This position is assigned to the Homeless Program Office and works under the administrative and clinical supervision of the Health Care for Homeless Veterans (HCHV) Program Manager. Work involves carrying out all duties related to obtaining and maintaining competitive employment for homeless or at-risk of homelessness Veterans who are referred by a homeless program provider or self-present for employment services.

Duties

Duties include, but are not limited to: Interviewing Veterans to determine the nature and level of intervention required to assist them in obtaining employment and providing a range of options for immediate and long-term employment. Performing duties such as vocational counseling, resume preparation, negotiations with employers for reasonable accommodations, assistance with completion and submission of job applications; coordination of and transportation to job interview, interview skills training, and job development and placement. Documenting all vocational interventions, goals, objectives, and outcomes through the writing of an individualized employment plan and actively participates in the implementation of the plan. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00 am - 4:30 pm, subject to change based on the needs of the facility Compressed/Flexible: Not available Telework: Not available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Vocational Development Specialist - HUD-VASH Employment Specialist/PD06203A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required This position is covered by AFGE bargaining unit. Per the AFGE Master Agreement, the Area of Consideration will be: 1st Area of Consideration - Current Facility and CBOC employees; 2nd Area of Consideration - VA Nationwide applicants; 3rd Area of Consideration - Other Status candidates.

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 08/28/2023. Individual Occupational Requirements: Applicants who meet the Individual Occupational Requirements described below are fully qualified for the specified entry grade and must also meet the specialized experience and/or education requirements. 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. In addition to meeting the above Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR) AND Time-In-Grade, applicants must also meet the experience and/or directly related education relevant to this position. 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-09. 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 have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-09 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: 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; OR, Education: A 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 (transcripts required); OR, Combination: An equivalent combination of successfully completed graduate education and specialized experience, as described above, which meets the total qualification requirement for the GS-11 grade level. Driver's License Requirement: Must possess a valid state issued driver's license to operate a motor vehicle. (Please do not submit a copy of your license with your application package. You will be required to show your valid driver's license at the time of your interview.) You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: CommunicationCustomer ServiceEducation and TrainingProblem Solving 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 is primarily sedentary, but does require intermittent driving, and standing and walking (4 hrs). A valid driver's license is required. The work requires that the incumbent drive on a regular basis as a significant amount of their time may be spent in the community meeting with Veterans, employers and other community agency representatives. Requirements also include moderate lifting and carrying (15-44 lbs); reaching above shoulder; use of fingers; both hands required; repeated pending (1 hr); operation of crane, truck, tractor, or motor vehicle; near vision correctable at 13" to 16" to Jaeger 1 to 4, both eyes required, hearing (aid may be permitted); mental and emotional stability; 20/40 vision in each eye with or without correction. 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 Alexandria VA Medical Center 2495 Shreveport Highway Pineville, LA 71360 US
• Name: Cynthia Rowe
• Phone: 717-205-7996
• Email: [email protected]