The Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist (VRS) serves within the Mental Health Service Line and is assigned duties throughout the hospital, its clinics, and within the community. The employee provides therapeutic services to Veterans whose employability or job adjustment is impaired by physical, mental, emotional, or other disability, or by lack of basic education or job skills. The VRS works closely with members of an interdisciplinary team within the facility and community.

Duties

This position involves a multi-grade career ladder. The major duties listed below represent the full performance level of GS-09. At the GS-7 grade level, you will perform assignments of a more limited scope and with less independence. You will progressively acquire the background necessary to perform at the full performance level of GS-09. Promotion is at the discretion of the supervisor and is contingent upon satisfactory performance, availability of higher-level work, and availability of funds. Major duties include but are not limited to: Determine the vocational goals and objectives of Veterans based on referrals from a professional staff member and by interviewing the Veteran. Determine the area of vocational interest and decide what services the Veteran may require in order to successfully obtain employment. Analyze mental and physical disabilities, or other handicaps, in terms of the practical effects on motivation, adjustment to training, and difficulty in employment placement. Counsel and guide Veterans through difficult transitions in the adjustment to employment. Assist the employer in understanding the Veteran's limitations. Evaluate the program, recommend changes, and report program progress. Coordinate with various resources to locate potential employment and training sites in the community. Provide limited technical assistance to Veterans in the Career Center. Develop professional relationships by networking with community employers, agencies, and businesses. Maintain and evaluate data related to the Vocational Rehabilitation program activities. Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm (Evenings and weekends may be required.) Telework: Yes, according to agency policy. Will be further discussed during interviews. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist/PD90457A and PD90468A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required Bargaining Unit Position: Yes - AFGE The VA Midwest Health Care Network advocates for a Whole Health System of care in each of the Medical Centers. This is an approach to healthcare that empowers and equips people to take charge of their health and well-being and live their lives to the fullest. As an employee operating in a Whole Health System of care, you will operate in a model with three core elements, seeking to create a personalized health plan for each Veteran. This is done in the context of healing relationships and healing environments and a connection back to the Veteran's community. This aligns with the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Mission Statement to Honor America's Veterans by providing exceptional health care that improves their health and well-being.

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 06/11/2024. 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-07 and GS-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05 and GS-07, respectively. 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. Minimum Qualifications Requirement: You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: This position has an occupational requirement for specialized experience that is defined as: 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. GS-07 (Developmental) Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade, GS-05, in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include what is stated above, as well as, but not limited to: establishing respectful, effective relationships with patients and staff; determining the vocational goals/objectives of Veterans based on referrals and interviews with the Veteran; assisting with the development of employment opportunities; and maintaining data related to the various activities within a vocational rehabilitation program. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have one full academic year of graduate level education with a major study in vocational rehabilitation, vocational or educational counseling, human services, or a closely related field; or Superior Academic Achievement (SAA). OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have a combination of specialized experience and education beyond a bachelor's degree. GS-09 (Full Performance) Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade, GS-07, in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include what is stated above, as well as, but not limited to: establishing respectful, effective relationships with patients and staff; determining the vocational goals/objectives of Veterans based on referrals and interviews with the Veteran; assisting with the development of employment opportunities through community-based job development; finding suitable employment opportunities while promoting successful adjustment; and maintaining data related to the various activities within a vocational rehabilitation program. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have a master's (or equivalent) degree or 2 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree with a major study in vocational rehabilitation, vocational or educational counseling, human services, or a closely related field. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have a combination of specialized experience and education beyond one full academic year of graduate level education. NOTE: Please see the Education section of this announcement for additional information on qualifying based on S.A.A. and substituting education. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: CommunicationEmployee DevelopmentTeaching OthersTherapy and Counseling 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: You will be asked to participate in a pre-employment examination or evaluation as part of the pre-employment process for this position. Questions about physical demands or environmental factors may be addressed at the time of evaluation or examination. The physical demands of this position are moderate. Although some of the physical work is sedentary, there will be significant (50 - 70% of the time) local travel for support purposes. The stress related to providing services to Veterans in emotional distress or who may be demanding and uncooperative, can be more significant than that of most sedentary positions. 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. Transcripts must be legible and contain sufficient information (e.g., student name, name of institution, total number of credits completed, etc.) to show you meet the requirements as specified in the announcement.

Superior Academic Achievement
Superior Academic Achievement is based on (1) class standing, (2) grade-point average, or (3) honor society membership.

1. Class standing -- Applicants must be in the upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, such as the College of Liberal Arts or the School of Business Administration, based on completed courses.

2. Grade-point average (G.P.A.) -- Applicants must have a grade-point average of:

• 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B" or better) as recorded on their official transcript, or as computed based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or
• 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B+" or better) based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum.
• Grade-point averages are to be rounded to one decimal place. For example, 2.95 will round to 3.0 and 2.94 will round to 2.9.

3. Election to membership in a national scholastic honor society -- Applicants can be considered eligible based on membership in one of the national scholastic honor societies listed below. These honor societies are listed by the Association of College Honor Societies.

To receive credit for your education when a master's degree has not been achieved, your transcripts must show evidence of progress through a set curriculum, i.e., it is part of a program leading to a master's or higher degree and not education consisting of undergraduate and/or continuing education courses that do not lead to an advanced degree.

An academic year of graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent 1 academic year of full-time study. This determination is made based on normal course loads for a full year of study in the graduate program. If that information cannot be obtained from your transcript or other official documentation, 18 semester hours or 27 quarter hours should be considered as satisfying the 1 year of full-time study requirement. Part-time graduate education is creditable in accordance with its relationship to a year of full-time study at the school attended.

When academic credit is expressed in contract months, units, or other terms that differ from conventional semester or quarter hours, it is the responsibility of the applicant to provide an interpretation of such credits from the appropriate institution in order to equate them to the semester or quarter hours specified in the standard.

To credit combinations of education and experience, HR staff will first determine the applicant's total qualifying experience as a percentage of the experience required for the grade level. Next, HR staff determine the applicant's education as a percentage of the education required for the grade level. Finally, HR staff will add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. For example:

• An applicant has 6 months of specialized experience equivalent to GS-7 and 1 year of graduate level education. The applicant meets 50 percent of the required experience but none of the required education since he or she does not have any graduate study beyond one full year of graduate level education. Therefore, the applicant meets only 50 percent of the total requirement and is not qualified for the position. (The applicant's first year of graduate study is not qualifying for GS-9.)

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 St Cloud VA Medical Center 4801 Veterans Drive St Cloud, MN 56303 US
• Name: Timothy Ries
• Phone: 605-336-3230 X7700
• Email: [email protected]