Rehabilitation Counselor

Clarification from the agency

NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below. This announcement is open to current Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Health Administration employees, Federal employees in the competitive & excepted services and the public.

The duties for this position include but are not limited to:

GS-9 and GS-11 Duties

• Provides recovery-oriented vocational and personal adjustment counseling to Veterans in the SUD outpatient program.
• Conducts assessments using record reviews, observations, disability documentation, interviews, and input from Veterans' support systems.
• Develops, adjusts, and monitors patient-centered recovery plans using SMART goals.
• Provides case management or case coordination services in collaboration with the interdisciplinary SUD team.
• Assists Veterans with identifying vocational strengths, interests, skills, barriers, and support needs.
• Teaches job search skills, resume and application development, interview preparation, and basic computer skills.
• Coordinates transportation to interviews, hiring events, and other employment-related activities.
• Completes job analyses to support job coaching, retention services, and successful task performance.
• Counsels Veterans on workplace soft skills, including personal hygiene, cooperation, following instructions, and use of natural supports.
• Completes required clinical documentation, charting, peer review activities, and participates in program improvement efforts.

• Provides vocational and personal adjustment counseling under close or general supervision.
• Provides case management and transferable skills analyses to support employment, education, and independent living goals.
• Synthesizes assessment and diagnostic information with labor market trends and community resources.
• Develops customized vocational evaluations based on each Veteran's abilities, aptitudes, interests, values, and preferences.
• Uses assessment tools, functional capacity information, and vocational preparation data to evaluate skills, residual capacities, accommodation needs, and assistive technology needs.
• Facilitates job placement through structured job readiness and employment preparation support.
• Coordinates job search clubs to improve Veterans' self-directed job search activities.
• Promotes employment programs to community employers under the supervision of certified rehabilitation counselors.
• Conducts outreach and job development to match Veteran strengths with local workforce needs.
• Travels to work sites and meets with community employers, as needed.

• Provides therapeutic rehabilitation interventions and evidence-informed or evidence-based rehabilitation modalities.
• Conducts biopsychosocial assessments and documents personal, vocational, and educational histories.
• Selects, administers, and interprets vocational instruments to assess abilities, aptitudes, interests, values, preferences, transferable skills, and work resilience.
• Consults with the interdisciplinary SUD team to determine clinical need for and capacity to benefit from rehabilitation services.
• Coordinates work restoration and resilience treatment, transitional work placement, supported employment, assistive technology, benefits counseling, and benefits protections.
• Enhances care coordination by ensuring medical clearance and appropriate timing of rehabilitation interventions.
• Provides psychoeducational groups on job search skills, employer-desired soft skills, and life skills that foster independence.
• Procures and manages transitional work agreements with community, state, and federal agencies.
• Monitors work site compliance with agreements to ensure Veterans are trained and evaluated consistent with industry standards.
• Devises solutions to reduce or eliminate placement barriers, including modification of environmental or functional demands in work settings.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Pre-Employment/Post-Employment Physical Examination: May be required, depending on the needs of the organization.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Qualifications

Basic Requirements:

United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.

Education.

• A master's degree in rehabilitation counseling or clinical rehabilitation counseling from a rehabilitation counseling program accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). If the applicant's degree was granted prior to July 1, 2017, the program must be accredited by the Council on Rehabilitation Education.

• A master's degree in counseling or clinical rehabilitation counseling from a college or university accredited by a national or regional accrediting body accredited by Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).

• A master's or doctoral degree in a related field of study with course content that emphasized rehabilitation, counseling, disability, therapy, health, employment, wellness, or human development from a college or university accredited by a national or regional accrediting body accredited by CHEA. OR(4) Foreign graduates with a degree acceptable by the Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification (CRCC).

• Exceptions for Graduate RCs.
  • RC graduates from an approved counseling or rehabilitation counseling program who otherwise meet the basic qualification requirements and the additional degree requirements for CRC certification by the CRCC, but do not possess the required certification, may be appointed, pending certification, as a graduate RC on a full-time temporary appointment not-to-exceed two years under the authority of 38 U.S.C. § 7405(a)(1)(D).
  • Graduate RCs may only be appointed at the entry grade level and may not be promoted/converted until certification is obtained.
  • Temporary graduate RC appointments may not be extended beyond two years or converted to a new temporary appointment.
• Failure to Obtain Certification. In all cases, RCs must actively pursue meeting prerequisites for certification starting from the date of their appointment. This includes working towards completion of CRCC's required acceptable employment experience and completing required CRCC documentation to verify employment experience and supervision by a CRC. At the time of appointment, the RC supervisor will provide the RC with the written requirements for certification, including the time by which the certification must be obtained and the consequences for not becoming certified by the deadline. Failure to become certified within the prescribed amount of time will result in removal from the GS-0101 RC series and may result in termination of employment.
• Loss of Certification. An employee in this occupation who fails to maintain the required certification must be removed from the occupation, which may also result in termination of employment.

• Knowledge of human development and behavior, medical, psychosocial, and vocational aspects of disability and differential influences of environmental and cultural factors to assist persons with disabilities in determining suitable vocational goals.
• Knowledge of history, philosophy and disability rights legislation in the field of rehabilitation to apply in the practice of rehabilitation counseling.
• Ability to synthesize assessment and diagnosis information in conjunction with labor market trends and community/educational resources to develop an effective individual service delivery plan.
• Knowledge of caseload management strategies to maximize an individual's independent functioning from assessment through provision of post-employment services.
• Ability to employ person-centered job development strategies to facilitate successful job placement.
• Knowledge of assessment tools and methods, functional capacity evaluations and specific vocational preparation to evaluate transferrable skills, residual capacities and needs for accommodations and assistive technology.

• Knowledge of physical and psychological disabilities, appropriate accommodations and assistive technology principles to mitigate and reduce or eliminate barriers to integrate into the community.
• Knowledge of counseling theory, medical and psychiatric terminology and signs and symptomology of suicidal and homicidal ideations, to communicate appropriately with community health care professionals to provide useful input to other team members and employers in relation to the Veteran and/or his/her family's psychosocial needs and to recommend and help implement suitable treatment plans.
• Ability to use evidence-based and evidence informed vocational and professional counseling practices to include individual placement and support (IPS), customized employment and supported employment models and motivational interviewing skills to promote self-awareness, adjustment to disability, enhanced job retention and successful integration to the community.
• Knowledge of career development processes and job analysis methodology to determine essential functions of jobs, worksite modifications and/or alternative vocational goals given the work history and residual functional capacities of individuals with disabilities.
• Ability to administer and interpret a wide variety of assessment methods including transferrable skills and labor market analyses to evaluate for individual interests, aptitudes and abilities and to identify suitable vocational goals for the development of an effective individual service delivery plan.
• Knowledge of marketing strategies to develop collaborative partnerships/Memorandums of Agreement within VA and local business community to enhance employment and/or work opportunities.
• Knowledge of military culture and specific factors and dynamics associated with Veterans, particularly combat Veterans, to assist those who are returning to community and community based-work.

• Prior experience working in a Vocational Rehabilitation setting.
• Prior experience working in a substance use disorders treatment setting or population.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Your application, resume, C.V., and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for employment.

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.

The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes:

• Resume

• Cover Letter
• DD-214/ Statement of Service
• Disability Letter (VA)
• CV / Clinical Resume
• Current, full and unrestricted certification as a certified rehabilitation counselor (CRC) from the CRCC to practice vocational rehabilitation counseling
• Name Change Document
• Professional Certification
• Resume
• Separation Notice (RIF)
• SF-15
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcript

Next steps