This position is located in the Mental Health & Behavioral Science Service at VA Northern Arizona Health Care System - Flagstaff VA Clinic in Flagstaff, AZ. The Vocational Development Specialist will serve as the Community Employment Coordinator for Homeless Veterans, who is a central figure responsible for the ongoing orientation and training of the Homeless Services continuum in order to connect Veterans to the most appropriate and least restrictive VA and community-based employment services.

Duties

***THIS IS NOT A VIRTUAL POSITION, YOU MUST LIVE WITHIN OR BE WILLING TO RELOCATE WITHIN A COMMUTABLE DISTANCE OF THE DUTY LOCATION*** The Vocational Development Specialist works with the local Compensated Work Therapy (CWT) Manager or designee in orchestrating clinical and administrative staff, within the Medical Center and without, into a cohesive platform with which homeless Veterans can obtain competitive employment with appropriate supports. Major duties and responsibilities include but not limited to: Providing information, pre-employment assessment and workforce re-entry planning services, linkage, and coordination for VA and non-VA services, and community-based follow-up services to integrate Veterans into the community through competitive employment Establishing respectful, effective relationships with Veterans and with the clinical and administrative staff from a range of institutions and agencies, including community employers Providing guidance and training to all homeless programs and staff across the VAMC on resources that enhance and resulting in competitive employment outcomes for Veterans Working with local staff in developing templates for concise, individualized Veteran-centered assessments to determine the needed intensity level of employment services and supports for homeless Veterans Serving as a liaison to local community providers of employment placement and support services for homeless Veterans Leading efforts to establish a local employment collaborative which includes VA and non-VA members and community-based employers, and documents access points, requirements for participation and points of contact Developing employment opportunities for homeless Veterans both directly through community-based job development and indirectly by leveraging the expertise of the employment collaborative Insuring that through the collaborative, competitive employment resources of varying levels of intensity are currently available for homeless and chronically homeless Veterans both at the medical center and in the community Coordinating with homeless, CWT and community program managers on rapid access and placement strategies for Veterans that reduce barriers to employment and identify appropriate supports to sustain outcomes Conducting bi-monthly conference calls with all the members (VA and non-VA) of the local employment collaborative serving Veterans and resolves access barriers to rapid job placement Monitoring performance and progress through review (at least quarterly) of cases referred to the members of the collaborative Providing feedback to the homeless program staff and VAMC leadership on system resources, strengths, accomplishments, challenges, and recommended corrective actions on a quarterly basis Developing and maintaining a database on referral and placement outcomes and provide feedback to the collaborative members as well as national homeless leadership Serving as an advocate on behalf of Veterans with members of the employment collaborative and community employers, when appropriate Performing other related duties as assigned Work Schedule: Monday to Friday; 07:30 a.m. to 04:00 p.m. (Compressed tour available after completing at least 90 days of continuous service) Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized Telework: 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. Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required

Requirements

Qualifications

Minimum Requirement: The following are minimum requirements for appointment as a Vocational Development Specialist in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). One of the following minimum requirement criteria must be met to be qualified for this position. Specialized Experience (GS-11): You must have one (1) year of specialized experience that equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA's) to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (i.e., GS-09) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of qualifying specialized experience include: (a) 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; (b) 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; (c) 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. (CLEAR DETAILS OF EXPERIENCE REQUIRED: Your resume must show complete information for each job entry, such as beginning and ending dates of employment, duties performed, and/or total hours worked per week.) OR, Education (GS-11): Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have 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. Major study must be in vocational rehabilitation, vocational or educational counseling, or other fields related to the position (Vocational Development Specialist). NOTE: One year of full-time graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent 1 year of full-time study. If that information cannot be obtained from the school, 18 semester hours should be considered as satisfying the 1 year of full-time study requirement. Part-time graduate education is creditable in accordance with its relationship to a year of full-time study at the school attended. (UNOFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED: If you do not submit your transcript, your application may not be reviewed.) OR, Combination (GS-11): Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have a combination of specialized experience and education, as described above. Only graduate education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level (36 semester hours graduate education in major study of vocational rehabilitation, vocational or educational counseling, or other fields related) may be used to qualify applicants for positions at grade S-11. When crediting education that requires specific course work, prorate the number of hours of related courses required as a proportion of the total education to be used. (UNOFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED: If you do not submit your transcript, your application may not be reviewed.) You will be rated on the following Competencies as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position: CommunicationCustomer ServiceInterpersonal SkillsTechnical CompetenceVeteran and Customer Focus IMPORTANT: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. All experience listed on your resume must include the month and year start/end dates. 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. 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; religious; 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. 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/.

Education

IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

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.

Contacts

• Address Bob Stump VA Medical Center 500 Highway 89 North Prescott, AZ 86313 US
• Name: VHA National Recruitment Center
• Phone: (844)456-5208
• Email: [email protected]