The Vocational Development Specialist/Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist (VDS/VRS) is assigned to the Compensated Work Therapy Program (CWT) and works under the administrative and clinical and clinical supervision of the Department of Veterans Health Administration CWT Program Manager.

Duties

Conducts interviews and/or job readiness assessment to determine the nature and level of intervention that may be required to assist the Veteran in obtaining employment. Provides both direct and indirect services to a client caseload. Networking with potential employers/business who hire Veterans. Report Outcomes related to successful employment placements for Veterans and support all Veterans to meet and exceed identified benchmark(s) for employment. Report Outcomes related to successful employment placements for Veterans and support all Veterans to meet and exceed identified benchmark(s) for employment. Assist the Veterans in obtaining a referral to another component within Compensated Work Therapy Program (CWT). Conduct assessment based upon the Veteran's employment and educational history, current barriers to employment, interests, individual preferences, strengthens , weaknesses and skills. Negotiates with employers for reasonable accommodations. Assist with completion and submission of job applications. Provide or coordinate transportation to job interviews. Assist with interview skills training, job development and job placement. Employment objective should be an active and ongoing component of employment plan. Participate in treatment team meetings, contributes actively to an interdisciplinary team and offers the strategies and support plans for all served by the team, and communicates strategies developed for job acquisition and retention to treatment team. Knowledgeable of the local job market well beyond familiarization with Internet job sites. Identifies and build collaborative relationships with potential employees and community partners for resources. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 7:30-4:00pm,subject to change based on the needs of the facility. 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. Position Description/PD#: Vocational Rehab Specialist - Compensated Work Therapy Program/PD07551A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized 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 by the closing date of this announcement, 10/17/2023. 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. Individual Occupational Requirement: Applicants who meet the Individual Occupational Requirements described below are fully qualified for the specified entry grade and must also meet the specialized experience and/or education requirements. Education: Major study -- vocational rehabilitation, vocational or educational counseling, or other fields related to the position (transcripts required) OR Specialized Experience Examples of qualifying specialized experience include: 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. In addition to meeting the above Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR), and Time in Grade requirements, applicants must also meet the experience and/or directly related education relevant to this position. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Mitigate, reduce or eliminate barriers to integration into the community based on understanding of physical and psychological disabilities, appropriate accommodations, and assistive technology principles. Apply counseling theory, medical and psychiatric terminology and signs and symptomology of suicidal and homicidal ideations. Apply evidence-based and evidence informed vocational and professional counseling practices. Utilize career development processes and job analysis methodology to determine essential functions of jobs, worksite modifications and/or alternative vocational goals. Administer and interpret a wide variety of assessment methods. Enhance employment and/or work opportunities using marketing strategies to develop collaborative partnerships/Memorandums of Agreement within VA and local business community to Leverage knowledge of military culture and specific factors and dynamics associated with Veterans, particularly combat Veterans, to assist those who are returning to community and community-based work. OR Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have Substitution of 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. (Transcripts required) OR, Combination of Specialized Experience and Education: Applicants may also combine graduate education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and graduate education beyond the second year or in excess of 36 credit hours to qualify (Transcripts required). [To compute the percentage, divide your total months of qualifying experience by 12. Then divide your semester hours of graduate education beyond one year by 36. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify.] You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: CommunicationCreative ThinkingCustomer ServiceDeveloping Others 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 not sedentary, and require a significant amount of time driving, standing, and walking. A valid driver's license is required. The work requires that the incumbent drive on a regular basis as a significant amount of their may be spent in the community meeting with Veteran's employers and other community agency representatives. 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 New Orleans VA Medical Center 2400 Canal Street New Orleans, LA 70119 US
• Name: Kathy Carroll
• Phone: 813-503-7921
• Email: [email protected]