You will serve as the Vocational Development Specialist with the Community Housing and Outreach division of the Social Work service line in Seattle, Washington.

Duties

Duties include but are not limited to: You will provide information, pre-employment assessment, and workforce re-entry planning services to Veterans. You will coordinate for VA and non-VA services, and community-based follow-up services to integrate Veterans into the community through competitive employment. You will establish respectful, effective relationships with Veterans and with the clinical and administrative staff from a range of institutions and agencies, including community employers. You will provide training and guidance in Veteran resources to all homeless programs and staff across the VAMC. You will assess the needed intensity level of employment services and support for homeless Veterans. You will liaise with local community providers of employment placement and support services for homeless Veterans. You will establish a local employment collaborative which includes VA and non-VA members and community-based employers, to document access points and requirements for participation. You will develop employment opportunities for homeless Veterans both directly through community- based job development and indirectly by leveraging the expertise of the employment collaborative. You will coordinate with homeless, Compensated Work Therapy Program (CWT), community program managers on rapid access and placement strategies for Veterans that reduce barriers to employment and identify appropriate supports to sustain outcomes. You will monitor performance and progress through review (at least quarterly) of cases referred to the members of the collaborative to ensure that Veterans are receiving services leading to competitive employment and appropriate follow-up supports. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm Telework: VA supports the use of telework as a way to help attract and retain talented individuals in public service, increase worker productivity, and better prepare the agency to operate during emergencies. This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Vocational Development Specialist - Community Employment Coordinator/PD41501-0 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorizes Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement, 09/13/2023. 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-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. Basic Requirement: This position has an INDIVIDUAL OCCUPATION REQUIREMENT (IOR) which is a basic requirement that must be met to qualify for entry into this job series, and it is something that cannot be waived. You must meet at least one (1) of the following Basic Requirements: Undergraduate and Graduate Education: Major study -- vocational rehabilitation, vocational or educational counseling, or other fields related to the position. OR, Specialized Experience: For positions above GS-5 examples of qualifying specialized experience include: 1. 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. 2. 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. 3. 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 the Individual Occupational requirement, you must also based on your experience and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience: You must possess 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 this position. Specialized experience may include: providing services including access to resume preparation, vocational counseling, negotiations with employers for reasonable accommodations; assistance with completion and submission of job applications; coordination of and transportation to job interviews; interview skills training; job development and job placement; documenting all vocational interventions, goals, objectives and outcomes through the writing of an individualized employment plan. NOTE: Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must clearly indicate the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully successfully completed a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or three (3) full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree with a major study in vocational rehabilitation, vocational or educational counseling, or other fields related to the position or LL.M., if related. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and a higher-level education (beyond the 2nd year). The education portion must include graduate courses that demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Administration and ManagementComplianceOral Communication 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, although some slight physical effort may be required such as some walking, standing, bending, or carrying of light items. Work Conditions: The work is performed in an office setting with adequate lighting and other facilities with no unusual health hazards. The incumbent observes normal safety precautions. 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 VA Puget Sound Health Care System 1660 South Columbian Way Seattle, WA 98108 US
• Name: Heidi Winters
• Phone: 509-434-7607
• Email: [email protected]