The Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors (VRCs) are in the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) Regional Office (RO), RO Out-based office locations, VetSuccess On Campus (VSOC) school sites, or Integrated Disability Evaluation System (IDES) military installations. VRCs in the VBA provide and coordinate a wide range of rehabilitation counseling and case management services to veterans with service-connected disabilities and other eligible individuals.

Duties

Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors provide a wide range of rehabilitation and personal adjustment counseling and case management services, including coordination of rehabilitation, training, and employment services to disabled Veterans. VRCs assess data received from medical, psychological and vocational evaluations and develop individualized rehabilitation plans. In VBA, the VR&E the Supervisory Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors also make eligibility and entitlement determinations. Knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) are based on the job analysis and position description, but some general knowledge required by VRCs includes: Major Duties Knowledge of psychological, rehabilitation and counseling theory and principles is required. This includes special knowledge in rehabilitation counseling skills, techniques, and resources needed to work with Veterans with multiple serious disabilities, homebound Veterans, Veterans with serious acute or chronic mental disabilities, and those with problems adjusting to social and occupational requirements. VRCs need to understand and be able to use therapeutic counseling techniques. Knowledge of the principles and procedures of psychological and vocational testing and knowledge of testing and research statistics is required. This includes mean, standard deviation, percentile and standard error of measurement as used in the assessment of a Veteran's interests, aptitude, abilities and personality characteristics. Understanding the instruments frequently used in the assessment, including the strengths and limitations of the measurements and appropriate uses to provide cultural sensitivity if needed.. Working knowledge of the requirements for independent living including resources and services will be necessary. Also, an understanding of the limitations and service requirements of individuals with severe disabilities is required. Knowledge of career development process, career development theory, and job placement; current knowledge of labor market conditions and occupational trends is needed. The incumbent must know how to use the information obtained from a transferable work skills analysis to improve the Veteran's employability. Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level. The grade progression for this position is: GS-09/11/12. Work Schedule: Standard 5 day, 8 hours, Full time, Monday through Friday; Hours may vary to effectively carry out the mission. Compressed/Flexible Schedule: May be available per local agency guidelines Telework: Yes, per Agency guidelines. This is not a remote position. Virtual: This is not a virtual position Position Description Title/PD#: Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor; GS-9 38544A, GS-11 38543A, GS-12 38542A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Required-Selectee at the GS-12 will be required to complete a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report, OGE-450, under 5 CFR 2634.904(a) prior to entering on duty and annually thereafter.

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
• If you receive a conditional offer of employment for this position, you will be required to complete an Optional Form 306, Declaration for Federal Employment, and to sign and certify the accuracy of all information in your application.
• The salary range indicated will be adjusted to include locality for selected duty location. Locality pay tables may be found at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/2023/general-schedule

Qualifications

CREDITING EXPERIENCE. a. Creditable Experience. Creditable experience must have required the use of KSAs associated with current professional vocational rehabilitation counseling practices. Creditable experience can be obtained through employment as a VRC. This may be demonstrated by providing direct rehabilitation counseling services to individuals with disabilities in the context of a professional counseling relationship, which may include vocational rehabilitation and personal adjustment counseling, case management, assessment, or rehabilitation, training and employment services coordination. b. Quality of Experience. Creditable experience must have been obtained postgraduate and be directly related to the duties to be performed to qualify to work as a professional VRC. Qualifying experience must also be equivalent to professional vocational rehabilitation counseling experience at the next lower level. NOTE: If work experience is credited for the basic requirement, that experience cannot also be used for qualifying at the GS-11 or GS-12 levels. 1. 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-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07 level. For a GS-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09 level. For a GS-12 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-11 level. If you are a current VBA employee seeking reassignment or change to a lower grade via this vacancy announcement, you must currently hold the GS-09 (or higher) and the promotion potential of your current position must be at least GS-12. 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. 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. 2. INDIVIDUAL OCCUPATIONAL REQUIREMENT - BASIC EDUCATION REQUIREMENT: To be considered for this position, you must meet this basic educational requirement and have one of the following degrees. Your application MUST include a legible transcript (not diploma) stating the degree has been conferred or that you have graduated. Satisfactory completion in an accredited college or university of all the requirements for a master's degree in rehabilitation counseling, including an internship; OR a master's degree in counseling psychology or a related field, including 30 semester hours of course work in foundations of rehabilitation counseling, human growth and development, counseling theories and techniques, vocational assessment, career development, job placement, case management, and medical/psycho-social aspects of disability. Total graduate study must have included or been supplemented by a supervised internship. [For master's degree programs without a supervised internship/practicum, substitution is allowed for successful professional experience following completion of the master's degree. Experience suitable for substitution must be one full year in direct delivery of vocational rehabilitation services to adults with disabilities in rehabilitation programs, other than those in correctional facilities. The experience or internship/practicum must have been supervised by a professional in vocational rehabilitation or a closely related professional field that typically has oversight for vocational rehabilitation programs.] 3. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS REQUIREMENTS: In addition to the time-in-grade and education requirements (above), you must also meet the following grade-specific qualification requirements. 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 substituted for an internship, that year cannot also be used for qualifying at the GS-11/GS-12 levels. GS-09 Grade Level: There are no additional qualification requirements at this grade level. You must meet the Individual Occupational Requirements (basic educational requirements) documented above. GS-11 Grade Level: Basic educational requirement AND Specialized Experience: In addition to meeting the Basic Educational Requirements stated above, one year of post- graduate level professional vocational rehabilitation counseling experience, equivalent to the GS-09 level is required. OR In addition to meeting the basic educational requirements, successful completion of 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education or a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in rehabilitation counseling or counseling psychology. OR A combination of specialized experience as described in A, and more than two years but less than three years of education as described in B. (To compute the percentage, divide your total months of qualifying experience by 12. Then divide your semester hours of graduate education beyond two years by 18. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. 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 GS-12 Grade Level: Basic educational requirement AND Specialized Experience: In addition to meeting the Basic educational Requirements stated above, one year of post-graduate level professional vocational rehabilitation counseling experience, equivalent to the GS-11 level is required. Specialized experience is defined as post-masters degree, professional vocational rehabilitation counseling work in delivery to adults with disabilities. Cases must have involved determining entitlement ranges from simple to complex. Direct delivery of vocational rehabilitation services to adults with disabilities in rehabilitation programs, other than those in correctional facilities. This experience must be equivalent to the GS-11 level. Combining Education & Experience: If you do not fully meet the length of experience and education described for a specific grade level (e.g. have six months of experience and some coursework but not a degree), the two can be combined to total 100% of the requirement. Click here for more information. Volunteer Experience: 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. Full vs. Part-Time Employment: Full-time employment is considered to be at least 35 hours per week. Part-time experience will be credited on a pro-rated basis; when including part-time employment in your resume you must specify the average hours worked per week. Physical Requirements: The work is performed mainly in an office environment with minimal exposure to injury. Frequent mental and visual concentration for computer usage and reading/assimilating technical information and for observing and recognizing behavioral cues. Requires the ability to receive detailed information through verbal and written communication., including active listening for rapport building and counseling. Alternates walking and sitting throughout the workday.

Education

Education

Basic Education Requirements

To qualify for the Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor position, candidates must meet the following basic requirements:

Education

Successful completion of a master's degree (or higher) in rehabilitation counseling, rehabilitation services, clinical rehabilitation counseling, counseling psychology, mental health counseling, career counseling or social work from an accredited college or university.

Internship or Experience Requirement

The required (1) supervised internship or (2) post-master's degree experience is described as follows:
Supervised Internship: The education in paragraph 3a must have included a supervised internship in rehabilitation counseling or case management specialization. The internship must have been supervised by a professional in vocational rehabilitation or a closely related professional field that typically has oversight for vocational rehabilitation programs.
OR

Experience: One-year post-master's degree experience in direct delivery of professional vocational rehabilitation services to individuals with disabilities.

Grandfathering Provision

VRCs employed in VBA on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series and grade held, including certifications that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation.

For employees who do not meet all the basic requirements in this standard but met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed, the following provisions apply:

VRCs who are grandfathered into the GS-0101 occupational series may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance level of a career ladder or changed to a lower grade within the occupation or placed in a supervisory or managerial position.

VRCs who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of this qualification standard may not be extended or reappointed on a temporary or permanent basis until they fully meet the basic requirements of this standard.

Contacts

• Address Togus VA Medical/Regional Benefit Office Center 1 VA Center Augusta, ME 04330 US
• Name: Mary Chavez
• Phone: 515-323-7575
• Email: [email protected]