Supervisory Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor

Clarification from the agency

This vacancy announcement is open ONLY to current, permanent Veterans Benefits Administration, Cleveland, Ohio Regional Office employees and current/former VA employees who are CTAP eligible. One selection will be made and the duty location will be Cleveland or out stationed to Cincinnati, Columbus or Dayton, Ohio.

Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors (VRCs) provide and coordinate a wide range of rehabilitation, counseling, and case management services to Disabled Veterans and other eligible individuals. The purpose, objectives, services, and outcomes are developed by the VRC during the evaluation. The program's primary focus will be on helping the Veteran find work and set goals and objectives to help them become more independent in their daily lives.

Duties are divided between counseling duties and case management which include the following, but are not limited to:

• Performing initial rehabilitation evaluations, entitlement assessments, rehabilitation planning, problem-solving and adjustment counseling, case management, including the coordination of all rehabilitation services, case documentation, employment services, and, as necessary, the administration and interpretation of vocation testing.
• Providing services for employer consultation, employment development and placement, career counseling, and vocational planning and assessment.
• Combining data from diagnostic tests and medical records to give a comprehensive picture of strengths, weaknesses, capabilities, and interests to help Veterans find a suitable employment or independent living objective.
• Partnering with Vet Centers, career centers, local Disabled Veterans' Outreach Program, Specialists, Local Veterans' Employment Representatives, VA employment programs, and others to provide job search and placement services.
• Providing information and assistance with the Veteran Readiness and Employment (VR&E) program through individual and group therapy sessions.
• Conducting counseling using a variety of approaches, including tele-counseling, depending on the needs of the Veteran.
• Partnering with administrators at schools, Vet Centers, military bases, and federal, state, and local agencies to determine the individual needs of service members and Veterans and to provide the essential assistance.

Work Schedule: Full time, Monday through Friday
Compressed/Flexible Schedule: Available
Telework: Authorized
Virtual: This is not a virtual position
Position Description Title/PD#: Vocational Rehab Counselor, 39814-A
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required
Bargaining Unit: No
Promotion Potential: None. This position is at it's full performance level.

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 will be required to serve a 1-year supervisory probationary 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

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-13 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-12. 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.

BASIC REQUIREMENT:
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.

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 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

Experience: One-year post-master's degree experience in direct delivery of professional vocational rehabilitation services to individuals with disabilities.

Grandfathering Provision: VRCs employed in VBA on the effective date, July 28, 2023, 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:

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.

1. 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.
2. 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.

Reference: Additional information on the qualification requirements for this position can be located on the OCHCO VA Qualifications Standards website found here.

In addition to meeting the basic requirement above, to qualify for this position you must also meet the qualification requirements listed below:

MINIMUM QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENT: You may qualify based on your experience as described below:

Specialized Experiences: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-12). Specialized experience is defined as one (1) full year of experience in Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment programs. Examples of specialized experience would typically include:

• Expertise with employment and vocational rehabilitation programs.
• Possessing knowledge and expertise in the procedures for vocational and rehabilitation law.
• The expertise to administer and counsel in the areas of counseling, rehabilitation, psychology, career development, and job placement entitlements.

There is no educational substitution for Specialized Experience at this grade 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.



Physical Requirements: The work is primarily sedentary. Work may also require walking and standing in conjunction with travel to and attendance at meetings. The work does not require any special physical effort. 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/.

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):

• Knowledge of Strategic goals and Analyzation: Extensive knowledge and understanding of the strategic goals of the Department's programs in order to analyze existing regulations, policies and procedures; originate or revise regulations, policies, and procedures; perform program evaluations; and provide expert advice in the solution of complex problems.
• Knowledge of Veterans Benefits: Comprehensive knowledge of policies as it relates to Veterans educational benefit determinations.
• Communication: Ability to establish and maintain effective communication (oral and written) with persons both at all organizational levels and with officials of other departments and agencies on policy, technical and administrative matters.
• Supervision: Ability to manage and/or supervise (plan, organize, direct, control, review, etc.) the work activities of subordinates

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

To preview the application questionnaire, click the following link:https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12985319

Narrative responses are not required at this time. If you are referred for consideration, you may be asked to submit additional job related information, which may include, but not limited to; responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities; completion of a work sample, and/or an interview.

Your resume and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment.

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.

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.
• Transcript reflecting your master's degree in Vocational Rehabilitation Counseling (or related degree).
  • 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.

Next steps