The Supervisory Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor (VREO) provides leadership and direction the VR&E staff and coordinates activities with the other divisions in the Regional Office and the VA medical Centers. The VREO supports the principles of quality improvement and is committed to assuring timely products of high quality are provided to Servicemembers, Veterans and their families for all types of services proved completed by staff members.

Duties

The Major Duties of the Supervisory Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor are, but not limited to: Provides both direct counseling service (through in-person, Tele-counseling, and telephone contacts) and claims adjudication for benefits under the VA's Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Programs. Determines eligibility and entitlement for VA benefits and providing information, outreach and assistance to Servicemembers, Veterans, and their dependents. Provides leadership and direction to the Vocational Rehabilitation & Employment (VR&E) staff and coordinates activities with other divisions in the Regional Office and the VA Medical Centers. Oversees a team of Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors (VRCs) and other staff in the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) Regional Office (RO), RO Out-based office locations, VetSuccess on Campus (VSOC) school sites, or Integrated Disability Evaluation System (IDES) locations on military installations. Provides expert and high-quality services to the Veterans with a service-connected disability such as vocational counseling and consultation; counseling interventions; and superb case management. Supervises the administration of work involving eligibility criteria, vocational exploration, conducting assessments of both the local labor market, plan development based on appropriate vocational goals, examination of medical information, making legal binding entitlement decisions, awards adjustments, award authorization, and case management services. Oversees the VR&E items purchased through Visa Purchase card program. Maintain referrals with employers, school officials, medical and rehabilitation officials, contractors, state employment service personnel, and other community resources. Determines the direction and assessment of staff members within the authorized staff complement, as well as the assignment and distribution of program resources, in order to carry out the initiatives and emphasis defined by Central Office program managers. Provides administrative expertise in all phases of rehabilitation activities, including counseling, case management, rehabilitation plan development, and job development and placement. Provides internal policy direction and supervision of the RO VR&E staff through on-site visits and inspections, review and analysis of standard or specifically requested data and individualized or telephonic and written communication. Reviews personally the most difficult and complex cases and elements such as fraud, high cost programs, independent living cases to include home adaption, category one and two self-employment cases, re-entrance into a rehabilitation program cases, retroactive induction cases, and extension of entitlement case. Understands and sensitivity to the objectives of the EEO program and promotes workforce diversity through recruitment, coaching, and developmental activities, consistent with he merit system principles. Assures that the VR&E professional staff are able to have the appropriate environment to provide individual, family, and group counseling as appropriate to facilitate a positive outcome. Oversees and in some situations, approves the entitlement and authorization of full range of monetary assistance.

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.
• 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, 12/09/2023. 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-14 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-13. 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 you are a current VA employee seeking reassignment or change to lower grade via this vacancy announcement, you must currently hold the GS-14 (or higher) and the promotion potential of your current position must be at least GS-14. Note: To support your claim of time in grade, you must submit your most recent appointment, promotion, or within grade increase SF-50 (not an award or general adjustment SF-50). Some applicants may have to submit more than one SF-50 to demonstrate their eligibility. See the required documents section for more information. You must provide a copy of your most recent SF-50, "Notification of Personnel Action" showing that you are in the competitive service and the highest grade or promotion potential held. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate that you possess (1) year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates (1) year time-in-grade.General Adjustment and Award SF-50's cannot be used for time-in-grade verification purposes. AND Applicants must demonstrate that they meet the Basic Requirements and Minimum Qualification requirements as noted below. Basic Requirements: To qualify for this position, candidates must meet the following Basic Education Requirement and Basic Internship or Experience Requirement listed below: a. Education. Successful completion of a master's degree (or higher) in rehabilitation counseling, rehabilitation services, clinical rehabilitation counseling, counseling psychology, mental health counseling, career counseling or social work from an accredited college or university. (YOU MUST SUBMIT TRANSCRIPTS) AND b. Internship or Experience Requirement. The required (1) supervised internship or (2) post-master's degree experience is described as follows: (1) Supervised Internship: The education described above must have included a supervised internship in rehabilitation counseling or case management specialization. The internship must have been supervised by a professional in vocational rehabilitation or a closely related professional field that typically has oversight for vocational rehabilitation programs. OR (2) Experience: One-year post-master's degree experience in direct delivery of professional vocational rehabilitation services to individuals with disabilities. OR c. Grandfathering Provisions. VRCs employed in VBA on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series and grade held, including certifications that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation. For employees who do not meet all the basic requirements in this standard but met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed, the following provisions apply: (1) VRCs who are grandfathered into the GS-0101 occupational series may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance level of a career ladder or changed to a lower grade within the occupation or placed in a supervisory or managerial position. (2) VRCs who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of this qualification standard may not be extended or reappointed on a temporary or permanent basis until they fully meet the basic requirements of this standard. (3) If VRCs who are grandfathered under this provision leave the occupation, they lose protected status and must meet the full qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of re-entry to the occupation. Minimum Qualification Requirements: Applicants must demonstrate that they meet the Minimum Qualification requirements as listed below under Specialized Experience. Specialized Experience (GS-14): In addition to meeting the Basic Requirements above, to qualify, applicants must have at least one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-13) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience is defined as work that involves: Experience in Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment programs 1) working with employment and vocational rehabilitation programs; 2) possessing knowledge and expertise in the procedures for vocational and rehabilitation law; 3) administering counsel in the areas of rehabilitation, psychology, career development, and job placement entitlements; 4) controlling budgetary resources for approving and monitoring financial expenditures. Note: Creditable experience must have been obtained post-graduate and be directly related to the duties to be performed to qualify to work as a professional VRC. Qualifying experience must also be equivalent to professional vocational rehabilitation counseling experience at the next lower level. 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, including volunteer experience. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at http://://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

Education

This position requires specific coursework and/or a degree to meet the basic education requirement. You must submit an official transcript, unofficial transcript, or a list including courses, grades earned, completion dates, and quarter and semester hours earned. Your transcript(s) must clearly demonstrate the course(s) listed in the qualification requirement section. If the transcript(s) does not clearly demonstrate this you must submit a copy of the course description and/or other documentation demonstrating that the courses are equivalent.

Special Instructions for Foreign Education: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show that the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. Failure to provide such documentation with your application will result in lost consideration. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Contacts

• Address Pittsburgh Regional Benefit Office 1000 Liberty Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15222 US
• Name: Maeve Costello
• Phone: 313-596-7207
• Email: [email protected]