Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor (Quality Review Specialist)

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/07/2024. 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 by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-0101-13 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-12 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. You must provide a copy of your most recent SF-50, “Notification of Personnel Action” showing that you are in the competitive service and the highest grade or promotion potential held. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate that you possess (1) year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates (1) year time-in-grade. General Adjustment and Award SF-50’s cannot be used for time-in-grade verification purposes. To qualify for the Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor GS-0101-13: Basic Educational Requirement AND Specialized Experience must be met. In addition to meeting the Basic educational Requirements stated below, one(1) year of post- graduate level professional Vocational Rehabilitation Counseling experience, equivalent to the GS-12 level is required. QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED Effective July 28,2023, VA Handbook 5005 was updated to change the VBA qualification standard for Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors (VRCs) in the GS-0101 series. All applicants must meet the Basic Requirement and Additional Requirements described below, to qualify: BASIC REQUIREMENTS To qualify for the VRC position, candidates must meet the following basic requirements: Education Requirement: To qualify for the VRC position, candidates must meet the following basic requirements. 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 in paragraph a. 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. To qualify for this grade level you must have a Master’s Degree in Rehabilitation counseling that includes an internship. Grandfathering Provision. Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors employed within the VBA on the effective date of (July 28th, 2023) 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. 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. Specialized Experience Requirement: 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 performance of technical assignments affecting the entire field of VA’s Vocational Rehabilitation & Employment (VR&E) division. Specialized experience is defined as post-master’s degree, professional Vocational Rehabilitation Counseling work in delivery to adults with disabilities. Experience reflects the management of vocational rehabilitation counseling or case management workload involving persons with a wide variety of disability conditions (e.g., mental health, physical, cognitive, visual/auditory, substance abuse). Your resume/application must support your response. To meet the specialized experience, your resume should reflect: Experience in conducting assessments of veteran’s employability. Involvement in the development of appropriate vocational goals and subsequent objectives outlined in rehabilitation plans. Providing case management services to veterans while pursuing their rehabilitation plans (e.g., personal contact regarding achievement of vocational goals, referral for medical or ancillary services, and responding efficiently to veterans’ concerns). Experience in training; and understanding and clearly explaining to veterans, the benefits, and services available through the VR&E program. 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: No special physical requirements are required for this position. The incumbent works primarily in an office setting, but will occasionally travel for conferences and trainings. Work may consist of extended hours and lengthy periods of concentration. 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/.
This position is a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor (VRC) as a Quality Review Specialist (QRS), located within Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), Veteran Readiness and Employment (VR&E). The incumbent focuses on VBAs mission to drive improvement in national accuracy and consistency in the provision of benefits delivered to Service members, Veterans, and their families.