As a Employment Specialist, within the VR&E Division, you will serve as a triage team member to help disabled Veterans make an informed choice regarding the appropriate employment track that best meets their needs with the understanding that Veterans can move between tracks. The employment specialist will also coordinate and/or perform the evaluation/assessment of rapid access to employment to include: resume preparation, interviewing assistance, career search activities, and more.

Duties

Markets to employers based on vocational goals of the job-ready disabled Veterans; Markets and provides special employer incentives such as on-the-job training, non-paid work experience, special employer incentives, and available tax information; Coordinates employment readiness classes for Veterans ready to go to work but lacking important traits in employment readiness; Maintains and promotes a positive image of the VR&E program through active networking and ongoing contacts with employers; Offers direction to employers regarding reasonable accommodation and rehabilitation technology accommodations; Disseminates labor market information to assist counselors and Veterans with "informed choice." Provides Employment Services Performance Data for local office; Maintains and continually updates a database of job-ready disabled Veterans (incorporate Corporate WINRS tracking system); Assists Veterans with job networking, development, and placement; Develops partnerships with employers and other agencies to assist Veterans with employment services (e.g. - the Department of Labor, Small Business Administration, local and state agencies, and private sector businesses and employment services); Assists counselors with employment follow-up according to regulatory requirements; Coordinates efforts to develop job clubs, job labs, or job readiness resource rooms for use by Veterans in job readiness preparation and self-directed job search; Maintains records of employment activities through case notes in Corporate WINRS; Markets to and becomes initial "point of contact" for employers who need assistance with return-to-work cases of disabled Veterans whose job is affected by disability.

Requirements

• You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this job
• Selectees are subject to a background/suitability investigation
• Selective Service registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• A probationary period may be required for employees and supervisors

Qualifications

Specialized Experience: To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement. 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. PLEASE NOTE: To support your claim of time in grade, you must submit your most recent appointment, promotion, or within grade increase SF-50 (An award or general adjustment SF-50 does NOT meet this requirement). Some applicants may have to submit more than one SF-50 to demonstrate their eligibility. See the required documents section for more information. 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. The Office of Personnel Management's group coverage qualification standards, associated individual occupational requirements (IOR), and individual qualification standards covering white collar occupations in the Federal competitive service can be found here. GS-09 To qualify, applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least grade the next lower grade (GS-07) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience is defined as experience involving job networking, development and/or placement and employment assistance to various groups of individuals. The experience may have been gained in the federal, military, or private sector. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Recruiting for/placing candidates for a hiring firm or large corporation; Employment assistance duties for a non-profit or community organizations; Human Resources experience in staffing, employee relations or reemployment assistance. OR A master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.B. or J.D., if related may be substituted. Such education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work in order to be substitutable OR Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at the GS-9 level. You must have a combination of specialized experience and education totaling to 100% of the requirements for the position. (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED). GS-11 To qualify, applicants must also have one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-09) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience is defined as experience working with individuals with disabilities and providing individuals with work experiences, internships, or volunteer experiences related to overall employment goal. The experience may have been gained in the federal, military, or private sector. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Employment assistance duties for state or federal vocational rehabilitation offices; Account management/liaison for staffing or employment firms in the public or private sector; Federal Human Resources experience in staffing, employee relations or reemployment assistance. OR One year of post-master's degree professional vocational rehabilitation counseling experience or successful completion of 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education or have a PH.D or equivalent doctoral degree in rehabilitation counseling or counseling psychology. OR Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at the GS-11 level. You must have a combination of specialized experience and education totaling to 100% of the requirements for the position. (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED). NON-QUALIFYING EXPERIENCE: Vocational rehabilitation experience obtained prior to completion of the requirements for the master's degree is not qualifying. If one year of work experience is credited for the Basic Requirement, that year cannot also be used for qualifying at the GS-11 level

Education

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

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. 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.

Contacts

• Address Chicago Regional Benefit Office 2122 W Taylor St Chicago, IL 60612 US
• Name: Krystle Gibson
• Email: [email protected]