This position is located at the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center (RHJVAMC), within the Mental Health Service Line. The incumbent is assigned vocational rehabilitation duties throughout the hospital, clinics, and with the community.
To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 01/02/2026. 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-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. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience: You 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. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: 1) 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. 2) 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. 3) 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. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have possess two (2) full academic years of progressively higher level graduate education or a Masters' or equivalent graduate degree with a major study in areas such as: vocational rehabilitation, vocational or educational counseling, or other field directly related to vocational rehabilitation. (NOTE: A transcript or course listing must be submitted if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education). OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond the amount required for the next lower grade level is qualifying. (NOTE: A transcript or course listing must be submitted if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education). 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. 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. Physical Requirements: The physical demands of this position involve primarily walking, sitting, talking, driving, use of the telephone, etc. Strenuous physical activity is not required although the incumbent is expected to withstand pressure and stress as part of their day-to-day activities. There is ongoing exposure to individuals having psychiatric and physical illness and disabilities. These include violent or aggressive behavior and chronic psychiatric and medical problems. Light lifting, under 15 pounds, Light carrying, under 15 pounds, Hearing (aid permitted). 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/.
Major duties include but are not limited to: Provides therapeutic services to Veterans whose employability or job adjustment is impaired by severe physical, mental, emotional or other disability, or by lack of basic education or job skills. Determines the vocational goals and objectives of the Veteran based on referral from a professional staff member or by interviewing the Veteran. Determinations require analysis of mental and physical disabilities or other handicaps, in terms of the practical effects of such handicaps on motivations, adjustment to training, and difficulty in employment placement. Determines the areas of vocational interests, and decides what services such as job seeking skills training, resume development, or interview skills training the Veteran may require to successfully obtain suitable employment or providing exploratory training programs to determine the individual's work capacity. Responsible for interviewing potential program participants utilizing the Vocational Assessment Profiles (VAP). VRSs for the TW, CBES, and SE programs will utilize motivational interviewing techniques to ensure the highest level of services. Responsible for utilizing the practices of the Evidence Based Models, such as measured base care (MBC), to provide individualized job finding and job retention services to patients with significant barriers to employment. Counsels and guides Veterans through difficult transition in the adjustment to employment. Coordinates with various resources to locate a training facility in the community with strong remedial training resources or, if more suitable to the particular need, arrange for individual tutoring. Responsible for maintaining an effective model for integrated community/system based vocational rehabilitation services. Utilizes gathered information to assist the program participant in identifying occupational areas in which they would like to target their job search activities towards. Work Schedule: Full-Time, Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm. Work Schedule is subject to change based on agency need. Compressed/Flexible: Not Authorized Telework: This position may be authorized for telework. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist/PD10215A