Supervisory Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor

Clarification from the agency

This vacancy is open to current permanent employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Employment Opportunities Act, current/former VA employees who are CTAP eligible, ICTAP eligible current/former federal employees, Land Management, Transfer employees in Competitive service, and Interchange eligible.

Specific duties include:

• Supervises GS-13 Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors, assigning work, evaluating performance, providing coaching, resolving routine personnel issues, and ensuring alignment with VA/VBA strategic goals.
• Leads national VR&E quality assurance and compliance activities, including monthly QA reviews, audits, special focus reviews, and supervisory validation of work products.
• Ensures accuracy, completeness, and regulatory compliance of QA findings; monitors staff accuracy trends; implements corrective actions and targeted training.
• Conducts complex program analysis, identifies systemic issues, evaluates trends, and recommends policy, procedural, and training improvements.
• Interprets statutes, regulations, policy, and directives; provides expert technical guidance to VR&E staff, leadership, and stakeholders.
• Coordinates communication with senior leadership, field stations, and internal teams; delivers briefings; clarifies policy issues; and fosters cross-organizational collaboration.
• Responds to inquiries, audits, and oversight reviews (GAO, OIG, Congressional); prepares formal responses and recommends corrective measures.
• Develops QA review protocols, procedures, and training materials; ensures consistent application of QA methodology across reviewers.
• Maintains program knowledge related to VR&E laws, regulations, procedures, and performance requirements; ensures timely completion of assignments and training.
• Performs all other duties as assigned.

Promotion Potential: Position is at Full Performance Level.

Work Schedule: Full time, Monday through Friday
Compressed/Flexible: May be available.
Telework: Ad Hoc.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Supervisory Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor; 402860.
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required.

Conditions of employment

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year 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 , your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

• 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 period
• Subject to background/security investigation
• Selectees are required to service a one-year supervisory probationary period if not previously completed in a Federal position.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process

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.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement:08/03/2026.

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.

• For a GS-14 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-13 level.

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.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENT: You may qualify based on your experience as described below:
GS-14 Grade Level:

Specialized Experience:

• Supervising professional staff performing VR&E quality assurance reviews, including assigning work, evaluating performance, and ensuring timely completion of review activities.
• Conducting or overseeing technical accuracy reviews of VR&E case files for compliance with federal statutes, regulations, directives, and policy.
• Interpreting and applying VR&E laws, regulations, and procedures, and providing expert technical guidance to staff, leadership, and stakeholders.
• Analyzing program data, accuracy trends, and reconsideration requests to identify systemic issues and recommend corrective actions, training, or procedural improvements.
• Communicating complex quality findings and policy issues to senior leaders and field stations and coordinating QA activities across multiple teams and locations.

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; when including part-time employment in your resume you must specify the average hours worked per week.
Physical Requirements: Position is sedentary.

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.

• Accountability - Holds self and others accountable for measurable, high-quality, timely, and cost-effective results; determines objectives, sets priorities, delegates work; accepts responsibility for mistakes; complies with established control systems and rules.
• Administration and Management - Knowledge of planning, coordination, and execution of business functions, resource allocation, and production.
• Administrative Law - Knowledge of state and federal administrative laws, including procedures, regulations, guidelines, and precedents related to case preparation and settlements.
• Compliance Inspection - Knowledge of the guidelines, regulations, and procedures associated with compliance inquiries, including application of compliance rules and criteria and ability to make appropriate decisions and issue citations, fines, or orders.
• Conflict Management - Manages and resolves conflicts, grievances, confrontations, or disagreements in a constructive manner to minimize negative personal impact.
• Creative Thinking - Uses imagination to develop new insights into situations and applies innovative solutions to problems; designs new methods where established methods and procedures are inapplicable or are unavailable.

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.

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

Supervisory Situational Judgement Test: Applicants will be required to complete a Supervisory Situational Judgment Test (SSJT) as part of the assessment process for this position. The SSJT evaluates judgment, decision-making, and leadership competencies associated with effective supervision in a Federal work environment. This is not a timed test, however, the assessment is expected to take approximately 45 minutes or less to complete. This assessment is required for all applicants. If you do not complete the assessment, it will result in an incomplete application and you will receive no further consideration.

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 apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package to include the documents detailed below. Resumes may not exceed two pages and must be legible for review of eligibility, minimum qualifications and other position requirements listed in the job announcement. Your resume and supporting documentation will be verified. Failure to submit the documents as specified may result in loss of consideration for this job announcement.

• Resume:
  • Contact Information:
    • Name and how best to contact you, including email address and phone number
  • Relevant Work Experience:
    • For each relevant work experience, make sure you include:
      • Job Title and Employer (including series and grade for any Federal positions)
      • Start and end dates with month/year (e.g., 05/2019 - 08/2022)
      • The number of hours you worked per week
    • Ensure work experience descriptions are aligned with the job announcement and address all required qualifications. Brief descriptions should demonstrate your ability to perform the tasks at the required level as stated in the job announcement
  • Optional Details:
    • When relevant, include:
      • Current Security Clearance
      • Job-related training
      • Language skills
      • Organizations and affiliations
      • Professional publications
      • Eligibility for special programs (e.g., military spouses, individuals with disabilities, etc.)
• A copy of 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 To verify you meet Time-in-Grade requirements, also submit a SF-50 reflecting when you entered your highest grade held (e.g. Promotion, Appointment, etc.).
• Current VBA Employees seeking a reassignment/change to lower grade: you must submit a copy of your most recent SF-50 (non-award) AND the SF-50 placing you into your current position.
• 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.
  NOTE: Award and General Adjustment SF-50's do not provide sufficient information will not be accepted for the purpose of verifying time in grade. Recommended SF-50's include Within Grade Increases (WGI), Promotions and Appointments.

Additional Documents accepted:

• Most recent Performance Appraisal (VA Form 0750)
• Award SF-50s
• Documentation to be considered under non-competitive eligibility (if applicable) such as a member-4 DD-214, civil service preference letter, or Schedule A letter.
• CTAP documentation - RIF notice, SF-50 showing VA employee, and performance appraisal

Next steps