Job Seekers

Rehabilitation Counselors in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) work with persons who experience functional impairments and disabilities associated with mental health, physical, and/or psychosocial challenges affecting employment, independent living, or personal adjustment. Rehabilitation Counselors utilize various professional counseling and clinical modalities to promote and support optimal functioning, independence, personal adjustment, adaptation to disability, and recovery. To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 05/12/2023. 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 the GS11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS9. 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. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-9 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: counsel and guide individuals through difficult transition in the adjustment to employment; identify employers with potential job openings; develop job leads for clients with area employers; set up interviews; assess training needs to meet vocational goals/objectives; maintain day-to-day contact with potential employers; act as liaison between individual and work environment/employer; documenting interactions with electronic medical record system. Education: Master's degree in rehabilitation counseling or clinical rehabilitation counseling; or a doctoral degree in a related field of study; or a degree acceptable by the Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification (CRCC) for Foreign graduates. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. Only graduate education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level may be used to qualify applicants for positions at grades GS-9 and GS-11. Do you possess one year of specialized experience; a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree, 4 full years of progressively higher graduate education leading to such a degree, or LL.M., if related; or a combination of education and experience. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: 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 physical demands of this position are minimal. The physical work is sedentary although the stress related to providing services to clients in emotional distress or who may be demanding and uncooperative can be more significate then that of most sedentary positions. The driving of government vehicles on station and in the community is required. 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/. ["This serves as a standard Rehabilitation Counselor (RC) functional statement (FS) to be used within VHA Voc Rehab Service programs throughout the VHA. The incumbent performs the majority or all the following major duties and responsibilities in this standard FS. The incumbent serves as a journey level Rehabilitation Counselor providing personal adjustment counseling, therapeutic rehabilitation interventions, and case coordination services. Uses evidence-informed and evidence-based modalities to aid Veterans with severe disabilities, such as physical, psychosocial, psychological, or neurological barriers, integrate successfully into the community. Serves Veterans who have myriad barriers to overcome and achieve competitive employment, educational, and independent living goals. Conduct biopsychosocial assessments using medical records, pertinent disability documentation, observation and interviews with Veterans and their support systems to generate personal, vocational, and educational histories. Selects, administers, and interprets vocational and other psychometric instruments to evaluate abilities, transferrable skills, functional capacity, labor market analyses, aptitudes, interests, values, preferences, and overall work resilience and synthesize into an interpretive data report. Customizes vocational exploration activities to identify self-determined rehabilitation needs and goals. Administers Measurement Based Care instrument to track progress throughout treatment and adjust goals and services as needed. Determine clinical need for and capacity to benefit from therapeutic and rehabilitation services to include work restoration/resilience treatment, transitional work placement and/or competitive employment, assistive technology, financial benefits counseling and potential benefits protections. Devises solutions to reduce and/or eliminate barriers and meet Veterans' placement needs which may require substantial modification to environmental or functional demands within a work setting. Must have a valid Driver's License. Experience with individuals with substance use disorders preferred. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00am-4:30pm Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Telework: Available Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required"]

Return to Search Results