This position is a Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist (VRS) assigned to the Mental Health Service Line but under the administrative supervision of the Supervisory Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist/Compensated Work Therapy Programs Manager (CWT). This position requires innovative strategies, interventions, and approaches in working with veterans who historically have had very limited success in the vocational arena due to a variety of physical, mental, and emotional handicaps.

Duties

As a Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist, you will in collaboration with the veteran, determine the vocational goals and objectives. Schedules and arranges for the veterans to complete program evaluation. Completes program interview evaluation, monitors requirements and prepares reports. Determines the extent to which the client possesses the knowledge, skills, needs, abilities and preferences necessary to meet the goals and objectives. Identifies strengths, weaknesses of the veterans, with severe limitations and apt to result in dependency, which facilitate the development of short term and long term goals. Incumbent is responsible for encouraging and motivating veterans to become self-sufficient on an ongoing basis. Contributes actively to the strategies and support plans for all veterans served by the CWT team. Analyzes and assesses mental and physical disabilities or other handicaps. Develops training strategies to motivate veterans who have been out of the work arena for some time to gain the necessary work habits needed to return to competitive employment; to consider the practical effect of such handicaps on their motivations and their adjustment to the training, than considers the difficulty in employment placement based on their disability; and if warranted assigns veteran to training program(s) that's best suited for them. Duties of the Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist will include but are not limited to: Ability to determine training needs, to find suitable training programs Assist in job development; marketing and securing jobs Assist veteran in obtaining employment Assist the Veteran in preparing resumes Assist with job seeking skills and strategies while motivating and encouraging the Veteran Discuss the need for training, education and vocational counseling Coordinate training to achieve a satisfactory employment Document activities that meet the need of the Veteran's goals Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 0800-1630 Compressed/Flexible: not available Telework: Ad-hoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Vocational Rehab Speclst/PD07336A and PD07337ARelocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required Not required

Requirements

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• Designated and/or random drug testing may be required
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• You may be required to serve a probationary period
• Subject to background/security investigation
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process
• This position requires a Valid State Driver's License for the duration of employment.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 03/25/2024. 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. 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 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: 1) 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. 2) 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. 3) 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. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have possess two (2) full academic years of progressively higher level graduate education or a Masters' or equivalent graduate degree with a major study in areas such as: vocational rehabilitation, vocational or educational counseling, or other field directly related to vocational rehabilitation. (NOTE: A transcript or course listing must be submitted if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education). OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond the amount required for the next lower grade level is qualifying. (NOTE: A transcript or course listing must be submitted if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education). You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:CommunicationExperience 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: This position requires the incumbent to drive on a regular basis, as 60% of their time will be spent in the community in job development, networking, and providing follow-up support to Veterans who are employed. 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: Jeniqua Knuckles
• Phone: 843-864-4844 X201807
• Email: [email protected]