This position serves as a member of the Compensated Work Therapy (CWT)/Supported Employment (SE) Treatment Team at the VA Medical Center in Martinsburg, WV. The Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist recruits, interviews, completes assessments and selects suitable clients with severe mental illnesses for competitive Supported Employment and conducts follow-up interviews and evaluations, as needed.

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 major duties include but are not limited to: Counsels and guides the client through difficult transitions or rough spots in the adjustment to the job; Helps the employer understand the nature of the client' limitations while maintaining a positive impression of the client's capability to succeed; Oversees the client's progress in the program; Participates in team meetings to remain current with clinical concerns and shares strategies, progress and needed support with other members of the treatment team; Contributes to the strategies and support plans for all rehab clients served by the team; Serves as the primary point of contact between the client and the employment agency; Provides crisis intervention as needed for the client's well-being and communicates relevant information to the treatment team; Assesses Supported Employment initiative training requirements to meet the training objectives and specific needs of each CWT/SE program; Coordinates with program supervisors and staff the various resources needed to set up training programs; Develops the curriculum for the Supported Employment training program using the principles and techniques for the development of curricula for vocational/educational programs; Develops a database of educational and community resources; Interacts with individuals and groups from a wide variety of educational levels and socio-economic backgrounds; Maintains awareness of the program's development and fosters community contacts; Maintains periodic contacts with potential employers, placement personnel and other vocational resources; Develops strategies to engage clients who may be reluctant to actively pursue employment or risk a reduction of benefits; Performs other related duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required

Requirements

Qualifications

English Language Proficiency Requirement: In accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), No person shall serve in direct patient care positions unless they are proficient in basic written and spoken English. You must be proficient in basic written and spoken English in order to perform the duties of this position. ~AND~ In addition to meeting the English Language Proficiency, to qualify for this position at the GS-11 grade level, you must meet one of the following: Experience: You must have at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-9) in the Federal Service that has given you the particular knowledge, skills and abilities required to successfully perform the duties of a Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. Specialized experience includes: 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. NOTE: Experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hours worked per week. ~OR~ Education: Successful completion of 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, with a major study in vocational rehabilitation, vocational or educational counseling or other fields related that provided the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist position. NOTE: Transcripts (unofficial or official) must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation. ~OR~ Combination: Equivalent combination of successfully completed graduate level education (beyond the second year) and specialized experience, as described above, which may be used to meet total experience requirements for this grade level. The education portion must include graduate courses in vocational rehabilitation, vocational or educational counseling or other fields related that provided the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist position. NOTE: Transcripts (unofficial or official) must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation. This position includes a Selective Placement Factor (skill, knowledge, ability or other worker characteristic basic to - and essential for - satisfactory performance of the job). Selective Placement Factors are a prerequisite to appointment and represent minimum requirements for a position. Applicants who do not meet them are ineligible for further consideration. The Selective Placement Factor for this position is: Experience working with mental health diagnosis and substance abuse disorders. A Quality Ranking Factor has been requested by the facility to help determine which of the basically qualified applicants are likely to be better qualified for a position. Quality Ranking Factors are skills, knowledge, abilities, or other worker characteristics which could be expected to result in superior performance on the job. Quality ranking factors will not be used for screening, but may be used as ranking criteria. Applicants with higher proficiency levels may rank above those with lower proficiency levels on a quality ranking factor. The quality ranking factor for this position is: an active Certification in Rehabilitation Counseling (CRC). You will be rated on the following Competencies as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position: Education and TrainingInterpersonal SkillsQuality Ranking FactorSelective Placement FactorTechnical CompetenceTherapy and Counseling 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. 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 than 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

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 Martinsburg VA Medical Center 510 Butler Avenue Martinsburg, WV 25405 US
• Name: VHA National Recruitment Center
• Phone: (844)456-5208
• Email: [email protected]