The incumbent serves as the VAMC's Community Employment Coordinator for Homeless Veterans. The employee is a central figure (liaison, advocate, technical advisor) responsible for the ongoing orientation and training of the Homeless Services continuum in order to connect Veterans to the most appropriate and least restrictive VA and/or community-based employment services.

Duties

Provides information, pre-employment assessment and workforce re-entry planning services, linkage, and coordination for VA and non-VA services, and community-based follow-up services to integrate Veterans into the community through competitive employment. Expected to establish respectful, effective relationships with Veterans and with the clinical and administrative staff from a range of institutions and agencies, including community employers. Provides guidance and training to all homeless programs and staff across the VAMC on resources that enhance and result in competitive employment outcomes for Veterans, in particular those who are homeless or have other barriers to employment. Works with local staff in developing templates for concise, individualized Veteran-centered assessments to determine the needed intensity level of employment services and supports for homeless Veterans. Serves as a liaison to local community providers of employment placement and support services for homeless Veterans. Leads efforts to establish a local employment collaborative which includes VA and non-VA members and community-based employers, and documents access points, requirements for participation and points of contact as indicated. This collaborative should include but is not limited to: Compensated Work Therapy Program (CWT); HCHV and HUD-VASH Employment Specialists; Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) and GPD grantees that target employment; Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) /Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E); Department of Labor grantees such as the Homeless Veteran Reintegration Program (HVRP); and local community and faith-based organizations. Develops employment opportunities for homeless Veterans both directly through community-based job development and indirectly by leveraging the expertise of the employment collaborative. Insures that through the collaborative, competitive employment resources of varying levels of intensity are currently available for homeless and chronically homeless Veterans both at the medical center and in the community. This should include services targeting chronically homeless Veterans who may benefit from a more intensive individualized job development and placement model such as supported employment, as well as Veterans who may request and require a less intensive or even singular service (e.g. resume preparation or job leads) in order to achieve an improved employment outcome. The types of employment services available for homeless Veterans should include but is not limited to: Access to job listings Resume preparation Counseling regarding the impact of employment income on both VA and non-VA benefits and entitlements Negotiations with employers for reasonable accommodations Assistance with completion and submission of job applications Coordination of and transportation to job interviews Interview skills training Job development Job placement Ongoing support for job retention including job coaching. Coordinates with homeless, CWT and community program managers on rapid access and placement strategies for Veterans that reduce barriers to employment and identify appropriate supports to sustain outcomes. Conducts bi-monthly conference calls with all the members (VA and non-VA) of the local employment collaborative serving Veterans and resolves access barriers to rapid job placement. Monitors performance and progress through review (at least quarterly) of cases referred to the members of the collaborative to insure that Veterans are receiving services leading to competitive employment and appropriate follow-up supports. Provides feedback to the homeless program staff and VAMC leadership on system resources, strengths, accomplishments, challenges and recommended corrective actions on a quarterly basis. Develops and maintains a database on referral and placement outcomes and provide feedback to the collaborative members as well as national homeless leadership. Serves as an advocate on behalf of Veterans with members of the employment collaborative and community employers, when appropriate, to ensure comprehensive service delivery resulting on competitive employment. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Vocational Development Specialist/PD90406-0 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet time-in-grade and specialized requirements within 30 days of the the closing date of this announcement, 08/14/2024. 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 within 30 days of 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 specialized 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-9 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Work that required obtaining and applying occupational information for people with disabilities/barriers, 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 and/or barriers; 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 have significant barriers, or personnel or employment placement work that provided extensive knowledge of the training and adjustment requirements necessary to place persons having disabilities/barriers or social adjustment problems. NOTE: Experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month & year starting and ending dates AND hours worked per week. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree OR I have successfully completed 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree OR I have successfully completed a LL.M., in vocational rehabilitation, vocational or educational counseling or related discipline. TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED. 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 a master's degree or more than 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree in vocational rehabilitation, vocational or educational counseling or related discipline. TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Customer ServiceSelf-ManagementTechnical Competence 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: Heavy lifting and carrying, reaching above shoulder, use of fingers, both hands required, climbing, both legs required, operation of motor vehicle, ability for rapid mental and muscular coordination simultaneously, near vision correctable at 13" to 16" to Jaeger 1 to 4, both eyes required, depth perception, ability to distinguish basic colors and shades, and hearing (Aid permitted) 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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Contacts

• Address White City VA Medical Center 8495 Crater Lake Highway White City, OR 97503 US
• Name: John Buan
• Phone: 503-220-8262 X59964
• Email: [email protected]