Vocational Development Specialist
What you'd do
This position is physically located at the Alaska VA Healthcare System/Mental Health Services. The incumbent in this position serves as the Medical Centers Community Employment Coordinator for Homeless Veterans.
Major duties
Duties include but are not limited to: Determine the areas of vocational interests, training needs and career development to determine what services the program participant will need to reach success to obtain suitable employment Analyze mental and physical disabilities or other barriers, in terms of the practical effects of such disabilities on motivations, adjustment to training and difficulty in employment placement Work collaboratively with Veteran's providers to ensure that the patient's needs are being met and minimize any possible negative consequences Provide ongoing supports such as assistance with problem solving, developing interpersonal work relationships, maintaining work performance and quality, and life management activities Utilize knowledge of long-term mental illness, serious mental illness, as well as traumatic and acquired brain injury and their and impact on vocational functioning Provide onsite accommodations or training, to include Job Coaching for the program participant Observe the Veteran at the placement site in accordance with national policy and obtain feedback on performance from the placement site supervisor. Assist Veteran with ameliorating any noted areas of concern Ensure that the program participant is aware of employer's expectations, and the participant has the skills and supports to meet those expectations. The VRS counsels and guides employee through difficult transition or rough spots of adjusting to the new position. Helps the employer understand the nature of the client's limitations while maintaining a positive impression of the client's capability to succeed Working knowledge of disabilities, employment barriers, and occupational information Able to negotiate any work site accommodations that may be needed Document all interactions with the program participant and is responsible to connect the participant with the appropriate resources to facilitate the participant ongoing employment in a community setting Provide a wide range of vocational rehabilitation services to individual Veterans and to coordinate and incorporate a variety of VA and non-VA community resources Conduct job placement/job carving activities Contact and work creatively with community employers, working knowledge of a broad range of occupations, ability to identify Veteran strengths, interests, skills and needs, ability to match Veterans to jobs, ability to identify and arrange long-term supports to help Veterans maintain employment Be "out in the community" to network with community employers, community agencies, and community businesses with the goal of developing professional relationships with these groups to assist program participants in obtaining and maintaining suitable community employment Consider and respond appropriately to the needs, feelings, and capabilities of others; adjusts approaches to suit different people and situations Shows understanding, friendliness, courtesy, tact, empathy, concern, and politeness to others; develops and maintains effective relationships with others; may include effectively dealing with individuals who are difficult, hostile, or distressed; relates well to people from varied backgrounds and different situations; is sensitive to cultural diversity, race, gender, disabilities, and other individual differences Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00am - 4:30pm Telework: This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Vocational Development Specialist/PD501960 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
What you need to qualify
To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement, 07/06/2026. 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 within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09. 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. Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR): An IOR is a basic requirement that must be met in order to qualify for the 1715 occupational series. All applicants, regardless of grade level must meet minimum education and/or experience requirements. The education must be accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education at the time the degree was obtained. Applicants must meet one of the following requirements: Specialized Experience: Qualifying specialized experience can 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. 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. 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: Successfully completed undergraduate or graduate education with a major study in vocational rehabilitation, vocational or educational counseling, or other fields related to the position. TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED. In addition to meeting the Individual Occupational Requirement, 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: 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. 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. 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 successfully completed a vocational rehabilitation, vocational or educational counseling, or other fields related to the position Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M. if related. This education was obtained in an accredited business, secretarial or technical school, junior college, college or university. If you are qualifying on education. TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED. 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 master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.B. or J.D., if related is creditable. TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED 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/.
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