This position is located within the Mental Health Services Department of the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). The person in this position serves as the Vocational Rehab Specialist to the Mental Health Services Chief, identifying a broad spectrum of medical, psychological, and neurological problems and their impact on vocational functioning and psychosocial needs.

Duties

Develops and updates a multidisciplinary treatment plan. Determines areas of vocational interests, training needs, and career development for clients to reach success in obtaining suitable employment. Ensures the program participant is aware of employer's expectations, and the participant has the skills and support to meet those expectations. Considers and responds appropriately to the needs, feelings, and capabilities of others and adjusts approaches to suit different people and situations. Facilitates individual and group job counseling to people with disabilities and other employment challenges. Plans and arranges for the client to study or train for job placements. Helps the employer understand the nature of the client's limitations while maintaining a positive impression of the client's capability to succeed. Networks with community employers, community agencies, and community businesses to develop professional relationships to place participants in suitable community employment. Provides crisis intervention as needed for the client's well-being and communicates relevant information to the treatment team. Meets with supervisor in an appropriate supervisory arrangement, including telephone conferences, to receive clinical supervision and support on the implementation of vocational rehabilitation specialist duties within the context of the treatment team. Work Schedule: Full time, Monday-Friday, 0800-1630 Virtual: This is not a virtual position Position Description/PD#: Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist/PD08156A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 08/22/2023. 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-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-9. 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. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience: You must possess at least one (1) full year of specialized experience, which equips you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist , GS-9 position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. To be creditable, this specialized experience must have been equivalent to the GS-9 grade level in Federal service to qualify at the grade 11.Examples of specialized experience include:1) Identifying a broad spectrum of medical, psychological, and neurological problems and their impact on vocational functioning and psychosocial needs.2) Determining areas of vocational interests, training needs, and career development for clients to reach success in obtaining suitable employment.3) Ensuring the program participant is aware of employer's expectations, and the participant has the skills and support to meet those expectations.4) Considering and responding appropriately to the needs, feelings, and capabilities of others and adjusting approaches to suit different people and situations. SUD experience is preferred. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have a PhD. or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.B. or J.D., if related. Such education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work. Possess a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC) Certification. . OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and successfully completed graduate education and specialized experience directly related to the work of the Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist position. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Education and TrainingInterpersonal SkillsTechnical CompetenceTherapy and Counseling 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 physical demands of this position are minimal. The physical work is sedentary although the stress related to providing services to clients in emotional distress or who may be demanding and uncooperative can be more significant then that of most sedentary positions. 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

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 Martinsburg VA Medical Center 510 Butler Avenue Martinsburg, WV 25405 US
• Name: Julie Bosley
• Phone: (304) 263-0811
• Email: [email protected]