Summary

The incumbent of this position will serve as a Supervisory Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor for the Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E) Division, in the Regional Office. The position supervises VR&E staff and is responsible for the administration and workflow of the division. The incumbent exercises technical and oversight responsibility through subordinate employees for the VR&E Division.

This job is open to

Internal to an agency

Current federal employees of the hiring agency that posted the job announcement.

Career transition (CTAP, ICTAP, RPL)

Federal employees whose job, agency or department was eliminated and are eligible for priority over other applicants.

Clarification from the agency

This vacancy announcement is open ONLY to current, permanent Phoenix, Arizona VBA Regional Office employees and current/former VA employees who are CTAP eligible. For the purpose of this job announcement, Fiduciary Hub bargaining unit employees in the commuting area are considered facility employees.

Duties

As a Supervisory Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor (SVRC) for the Phoenix VA Regional Office, Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E) Division, located in the Phoenix Regional Benefit Office, the Supervisory VRC (SVRC) is responsible for providing supervisory oversight VR&E bargaining unit staff under the direct supervision of the AVREO. These duties include, but are not limited to the following:

Serves as a first-line supervisor for professional counseling staff and other VR&E staff as assigned.
Serves as a subject matter expert in the area of Vocational Rehabilitation and Counseling case processing for the staff.
Provides general guidance to employees on both work and administrative matters, in accordance with established regulations, policies, procedures, and practices. Assists with the staffing of difficult cases with the Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors and Employment Coordinator(s).
Identifies problems with the work, adjusting as needed, to keep the cases moving and ensure accurate, successful rehabilitation scenarios.-Ensures that caseload is appropriately balanced among the professional staff.
Responsible for carrying out case reviews for and training for assigned professional staff on a regular and recurring basis and for conducting these reviews on Phoenix and other out-based locations as needed. In addition, he or she will help to support the quality assurance integrity of the division.
Provides extensive training to incoming Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors within the office. Evaluates that training needs of all existing professional staff, and conducts refresher training, training on new technology/processes, and makes decisions on mission related training scenarios for individual staff.-Is responsible to the VR&E division for Systematic Analyses of Operations in area of program review. Is responsible for identifying and correcting deficiencies recognized through systematic analysis, and for using the information to make improvements and streamline processes.
Reviews Veterans' Counseling, Evaluation, Rehabilitation (CER) records to ensure compliance with regulations and procedures and to promote among staff members high quality of performance in entitlement determinations, evaluation, planning, rehabilitation, and placement services.-Assists the division level management in the process of understanding, implementing, and monitoring a management system of work measurement, program evaluation, accountability, and a management information reporting system as it applies to VR&E.
Manages and assesses employee performance. Makes decisions on inquiries or issues presented by subordinate professional employees, advises the division level management, and assesses the impact on the VR&E program. Takes measures, within VBA guidelines, to mitigate negative impact on the mission, with concurrence of division level management.
Interviews candidates for employment and internal merit promotion, keeping meticulous records of scoring on records review, written portion of interview, oral interview, etc. in compliance with VBA human resource policies.
Recommends performance, special contribution, and other awards for subordinate employees, providing full justification in each package.
Takes appropriate disciplinary action when warranted, carefully adhering to agency, local procedure, and legal requirement for doing so, with the approval of upper level management.
Responsible for handling employee and Veteran complaints and grievances and brings them to successful resolution. Only those which cannot be resolved within the authority of the Supervisory VRC are referred to the AVREO.
Serves as a VR&E Leave Approving Official for Professional Staff and other staff as assigned.
Makes recommendations to the division level management in planning and implementing the VR&E Professional Staff Development Program.
As directed by the Director's Office or division level management as assigned conducts formal investigative inquiries surrounding employee issues and questionable work scenarios. Provides narrative, written reports on investigative inquiry findings that are used by top division management to make decisions on these issues.

Promotion Potential: This position is at the full performance level.
Work Schedule: Full time, 7:00am - 3:30pm Monday through Friday
Compressed/Flexible: Available
Telework: Yes, as determined by the agency policy
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description Title/PD#: Supervisory Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor, 39814A
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required

Requirements

Conditions of employment

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year supervisory probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

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.

Upon completion of your probationary period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Additional Conditions of Employment are as follows:

You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
You may be required to serve a probationary or trial period
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 I-9 Acceptable Documents.
Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 05/22/2026.

Time-in-Grade Requirements: 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.

For a GS-13 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-12 grade level.

To support your claim of time in grade, you must submit your most recent appointment, promotion, or within grade increase 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.

BASIC REQUIREMENTS. To qualify for the VRC position, candidates must meet the following basic requirements:

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.

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 in paragraph 3a 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.

c. Grandfathering Provision. 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. 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.

(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.

Specialized Experience:

To qualify at the GS-13 grade level: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 level or higher. Specialized Experience is defined as experience in Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment programs 1) expertise with employment and vocational rehabilitation programs; 2) possessing knowledge and expertise in the procedures for vocational and rehabilitation law; 3) the expertise to administer and counsel in the areas of counseling, rehabilitation, psychology, career development, and job placement entitlements; 4) the expertise to control budgetary resources for approving and monitoring financial expenditures.

Education: Applicants may not substitute education for the experience at the GS-13 level.

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.

Volunteer Experience: 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; religious; 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.

Full vs. Part-Time Employment: Full-time employment is considered to be at least 35 hours per week. Part-time experience will be credited on a pro-rated basis. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.

Physical Requirements: The position is primarily in an office setting. Some travel may be necessary on occasion for training, meetings, or customer interactions.

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

A transcript must be submitted with your application. It must include your coursework and date of conferral of a Masters degree in vocational rehabilitation (or related) field. Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education to be credited towards qualifications. Provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. All education claimed by applicants will be verified upon appointment. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript to receive credit.

Note: You may submit unofficial transcripts when applying. However, if you are selected for the position, you will be required to provide an official transcript or a statement from the institution (e.g., from the registrar, dean, or other appropriate official) or equivalent documentation prior to the start date.

Additional information

VA supports the use of telework as a way to help attract and retain talented individuals in public service, increase worker productivity, and better prepare the agency to operate during emergencies. This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process.

The Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified (have a final rating of 85 or more) for this vacancy. Information about CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.

Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the position.It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

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.Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer (TJO). Please visit the Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP), https://www.va.gov/EMPLOYEE/docs/The-Fair-Chance-to-Compete-Act.pdf

Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments. (https://appsupport.usastaffing.gov/hc/en-us/sections/28980686389652-Reasonable-Accommodation-Information)

If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, notify the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

Enjoy career benefits that help you find work/life balance, plan for the future, and prepare for the unexpected. With comprehensive health insurance, unmatched paid time off, and broad retirement options, you can rest assured that VA will care for you as you care for those who have served. A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. https://www.vacareers.va.gov/why-choose-va/benefits/index.asp

Review our benefits

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.

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 WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.

You will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position.

You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):

Conflict Management
Influencing/Negotiating
Manages Resources
Partnering
Planning and Evaluating

Rehabilitation Counseling
Workload Management
Assessment and Counseling
Written Communication
Oral Communication
Technical Credibility
Teamwork

If you are best qualified, you may be referred to the hiring manager for consideration and may be contacted for an interview. As a part of the interview process, additional selection criteria may be administered by the hiring manager.

In order to be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and application questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job.

Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on the online assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.

Required Documents

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete application package to include the documents detailed below.
Failure to submit the required documents may result in your application being considered incomplete and you being deemed ineligible. It is your responsibility to ensure your application package (resume, supporting documents, and responses to the questionnaire) is complete, accurate, and submitted by the closing date. We will not request additional documentation or accept late or missing documents after the announcement has closed.

Resume, limited to 2-pages, detailing specialized experience and competencies as they relate to this position.
- For each position in your resume, you must specify the start and end dates (month/year) and a description of duties. If the position was Federal, you must also indicate the grade level. Resumes containing a general summary of all positions held, not specifying start/end dates, and/or not including Federal grade level(s) are insufficient to determine basic qualifications.
Education/Certification/Licensure:
- When relevant or required for the position, include your possession of education/ certification/license and provide any required documentation such as transcripts, and/or details (type and date) of certifications and/or licenses
- Your transcript must show coursework and the total number of credits earned to include graduation date and degree. A diploma is NOT sufficient to determine qualifications.
Your most recent NON-AWARD SF-50. The SF-50 must indicate proof of status and should identify your position title, series, grade, step, salary, tenure, and type of service (Competitive or Excepted).
Your SF-50 reflecting when you entered your highest grade (e.g., Promotion, Appointment, etc.) in order to verify time-in-grade requirements.

Additional Documents accepted:

Most recent Performance Appraisal (VA Form 0750)
Award SF-50s
CTAP documentation - RIF notice, SF-50 showing VA employee, and performance appraisal.

Please use this checklist to make sure you have included other documents required for your application, such as a copy of your transcript (if using education to qualify), SF-50's (current/former Federal employees), documentation to support Veterans Preference claims, or CTAP documentation (for displaced VA employees). You will not be contacted for additional information.

SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action (if applicable for Time in Grade and/or Eligibility):

Most recent SF-50 if you are a current or former Federal employee
An SF-50 showing 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
Award 50's do not provide sufficient information and will not be accepted for the purpose of verifying time-in-grade.
Examples of appropriate SF-50's include:
- Within grade increases at the highest grade held; or
- Promotions with an effective date more than one year old; or
- SF-50's at the highest grade held with an effective date more than one year old.

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.

How to Apply

Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply and be considered for this position, you must complete all required questionnaires, assessments and submit all required documentation as specified in the How to Apply and Required Documents section.

The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. (EST) on 05/22/2026 to receive consideration. It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date.

The application process is as follows:

Click the Apply Online button.
Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation.
Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59 PM (ET) on the announcement closing date.
If you are required to complete any USA Hire Assessments, you will be notified after submitting your application. The notification will be provided in your application submission screen and via email. The notification will include your unique assessment access link to the USA Hire system and the completion deadline. Additionally, in USAJOBS you can click "Track this application" to return to your assessment completion notice.
Access USA Hire using your unique assessment link. Access is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials.
Review all instructions prior to beginning your assessments. You will have the opportunity to request a testing accommodation before beginning the assessments should you have a disability covered under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended.
Set aside about two (2) hours to take the USA Hire Assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue later, you can re-use your unique assessment link.
Your responses to the USA Hire Assessments will be reused for one year (in most cases) from the date you complete an assessment. If future applications you submit require completion of the same assessments, your responses will be automatically reused.

Visit the USA Hire Applicant Resource Center for practice assessments and assessment preparation resources at https://support-usahire.opm.gov/hc/en-us.

To update your application, including supporting documentation: During the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account, find your application record, and click Edit my application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed.

To view the announcement status or your application status: Visit https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/howto/application/status/. Your application status page is where you can view your application status, USA Hire assessment completion status, and review your notifications sent by the hiring agency regarding your application.

Beginning September 27, 2025, Federal agencies will only accept resumes up to two pages in length to comply with the Merit Hiring Plan. Resumes longer than two pages will result in ineligibility for further consideration for the position. USAJOBS will not allow you to upload or build resumes longer than two pages, and you will need to update the resumes in your profile before applying for a job. Resumes should include information relevant to the knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies of the position to which you are applying. VA is unable to make assumptions about qualifications if not clearly listed.

Resumes must be legible so they can be reviewed for eligibility, minimum qualifications and other position requirements listed in the job announcement.

Your resume must be 5MB or less. We recommend saving and uploading your resume as a PDF to maintain formatting and number of pages. We also accept GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, TXT, PDF, ODT or Word (DOC or DOCX). We do not accept PDF portfolio files. We recommend using a sans-serif font size like Lato, if available. Other widely available options are Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, Open San Source Sans Pro, Roboto or Noro Sans. Make your page margins 0.5 inches. Consider using 14-point size font for titles and 10-point for the main text in your resume. The resume builder can help you create a resume using these recommendations and uses the information in your USAJOBS profile to help you get started.

Helpful Hints for Creating a Two-Page Resume:

Prioritize most relevant and recent experience
Use concise, results focused language
Align language from the job announcement
Focus on demonstrating skills and competencies
Remove outdated or unrelated experience
Use the USAJOBS resume builder

Additional guidance on this new requirement and resume building tools can be found at:

USA Jobs Help Center - Resume Page Limit
Applicant Guidance on the Two-Page Resume Limit

For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the OHRM Status Candidates and Other Candidate Definitions document.

Agency contact information

Diana Borts

Phone: 515-323-5822
Email: diana.borts@va.gov

Address: Phoenix Regional Benefit Office
3333 North Central Ave
Phoenix, AZ 85012
US

Next steps

Once your online application is submitted you will receive a confirmation notification by email. After we receive application packages (including all required documents) and the vacancy announcement closes, we will review applications to ensure qualification and eligibility requirements are met. After the review is complete, a referral certificate(s) is issued and applicants will be notified of their status by email. Referred applicants will be notified as such and may be contacted directly by the hiring office for an interview. All referred applicants receive a final notification once a selection decision has been made.

Referred applicants may be contacted at any time during the hiring process. Please check all forms of communication (including email, voicemail, and spam folders), based on the contact information provided with your application, regularly to ensure you don't miss any updates. Failure to respond to communications may result in you being disqualified from consideration. You will receive a final notification of results once a decision has been made.

You may check the status of your application at any time by logging into your USA Jobs account and clicking on Applications. Information regarding your application status can be found in the USAJobs Help Center.

Supervisory Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor Job