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Summary The Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor (VRC) serves in the VBA Regional Office, Out-based office locations, VetSuccess On Campus school sites, or Integrated Disability Evaluation System military installation. VRCs provide and coordinate a wide range of rehabilitation counseling & case management services to Veterans with disabilities & other eligible individuals. Responsibilities Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors (VRCs) provide and coordinate a wide range of rehabilitation, counseling, and case management services to disabled veterans and other eligible individuals. The purpose, objectives, services, and outcomes are developed by the VRC during the evaluation. The program's primary focus will be on helping the veteran find work and set goals and objectives to help them become more independent in their daily lives. The duties of this position include but are not limited to: Performs initial rehabilitation evaluations, entitlement assessments, rehabilitation planning, problem-solving and adjustment counseling, case management, including the coordination of all rehabilitation services, case documentation, employment services, and, as necessary, the administration and interpretation of vocation testing. Provides services for employer consultation, employment development and placement, career counseling, and vocational planning and assessment. Combines data from diagnostic tests and medical records to give a comprehensive picture of strengths, weaknesses, capabilities, and interests to help patients find a suitable employment or independent living objective. Partners with Vet Centers, career centers, local Disabled Veterans' Outreach Program, Specialists, Local Veterans' Employment Representatives, VA employment programs, and others to provide job search and placement services. Provides information and assistance with the VR&E program through individual and group therapy sessions. Conducts counseling using a variety of approaches, including Tele- counseling, depending on the needs of the Veteran. Partners with administrators at schools, Vet Centers, military bases, and federal, state, and local agencies to determine the individual needs of service members and veterans and to provide the essential assistance. 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. Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm Compressed/Flexible: May be available per local agency guidelines Telework: Yes, per Agency guidelines. This is not a remote position. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor, 38542A, 38543A, 38544A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 07/12/2024. 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 GS-07. For a GS-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09. For a GS-12 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-11. 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. 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. NOTE: All current or former Federal employees must provide a copy of their SF-50 (you may need to submit more than one), "Notice of Personnel Action" that indicates proof of status and time-in-grade eligibility. The SF-50 must include your position, title, series, grade, step, tenure (1 or 2), and type of service (Competitive or Excepted). You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: NOTE: Applicants must meet both the BASIC and the GRADE requirements. BASIC REQUIREMENT - To qualify for the VRC position, candidates must meet the following basic requirements: A. Education. Successful completion of a master's degree (or higher) in rehabilitation counseling, rehabilitation services, clinical rehabilitation counseling, counseling psychology, mental health counseling, career counseling or social work from an accredited college or university. AND, B. Internship or Experience Requirement. The required (1) supervised internship or (2) post-master's degree experience is described as follows: (1) Supervised Internship: The education in paragraph 3a must have included a supervised internship in rehabilitation counseling or case management specialization. The internship must have been supervised by a professional in vocational rehabilitation or a closely related professional field that typically has oversight for vocational rehabilitation programs. OR, (2) Experience: One-year post-master's degree experience in direct delivery of professional vocational rehabilitation services to individuals with disabilities. --OR-- C. Grandfathering Provision. VRCs employed in VBA on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series and grade held, including certifications that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation. For employees who do not meet all the basic requirements in this standard but met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed, the following provisions apply: (1) VRCs who are grandfathered into the GS-0101 occupational series may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance level of a career ladder or changed to a lower grade within the occupation or placed in a supervisory or managerial position. (2) VRCs who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of this qualification standard may not be extended or reappointed on a temporary or permanent basis until they fully meet the basic requirements of this standard. II-F2-2 July 28, 2023 VA HANDBOOK 5005/157 PART II APPENDIX F2 (3) If VRCs who are grandfathered under this provision leave the occupation, they lose protected status and must meet the full qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of re-entry to the occupation. GRADE REQUIREMENT - In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates: GS-09: To qualify for the GS-09 grade level, you must only meet the basic education requirement as described above. GS-11: In addition to meeting the basic requirements, applicants must possess one of the following: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-09 grade level. Specialized experience reflects the management of vocational rehabilitation counseling or case management workload involving persons with a wide variety of disability conditions (e.g., mental health, physical, cognitive, visual/auditory, substance abuse). OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education or a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in rehabilitation counseling, rehabilitation services, clinical rehabilitation counseling, counseling psychology, mental health counseling, career counseling or social work from an accredited college or university. GS-12: In addition to meeting the basic requirements, applicants must possess one of the following: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized vocational rehabilitation experience in a federal, state and/or private vocational rehabilitation setting equivalent to at least the GS-11 grade level. Professional experience reflects the management of vocational rehabilitation counseling or case management workload involving persons with a wide variety of disability conditions (e.g., mental health, physical, cognitive, visual/auditory, substance abuse). CREDITING EXPERIENCE. a. Creditable Experience. Creditable experience must have required the use of KSAs associated with current professional vocational rehabilitation counseling practices. Creditable experience can be obtained through employment as a VRC. This may be demonstrated by providing direct rehabilitation counseling services to individuals with disabilities in the context of a professional counseling relationship, which may include vocational rehabilitation and personal adjustment counseling, case management, assessment, or rehabilitation, training and employment services coordination. b. Quality of Experience. Creditable experience must have been obtained postgraduate and be directly related to the duties to be performed to qualify to work as a professional VRC. Qualifying experience must also be equivalent to professional vocational rehabilitation counseling experience at the next lower level. NOTE: If work experience is credited for the basic requirement, that experience cannot also be used for qualifying at the GS-11 or GS-12 levels. 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. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. Physical Requirements: The work normally involves mental rather than physical exertion. 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/. Education A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. This position requires specific coursework and/or a degree to meet the basic education requirement. You must submit an official transcript, unofficial transcript, or a list including courses, grades earned, completion dates, and quarter and semester hours earned. Your transcript(s) must clearly demonstrate the course(s) listed in the qualification requirement section. If the transcript(s) does not clearly demonstrate this you must submit a copy of the course description and/or other documentation demonstrating that the courses are equivalent. Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html. Additional Information VA supports the use of telework as a way to help attract and retain talented individuals in public service, increase worker productivity, and better prepare the agency to operate during emergencies. This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Receiving Service Credit or Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed. Special Employment Consideration: VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply, including those eligible for hiring under 5 CFR 213.3102(u), Schedule A, Appointment of persons with disabilities [i.e., intellectual disabilities, severe physical disabilities, or psychiatric disabilities], and/or Disabled veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more. Contact the Agency Contact for information on how to apply under this appointment authority via the Selective Placement Coordinator. The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal/VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified (have a final rating of 85 or more) for this vacancy. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/. Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the position. It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members. For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the OHRM Status Candidates and Other Candidate Definitions document. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.