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.