Employment Specialist
What you'd do
The Employment Specialist provides employment assistance to job-ready disabled Veterans including overseeing the activities of job readiness, job-seeking services, job development, and job placement that entail consideration of employment laws and regulations. The incumbent develops employer partnerships to assist in the successful placement of Veterans into job vacancies developed with those employers or identified through networking with other resources such as state employment services.
Major duties
The incumbent will serve as a triage team member to help disabled veterans make an informed choice regarding the appropriate employment track that best meets their needs with the understanding that veterans can move between tracks. The employment coordinator will also coordinate and/or perform the evaluation/assessment of rapid access to employment - employment needs (Pre-employment Job Readiness Evaluation) including: resume preparation, interviewing assistance, career search activities, discussion of disability and related accommodations, assistive technology needs, labor market information, re-employment information, assistance, and/or referral and self-directed job search via networking and electronic databases. Specific duties include: Marketing to employers based on vocational goals of the job-ready disabled veterans. Marketing and provides special employer incentives such as on-the-job training, non-paid work experience, special employer incentives, and available tax information. Coordinating employment readiness classes for veterans ready to go to work but lacking important traits in employment readiness. Maintaining and promotes a positive image of the Vocational Rehabilitation & Education (VR&E) program through active networking and ongoing contacts with employers. Offering direction to employers regarding reasonable accommodation and rehabilitation technology accommodations. Disseminating labor market information to assist counselors and veterans with "informed choice." Provides Employment Services Performance Data for local office. Maintaining and continually updates a database of job-ready disabled veterans (incorporate Corporate WINRS tracking system). Assisting veterans with job networking, development, and placement. Developing 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). Assisting counselors with employment follow-up according to regulatory requirements. Coordinating 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. 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 grade progression for this position is GS-9, GS-11, GS-12. Duty Hours: 8:00am to 4:30 pm Compressed/Flexible: May be available as determined by the hiring office. Telework: May be available as determined by the hiring office. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Error! Filename not specified. Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required
What you need to qualify
To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 07/10/2026. 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-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07 level. For a GS-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09 level. For a GS-12 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-11 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. MINIMUM QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENT: You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: GS-09 Grade Level: Specialized Experience: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-07). Specialized experience is defined as experience recruiting candidates with disabilities for a hiring firm or organization; or experience providing employment assistance duties for a non-profit or community organization. OR Education Substitution: Master's or equivalent graduate degree (including LL.B. or J.D. if related) or two full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree and which demonstrates the competencies necessary to do the work. GS-11 Grade Level: Specialized Experience: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-09). 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 Education Substitution: Ph.D or equivalent doctoral degree or at least three full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M., if related. GS-12 Grade Level: Specialized Experience: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-11). 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 Veterans Service Organization that involves staffing and/or employment law; - Employment coordination duties for private, public or government entities that involve coordinating targeted outreach at various career fairs, jobs clubs, and/or job labs. There is no education substitution at the GS-12 grade level. 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 purpose of the contacts is to serve as an advocate for the employment of job-ready disabled veterans, influence potential employers to hire job-ready disabled veterans, assist qualified veterans in obtaining and retaining suitable employment, conduct work-site analysis to ensure work area is conducive to the. job-ready disabled veteran or encourage the employer to implement "reasonable accommodations", and assist case managers with the development of potential job alternative for job-ready disabled veterans. The employee may encounter resistance due to organizational conflict with other VR&E staff, competing resources, or employers who may have doubts about the value of hiring disabled veterans and about the Employment Coordinator as a workforce consultant. 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/. 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.
Before you apply
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