Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist
What you'd do
This Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist position serves within the Mental Health service of the VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System (ECHCS) and is located at Aurora, CO. This position provides a full range of individualized vocational rehabilitation services to help Veterans with serious mental illness, physical impairments, or other significant barriers to secure and sustain competitive employment in the community.
Major duties
Major duties and responsibilities include but are not limited to: Performs vocational assessments/plans services related to strengths, needs, abilities, and goals of the Veteran. Assists Veterans with targeting job search activities and assists with job seeking. Identifies and addresses barriers for employment. Works directly with employers, community agencies, and other likely placement sources of employment. Documents all interactions, assessments, and plans within the electronic medical record system. Provides rehabilitation counseling and guidance which facilitates the Veteran's adjustment to the work environment. Operates government vehicles for transporting Veterans and conducting community based employment activities. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist/PD14661A 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 by the closing date of this announcement, 07/15/2026. 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-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the 07. 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 Requirements Education Undergraduate and Graduate Education: Major study -- vocational rehabilitation, vocational or educational counseling, or other fields related to the position. or Experience General Experience (for GS-5 positions): Experience that provided a knowledge of training practices, techniques, and requirements as they relate to vocational development or rehabilitation. Specialized Experience (for positions above GS-5): Examples of qualifying specialized experience 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. In addition to meeting one of the Basic Requirements you must meet one of the following: You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience at the GS-09 grade: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-07 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Performs vocational assessments/plans services related to strengths, needs, abilities, and goals of the Veteran. Assists Veterans with targeting job search activities and assists with job seeking. Identifies and addresses barriers for employment. Works directly with employers, community agencies, and other likely placement sources of employment. Documents all interactions, assessments, and plans within the electronic medical record system. Provides rehabilitation counseling and guidance which facilitates the Veteran's adjustment to the work environment. Operates government vehicles for transporting Veterans and conducting community based employment activities. OR, Education (Transcript Required): Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have a 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. OR, Combination (Transcript Required): Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond bachelor's level of education as described above to meet the total requirement. Preferred Experience: Vocational Rehabilitation Experience with mental health or substance use population. Knowledge of principles, concepts, and theorical concepts and practice of vocational rehabilitation as well as the administrative mechanisms appropriate to the assignment. Knowledge of job placement, job carving, job accommodation, job coaching and employer needs. Knowledge and skill to effectively communicate both verbally and in writing. Knowledge of mental illness and substance abuse and impact on vocational functioning. Knowledge and skill in identifying Veterans' strengths, interests, skills, and needs. Matching Veterans to jobs. Identifying and arranging long term support to help Veterans maintain their job. Basic Knowledge of program objectives of local, state, and federal agencies to insure that action is appropriate. Knowledge of the types and availability of training and employment resources for Veterans with disabilities. Making clear and convincing oral presentations and written reports to support conclusions and recommendations which are appropriate for the intended audience. Physical Requirements (Continues): Although the physical demands are generally minimal, the position may involve periods of heightened stress due to the nature of the Veteran population served and the emotional intensity of certain interactions. The incumbent must be able to manage multiple priorities and remain flexible in a fast-paced and variable work environments. 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/.
Before you apply
Federal applications are different: your resume should be 3–5 pages and mirror the language of this announcement. Read our federal resume guide first — it's the #1 reason qualified people get screened out.
Don't miss the next one.
Get an email the moment a similar federal job opens — postings can close in as little as 5 days.