This position is located at the VA Regional Office in the Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VRE) Division. The incumbent serves as a primary consultant to the VRE staff and the employing community. The incumbent will oversee the activities of job readiness, job seeking services, and job development that entail consideration of diverse state, regional and local employment laws and regulations to assist in the successful job placement of Veterans.

Duties

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. Coordinate and/or perform the evaluation/assessment of rapid access to employment - employment needs (Pre-employment Job Readiness Evaluation). 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 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. Assists veterans with job networking, development, and placement 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.
• A complete application package; Resume, Transcripts, etc.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 09/27/2023. The Office of Personnel Management's (OPM's)Individual Occupational requirements and/or group qualification standards covering white collar occupations in the Federal competitive service can be found: Here GS-9 Qualifications To qualify at grade level GS-09: Applicants must have one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-07) in the federal service. Specialized experience is work experience that equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills and abilities (KSA's) to perform successfully the duties of the position. Specialized experience for this position is defined as: (1) Experience involving job networking, development and/or placement and employment assistance to various groups of individuals; AND (2) 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 Applicants may substitute education for experience at grade GS-09. Applicants may substitute education for experience with an awarded master's or equivalent graduate degree (such as an LL. B or J.D.) from an accredited college or university, or two full years (36 semester hours or 54 quarter hours) of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree. This graduate degree or education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities to do the work of this position. If you are claiming to qualify based on your education, your application must include an official or unofficial copy of graduate level transcripts that demonstrate this information. OR Applicants may combine education and experience to qualify for grade GS-09. If you have some, but not all, of the graduate education described above AND less than one full year of the specialized experience described above, you may qualify by combining the amount of creditable education and experience that you do have. Only graduate education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level, and earned toward a master's degree, may be used to qualify applicants for positions at grade GS-9. To calculate, first identify the education you have earned beyond your first year of study as a percentage of a total of two years of study. Then identify the number of months of specialized experience you have as a percentage of 12 months. Add the two percentages. The total must equal at least 100 percent in order to be qualifying. For example, an applicant who has 27 semester hours of graduate level education (i.e., 50% of graduate education required beyond the first 18 credit hours earned) and who has 6 months of creditable specialized experience (i.e., 50% of the one year of specialized experience required) would meet 100% and thus be qualified for the position. Only graduate education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level may be used to qualify applicants for positions at grade GS-9. If you are claiming to qualify based on your education, your application must include an official or unofficial copy of graduate level transcripts that demonstrate this information. GS-11 Qualifications To qualify at grade level GS-11: Applicants must have at least one year (52 weeks, full time) of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-09) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience for this GS-11 position is defined as: (1) Experience working with individuals with disabilities and providing individuals with work experiences, internships, or volunteer experiences related to overall employment goal; (2) 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 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 Qualifications To qualify at grade level GS-12: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-11) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Direct delivery of vocational rehabilitation services to adults with disabilities in rehabilitation programs, other than those in correctional facilities. Specialized experience for the GS-12 is defined as: (1) Experience involving coordination of federal, private and public hiring authorities, working with veterans with disabilities to access veteran's employment goals and aligning them to the employment track that best meets their needs; (2) Experience may have been gained in the federal, military, or private sector. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Human Resources experience in the Department of Veterans Affairs or Veterans Service Organization that involves staffing and/or employment law; employment coordination duties for private, public or government entities that involve coordinating targeted outreach at various career fairs, jobs clubs, and/or job labs. Note that in order to be qualified based on specialized experience, you must demonstrate in your resume that you have experience working with individuals with disabilities in ways related to the specialized experience and duties described in this announcement. There is no substitution of education for experience at the GS 12 grade. Note: 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 you document, to include volunteer experience.

Education

There is no substitution of education for experience at the GS 12 grade.

An unofficial or official copy of your transcripts 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: 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: https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html

Contacts

• Address Buffalo Regional Benefits Office 130 S. Elmwood Ave. Buffalo, NY 14202 US
• Name: HRC-Detroit DEU
• Phone: 313-596-7213
• Email: [email protected]