This position is located within the Mental Health Service Line (MHSL) at the Loveland VA Community Clinic in Loveland, CO. The primary purpose of the Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist is to provide vocational rehabilitation, training, and placement for Veterans participating in Veterans Health Administration Vocational Rehabilitation.

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: Provides vocational rehabilitation services, including assessment and intervention, to the assigned area, within the scope of competencies and determines when consultation for specialized psychological services is required; Establishes and maintains long-term therapeutic relationships while providing personal adjustment counseling and other appropriate counseling techniques; Finds suitable employment opportunities, monitors placements, promotes successful adjustment; Supports clients in all work-related tasks, including but not limited to transportation, on the job training, communicating with co-workers and supervisors, ongoing and follow along supports and compliance with specification of appropriate clinical support(s); Maintains day-to-day contact with potential employers, placement personnel or other likely placement resources; Networks in the local community with businesses and employers that have a job lead which are directly related to the interests and desires of the clients; Negotiates with employers, when appropriate, to provide reasonable accommodations to meet the needs of Veterans, based on performing a worksite analysis; Remains up to date on occupational information such as general outlook for employment in a wide variety of occupations in the local area; Administers, selects and interprets a variety of psychometric tests needed to provide information regarding veteran's interest, aptitudes, functional capabilities and transferable skills; Acts a job coach for Veterans who obtain employment and need such service; Counsels and guides Veterans through difficult transitions while adjusting; Helps the employer understand the nature of the Veteran's limitations while maintaining a positive impression of the Veteran's capacity to succeed; Provides crisis intervention as needed for the Veteran's well-being and communicates relevant information to the treatment team; Ensures that Vocational Rehabilitation Services operations, documentation and information reporting systems are compliant with the guidelines and procedures; Solicits and develops employment opportunities for Veterans through a wide array of employment search approaches and activities within the local, industry, state and federal agencies; and, Performs all other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 8:00 am - 4:30 pm. Compressed tour negotiable. Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved 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 three plus days per pay period. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. 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. ~AND~ Driver's License Requirement (Screen-out): This position requires driving a government vehicle to perform the official duties of the position; therefore, a current and valid state-issued driver's license is required. Note: We cannot accept photographs, therefore; please do not submit a copy of your driver's license with your application package. If an interview is requested, you may be required to provide a copy of your current and valid state-issued driver's license. You will be rated on the following Competencies as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position: ANALYSIS AND PROBLEM SOLVING INTERPERSONAL SKILLS THERAPY 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 the work are generally minor. The work involves traveling in the local area and so involves some driving and walking. Some of the work is sedentary, although the stress involved in dealing continually with persons in emotional distress and who may be uncooperative and occasionally assaultive makes this work notably more demanding than most sedentary positions. The work environment involves everyday risks or discomforts, which require safety precautions typical of hospitals, offices in community businesses, meeting rooms, warehouses, small businesses, farming and grounds maintenance, etc. Patients may display a broad variety of psychological problems and/or psychiatric symptoms with various levels of both physical and/or mental disability. Some of the patients may be considered to be a danger to themselves or others. There may be occasional risk of physical harm, which may require special precautions and training. 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 Cheyenne VA Medical Center 2360 East Pershing Boulevard Cheyenne, WY 82001 US
• Name: VHA National Recruitment Center
• Phone: (844)456-5208
• Email: [email protected]