Employment Specialist
What you'd do
The Employment Specialist position provides employment assistance to job-ready disabled Veterans within an assigned VARO. The incumbent will oversee the activities of job readiness, job seeking services, job development, and job placement that entails consideration of diverse state, regional and local employment laws, and regulations.
Major duties
Typical duties include, but are not limited to: Markets to employers based on vocational goals of the job-ready disabled Veterans. Markets and provides special employer incentives such as on-the-job training, on-paid work experience, special employer incentives, and available tax information. Coordinates employment readiness classes for Veterans ready to go to work but lacking important traits in employment readiness. Maintains and promotes a positive image of the VR&E program through active networking and ongoing contacts with employers. Offers direction to employers regarding reasonable accommodation and rehabilitation technology accommodations. Disseminates labor market information to assist counselors and Veterans with "informed choice." Provides Employment Services Performance Data for local office. Maintains and continually updates a database of job-ready disabled Veterans (incorporate Corporate WINRS tracking system). Assists Veterans with job networking, development, and placement. Develops partnerships with employers and other agencies to assist Veterans with employment services (e.g. - the Department of Labor, Small Business Administration, local and state agencies, and private sector businesses and employment services). Assists counselors with employment follow-up according to regulatory requirements. Coordinates efforts to develop job clubs, job labs, or job readiness resource rooms for use by Veterans in job readiness preparation and self-directed job search. Maintains records of employment activities through case notes in Corporate WINRS. Markets to and becomes initial "point of contact" for employers who need assistance with return-to-work cases of disabled Veterans whose job is affected by disability. 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 full performance level of this position is GS - 12. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00 am - 4:30 pm Compressed/Flexible: Available Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Employment Specialist GS-11: 11623-A, GS-12: 01623A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required Bargaining Unit: YES
What you need to qualify
To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by 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. For a GS-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS- 9 . For a GS-12 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS- 11. 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- 11 (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. MINIMUM QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS: You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: GS-11 Grade Level: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 level or higher. Specialized experience is defined as meeting all the following: Explaining legal provisions, regulations, and decisions to a variety of audiences; outlines the necessary documents for processing claims and appeals, assists in obtaining and completing these documents based on the submitted type of claim or appeal; and initiating inquiries to resolve errors, delays, or other problems in obtaining benefits. 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 is defined as experience working with individuals with disabilities and providing individuals with work experiences, internships, or volunteer experiences related to overall employment goal. The experience may have been gained in the federal, military, or private sector. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Employment assistance duties for state or federal vocational rehabilitation offices, Account management/liaison for staffing or employment firms in the public or private sector, Federal Human Resources experience in staffing, employee relations or reemployment assistance. OR Graduate Education: 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. OR Combination: A combination of specialized experience as described in A, and more than two years but less than three years of education as described in B. (To compute the percentage, divide your total months of qualifying experience by 12. Then divide your semester hours of graduate education beyond two years by 18. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. NON-QUALIFYING EXPERIENCE: Vocational rehabilitation experience obtained prior to completion of the requirements for the master's degree is not qualifying. If one year of work experience is credited for the Basic Requirement, that year cannot also be used for qualifying at the GS-11 level. GS-12 Grade Level: Specialized Experience: 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. Direct delivery of vocational rehabilitation services to adults with disabilities in rehabilitation programs, other than those in correctional facilities. Specialized experience is defined as experience involving coordination of federal, private, and public hiring authorities, working with Veterans with disabilities to access Veteran's employment goals and aligning them to the employment track that best meets their needs. The experience may have been gained in the federal, military, or private sector. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Human Resources experience in the Department of Veterans Affairs or related organization that involves staffing and/or employment law, Employment Specialist duties for private, public or government entities that involve coordinating targeted outreach at various career fairs, jobs clubs, and/or job labs. 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. 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: The work is primarily sedentary, although some slight physical effort may be required. 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/.
Before you apply
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