The Vocational Rehabilitation Services/CWT Program at the CMC VAMC is an integrated system of professional staff and services engaged in the facilitation of Veterans' vocational skill development, supportive employment, and direct placement in competitive jobs in the local and regional communities. The program also encompasses the Veterans Health Administration's (VHA) newly established SUD Supported Employment program.

Duties

The incumbent is responsible for the planning, development, coordination, evaluation and supervision of the Vocational Rehabilitation Specialists working in the Vocational Rehabilitation Services (VRS) Programs at CMC VAMC. Incumbent serves as the Program Manager/Supervisor for the assigned clinical treatment programs of VRS such as Compensated Work Therapy-Transitional Work (CWT-TW), Compensated Work Therapy Supportive Employment (CWT-SE), Substance Use Disorder Supported Employment (SUD SE) Snyder House Vocational Assistance and Medical Center Vocational Assistance Program. The work requires application of specialized professional knowledge in and skill in vocational rehabilitation services, program management and supervision of employees in order to coordinate the various activities of several assigned clinical treatment programs under VRS; such as Compensated Work Therapy-Transitional Work (CWT-TW), Compensated Work Therapy-Supportive Employment (CWT-SE), Substance Use Disorder Supported Employment (SUD -SE) Snyder House Vocational Assistance and Medical Center Vocational Assistance Program. Major Duties and Responsibilities as follows and not limited to: Vocational Rehabilitation Services: 25% Responsible for ensuring the Supported Employment Programs provide services according to Fidelity and in line with the Individual Placement Support. Responsible for daily operations of VRS programs and ensuring VRS staff establishes good working relationships with Veterans who often present difficult and serious psychiatric and/or physical problems. Assist team when necessary in assessment and matching patients with work options, services or assessments to enhance Veteran employability. Reviews and evaluates team treatment plans for each appropriate VR services. Provides direct vocational rehabilitation services to Veterans as needed dependent on staffing fluctuations. Program Management Responsibilities: 25% Leads the VRS team in meeting and working together to meet patients' vocational needs in efficient and effective ways, and coordinates team functioning and related responsibilities. Responsible for the specific requirements set forth by VACO for all VRS services. Ensures all VRS Programs meet CARF accreditation and The Joint Commission standards and leads implementation of TJC and CARF requirements within the CMC VAMC VRS programs. This includes the development of any computerized patient tracking programs to gather and monitor outcomes and other data and reports required for the above accreditation. Ensure community TW partners and CMCVAMC partners are billed on appropriate timelines. Monitors SAIL metrics pertaining to VRS and makes programmatic and operational changes as appropriate. Supervisory Duties: 50%: The incumbent serves as a first level supervisor. The incumbent provides technical and administrative supervision to a unit of 6 subordinates: Vocational Rehabilitation Specialists (4 GS 1715-11, 1 GS 1715-9) and 1 Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor (GS-0101-11.) The incumbent oversees the daily operation of the unit, ensures that agency policies and priorities are being followed; develops performance standards; and evaluates work performance of subordinates. The incumbent interviews candidates for positions in the unit; recommends appointments, promotions, and reassignments to unit positions; identifies and provides for training needs; and finds ways to improve production or increase the quality of work within the area of authority. Meets with employees to provide support and encouragement, assists in problem solving and rewards efficient and effective work performed by employees. Performs other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am -4:30pm Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Supervisory Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist/PD051270 Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 11/13/2023. 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 12 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-11. 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 Requirements: The 1715 series requires specific education or experience to be met in order to be appointed into a position of this series. The Individual Occupational Requirement as set by Office of Personnel Management (OPM) for this occupation and grade level include: Education: Undergraduate and Graduate Education with a major study -- vocational rehabilitation, vocational or educational counseling, or other fields related to the position. ~OR~ Experience: Experience that provided a knowledge of training practices, techniques, and requirements as they relate to vocational development or rehabilitation. Examples of qualifying 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 above, applicants must also meet the Specialized Experience as listed below: Specialized Experience: You 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. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Supervising Vocational Rehabilitation staff; managing competing requirements with a busy schedule; overseeing a budget; working closely with finance on expenditures and obligations; providing staff training to varied disciplines on Vocational Rehabilitation concepts and principles; working with Veterans with complex medical and mental health challenges; conducting presentation on various aspects of Vocational Rehabilitation; and serving as a part of a leadership team. NOTE: 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. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:Administration and ManagementHuman Capital ManagementInterpersonal SkillsInterventionStakeholder Management 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 involve active listening, reading, observing and evaluating verbal and nonverbal behavior, walking, speaking, writing reports, writing policies and procedures, writing clinical notes, using office equipment such as computers, telephones, fax machines, and photocopy machines. Lifting and transporting goods and products for CWT projects/placements and direct patient care are required. 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

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.

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 Corporal Michael J Crescenz Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center 3900 Woodland Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19104 US
• Name: Natasha Sudler
• Phone: 302-290-6874
• Email: [email protected]