The Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist (VRS) is assigned to the Social Work Service Line but under the administrative supervision of the Supervisory Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist/Compensated Work Therapy Programs Manager. The purpose of the VRS is to attain and maintain employment for the veterans through vocational assessment, treatment planning and educational preparation for competitive employment.

Duties

Major duties include but are not limited to: Help the employer understand the nature of the client's limitations while maintaining a positive impression of the client's capacity to succeed. Maintain day-to-day contact with potential employers, placement personnel or other likely placement resources. Determine the vocational goals and objectives of the client. Develop strategies to engage clients who may be reluctant to actively pursue employment or risk a reduction in benefits. Modify established vocational programs to accommodate client needs. Negotiate with employers, when appropriate, to provide reasonable accommodations to meet the needs of clients. Analyze mental and physical disabilities or other barriers to identify how those affect motivation, adjustment to training and difficulty in employment placement. Perform work site analyses. Document in patients charts in CPRS. Accurately capture daily events and document in the patient record. Document a treatment plan in writing. Work Schedule: Monday- Friday 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. 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 Rehabilitation Specialist/PD07355A Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/26/2023. 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: You must meet one of the following which is an Individual Occupational Requirement of this position: Undergraduate and Graduate Education: Major study- vocational rehabilitation, vocational or educational counseling, or other fields related to the position; 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 Individual Occupational Requirements you must meet the following 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 GS-09 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Supporting clients in all work related tasks, for example: transportation, on the job training, dealing with co-workers and supervisors, ongoing and follow along supports and compliance with specification of appropriate clinical support(s); Developing strategies to engage clients who may be reluctant to actively pursue employment or risk a reduction in benefits; Recommending changes to programs; and Assessing training needs to meet the client's vocational goals and objectives. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience for the GS-11 grade level. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree with major study in vocational rehabilitation, vocational or educational counseling or other fields related to position or LL. M., if related. Based on the Individual Occupational Requirement, if education is used, the major study should be vocational rehabilitation, vocational or educational counseling, or other fields related to the position. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at the GS-11 grade level if the creditable education hours and experience combined equal 100% of the required experience for the position. A transcript must be submitted with your application packet if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. Education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Customer Service Decision Making Influencing/negotiating Interpersonal Skills 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 physical demands of this position are moderate. There is some local travel. Work may also require bending, stooping, climbing, driving VA cars and vans, and the ability to lift heavy packages. 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 Atlanta VA Medical Center 1670 Clairmont Road Decatur, GA 30033 US
• Name: VHA National Recruitment Center
• Phone: (844)456-5208
• Email: [email protected]