Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist
What you'd do
The Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist (VRS) position is located within the Veteran Readiness and Employment (VR&E) division. The VRS is responsible for the provision, supervision, and coordination of the rehabilitation services for Veterans or service members participating in various programs. The VRS is the coordinator of services and liaison between the service providers and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Major duties
Provide case management services including coordination of all rehabilitation services, employment services, documentation of progress and adjustment, and maintenance of case records according to VA regulations. Provide training and supervision to contract service providers to ensure that the services rendered are appropriate and in accordance with accepted professional standards. Provide coordination of all rehabilitation services such as financial decisions, adjust rehabilitation plans, and coordinate employment services. Implement minor adjustments to rehabilitation plans, if necessary, for the Veteran to meet the goals of the original plan. Research resources and funding available in the community for consumers. Provide comprehensive employment and post-employment services which include assessing employability and assisting in the development of an employment assistance plan. Responsible for the provision, supervision, and coordination of the rehabilitation services for Veterans or service members participating in the various programs. 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-09, GS-11. Work Schedule: Full Time, Monday-Friday 8:00am-4:30pm Compressed/Flexible: Available Telework: This position is eligible for situational (ad hoc) telework only. The selectee is required to report to the official duty station each scheduled workday. Telework may be approved only on a case-by-case basis with supervisory approval. Routine or recurring telework is not authorized for this position. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist; PD38707A 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:07/24/2026. TIME-IN-GRADE REQUIREMENT: As a current Federal, GS employee you must 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 GS-07 level. If you are a current VBA employee outside of the commuting area seeking reassignment or change to lower grade via this vacancy announcement, you must currently hold the GS-09 (or higher) and the promotion potential of your current position must be at least GS-11. The grade may have been in any occupation and 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. You must provide a copy of your most recent SF-50 that indicates proof of status (career, career-conditional, or excepted service), time-in-grade requirements have been met, and identifies your position title, series, grade, step, salary, tenure, and type of service. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate possession of time-in-grade requirements. In this instance, you must also submit your most recent Promotion or Within Grade Increase SF-50, or a Promotion or Within Grade Increase SF-50 that indicates the highest grade/step previously held. DO NOT submit Award SF-50s and/or General Adjustment SF-50s as they cannot be used to verify time-in-grade. NOTE: Applicants must meet both the Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR) and the Minimum Qualification Requirement as stated below. Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR): Education: Undergraduate and Graduate Education: Major study -- vocational rehabilitation, vocational or educational counseling, or other fields related to the position. OR Specialized Experience: 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. 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) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience is defined as knowledge or experience in rehabilitating, counseling, disability, therapy, health, employment, wellness, or human development theory and principles; experience in career development process and career development theory. OR Education Substitution: 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. Degree must demonstrate the competencies necessary to do the work. Examples of relevant areas of study include vocational rehabilitation, vocational or educational counseling, or other fields related to the position. OR 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: Some travel may be necessary on occasion for training, meetings, or customer interactions. 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/.
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