Supervisory Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement:11/05/2024. 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. For a GS-13 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-12 grade level. If you are a current VBA employee seeking reassignment or change to lower grade via this vacancy announcement, you must currently hold the GS-13 (or higher) and the promotion potential of your current position must be at least GS-13.The Supervisory Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor series requires that all applicants meet both the Basic Requirement per the Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR) AND the Specialized Experience described below: Individual Occupational Requirements: 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 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. OR (3) GRANDFATHERING PROVISION: Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors employed within the VBA on the effective date of (July 28, 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. **NOTE: ALL TRANSCRIPTS MUST HAVE A CONFERRED DATE** You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: In addition to meeting the basic requirements, applicants must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS 12 level. You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 level. Specialized Experience is defined as experience in Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment programs: 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. Providing individual and group training, orientation, consultation and guidance within specialization of rehabilitation counseling practice to develop, improve and maintain programming. There is no educational substitution at the GS-13 grade level. Nonqualifying Experience: Vocational Rehabilitation experience obtained prior to completion of the requirements for the master’s degree is not qualifying. If one year of work experience is credited for the basic requirement, that year cannot also be used for qualifying at the GS 13 level. 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; 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. 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: Mostly 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/.
As a Supervisory Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor (SVRC) for the Veteran Readiness and Employment (VR&E) Division, the Supervisory VRC (SVRC) is responsible for providing supervisory oversight to VR&E bargaining unit staff under the direct supervision of the Assistant Veteran Readiness and Employment Officer (AVREO) and ultimately under the VR&E Officer.