Supervisory Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor

Summary

This role is in the Veteran Readiness and Employment Division (VR&E). The incumbent will serve as Supervisory Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor (VRC) for the VR&E Division in the Regional Office. The position supervises VR&E staff and is responsible for the administration and workflow of the division. The SVRC exercises technical and oversight responsibility for subordinate employees for the VR&E division. This role is not remote and requires regular in-person attendance at the Waco office.

Duties

Specific duties include: The Supervisory Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor (SVRC) duties include oversite of VRCs performing initial evaluations, transferable work skills analysis, employability assessments, entitlement determination, rehabilitation planning, problem-solving counseling, adjustment counseling, case documentation, and administration and interpretation of vocational testing when appropriate. Analyzes and interprets laws, regulations, and rules as they affect the establishment of new policies, procedures, and methods of operation. Gathers and interprets a wide range of data addressing service concerns. Further, they can recommend appropriate action based on the data. Interviews claimants in-person or over the telephone and to elicit information essential to resolve a concern or obtain necessary evidence so that a pending claim may be properly adjudicated. The SVRC is responsible for administrative actions affecting VR&E activity and provides advice, counsel, and instruction to individual employees on both technical and administrative matters. Responsible for personnel administration and actions (e.g., evaluates subordinates' performance, interviews, and makes recommendations for position appointments, promotions, or reassignments; hears and resolves employee and Veteran complaints, effects disciplinary measures, and identifies training needs). Incumbent is responsible for training and monitoring performance of employees within the unit; prepares performance ratings, resolves disciplinary and performance problems, and assesses the on-going training needs of the employees supervised. The SVRC plans work to be accomplished by subordinates, sets, and adjusts short-term priorities, and prepares schedules for completion of work; assigns work to subordinates based on priorities; gives advice, counsels, or instructions to employees on work matters; interviews candidates for positions in the unit; recommends awards or bonuses for staff employees. Incumbent will work with a team of Counseling Psychologists, Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors, Employment Coordinators, and Program Support Specialists. The SVRC recommends the use of overtime, training, and travel for attendance at meetings. Incumbent is responsible for furthering the goals of Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) by taking positive steps to assure the accomplishment of affirmative action objectives, and by adhering to nondiscriminatory employment practices regarding race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or handicap. Specifically, incumbent initiates nondiscriminatory practices and affirmative action for the area under his/her supervision in the following: (1) merit promotion of employees and recruitment and hiring of applicants; (2) fair treatment of all employees; (3) encouragement and recognition of employee achievements; (4) career development of employees; and (5) full utilization of their skills. The SVRC reviews case files for Quality Assurance, and contributes to the development of reports, including Strategic Oversight and Analysis Reviews (SOAR's), Quarterly Reports, Congressional and IRIS inquiries, White Papers, and other special projects. Ensures that performance goals related to timeliness, accuracy, cost, customer service, and employee development are met and takes action to help the organization achieve said goals. This includes assessment of office issues, client and organizational needs, directives, and ensuring that the quality, timeliness and cost-effectiveness of resources align with VBA expectations. The SVRC acts as a program consultant to federal and state rehabilitation agencies to coordinate services. The incumbent facilitates operations with major public and private universities, community colleges, and vocational/technical institutes in the state to resolve training issues. The incumbent may serve as technical representative in developing, awarding, implementing, and evaluating contracts to provide professional counseling, evaluation, case management, and employment services. Additional duties include coordinating intra and inter-state transfer of cases, and consulting with VR&E Officers throughout the field. Other additional duties as assigned. Promotion Potential: None - Position is at Full Promotion Level Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm Compressed/Flexible: Not Available Telework: Yes - This position is eligible for situational (ad hoc) telework only. The selectee is required to report to the official duty station each scheduled workday. Telework may be approved only on a case-by-case basis with supervisory approval. Routine or recurring telework is not authorized for this position. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Supervisory Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor; PD39814A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement: 10/19/2026 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-13 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-12 level. If you are a current VBA employee requesting a 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 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: 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 (IOR): To qualify for the SVRC position, candidates must meet the following basic requirements: Degree: behavioral or social science; or related disciplines appropriate to the position. OR Combination of education and experience that provided the applicant with knowledge of one or more of the behavioral or social sciences equivalent to a major in the field. OR Four years of appropriate experience that demonstrated that the applicant has acquired knowledge of one or more of the behavioral or social sciences equivalent to a major in the field. SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENT: In addition to meeting the basic requirements, applicants must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade of GS-12 LEVEL: Specialized experience is defined as one (1) full year of performance of technical assignments affecting the entire field of VA's Veteran Readiness & Employment (VR&E) division. 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 rehabilita