Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/11/2024. 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-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05. For a GS-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07.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. 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: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. Informational Note: All applicants must meet the Basic Requirement and Specialized experience as stated below, to qualify. Please make sure documents (i.e. resume, transcripts) include all your qualifying experience and education. Individual Occupational Requirements Education Undergraduate and Graduate Education: Major study — vocational rehabilitation, vocational or educational counseling, or other fields related to the position. or Specialized Experience: Examples of qualifying specialized experience include: Work that required obtaining and applying occupational information for people with disabilities, knowledge of the interrelationships of the involved professional and specialist services, and skill in employing the methodology and techniques of counseling to motivate and encourage individuals served by the program. Experience that demonstrated knowledge of the vocational rehabilitation problems characteristic of the disabled, including familiarity with available resources and skill in identifying, evaluating, and making effective use of such resources to serve individuals with disabilities; or of the disadvantaged, including knowledge of adjustment problems of the educationally or culturally disadvantaged, familiarity with available adult education and training resources, and ability to recognize problem areas needing special attention. Experience in vocational guidance or teaching in a recognized vocational rehabilitation program or school, developmental or supervisory work in programs of vocational rehabilitation or training programs for the disadvantaged, or personnel or employment placement work that provided extensive knowledge of the training and adjustment requirements necessary to place persons having disabilities or social adjustment problems. To qualify for the Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist GS-1715 -07 position: You must have 1 full year of graduate level education or superior academic achievement. AND You must have one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-05 level in the Federal service that has equipped me with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of this position. Qualifying specialized experience includes: Work that required obtaining and applying occupational information for people with disabilities, knowledge of the interrelationships of the involved professional and specialist services, and skill in employing the methodology and techniques of counseling to motivate and encourage individuals served by the program; or experience that demonstrated knowledge of the vocational rehabilitation problems characteristic of the disabled, including familiarity with available resources and skill in identifying, evaluating, and making effective use of such resources to serve individuals with disabilities; or of the disadvantaged, including knowledge of adjustment problems of the educationally or culturally disadvantaged, familiarity with available adult education and training resources, and ability to recognize problem areas needing special attention; or experience in vocational guidance or teaching in a recognized vocational rehabilitation program or school, developmental or supervisory work in programs of vocational rehabilitation or training programs for the disadvantaged, or personnel or employment placement work that provided extensive knowledge of the training and adjustment requirements necessary to place persons having disabilities or social adjustment problems. To qualify for the Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist GS-1715 -09 position: You must have master’s or equivalent graduate degree. OR 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree OR LL.B. or J.D., if related. AND You must have one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 level in the Federal service that has equipped me with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of this position. Qualifying specialized experience includes: Promote optimal occupational functioning of clients within the community by utilizing appropriate counseling, job search, job development, and job placement interventions. Have knowledge of community and VA medical center resources related to vocational assistance and be an expert at determining which combination of vocational services will best meet the employment needs of the Veteran requesting services. Collects and organizes data on Veterans served as required. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Customer Service Decision Making Interpersonal Skills Technical Competence 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: Ability to operate a GSA government passenger vehicle. Work involves driving, walking, standing, sitting, bending, or carrying of light items such as papers, files or small parts, etc. Must be able to work in the community in extreme weather conditions, such as temperatures above 115 degrees Fahrenheit, strong winds or temperatures that could be consider cold. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management’s website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.
The Veterans Affairs Southern Nevada Health Care System (VASNHCS) is a Level I-b facility and ranks among a complex system in the VA serving the VA Sierra Pacific Network (VISN 21). The VASNHCS offers a full range of comprehensive health care services including Dentistry. Geriatrics and Extended Care. Imaging. Medicine Services. Mental Health Services. Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Service. The VASNI ICS offers several special medical programs to include Centers of Specialized Expertise.