Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor

Summary

Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors (VRCs) provide and coordinate a wide range of rehabilitation, counseling, and case management services to disabled veterans and other eligible individuals. The purpose, objectives, services, and outcomes are developed by the VRC during the evaluation. The program's primary focus will be on helping the Veteran find work and set goals and objectives to help them become more independent in their daily lives.

Duties

Duties are divided between counseling duties and case management which include the following, but are not limited to: Performs initial rehabilitation evaluations, entitlement assessments, rehabilitation planning, problem-solving and adjustment counseling, case management, including the coordination of all rehabilitation services, case documentation, employment services, and, as necessary, the administration and interpretation of vocation testing. Provides services for employer consultation, employment development and placement, career counseling, and vocational planning and assessment. Combines data from diagnostic tests and medical records to give a comprehensive picture of strengths, weaknesses, capabilities, and interests to help patients find a suitable employment or independent living objective. Partners with Vet Centers, career centers, local Disabled Veterans' Outreach Program, Specialists, Local Veterans' Employment Representatives, VA employment programs, and others to provide job search and placement services. Provides information and assistance with the Veteran Readiness and Employment (VR&E) program through individual and group therapy sessions. Conducts counseling using a variety of approaches, including tele-counseling, depending on the needs of the Veteran. Partners with administrators at schools, Vet Centers, military bases, and federal, state, and local agencies to determine the individual needs of service members and Veterans and to provide the essential assistance. Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level. The grade progression for this position is: GS-09/11/12. Work Schedule: Full time, Monday through Friday 8:00am-4:30pm Compressed/Flexible Schedule: Not Available. Telework: 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 Title/PD#: Vocational Rehab Counselor; 38544A, 38543A, 38542A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Required Bargaining Unit: Yes

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement: 09/28/2026 1. TIME-IN-GRADE REQUIREMENT: Applicants who are current/former Federal employees and have held a GS grade at any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07 level. For a GS-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09 level. For a GS-12 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-11 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-09/11/12 (or higher) and the promotion potential of your current position must be at least GS-12. The grade may have been in any occupation and 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. Your SF-50 must indicate proof of status (career, career-conditional, or excepted service), time-in-grade requirements have been met, and identifies your position title, series, grade, step, salary, tenure, and type of service. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate possession of time-in-grade requirements. In this instance, you must also submit your most recent Promotion or Within Grade Increase SF-50, or a Promotion or Within Grade Increase SF-50 that indicates the highest grade/step previously held. DO NOT submit Award SF-50s and/or General Adjustment SF-50s as they cannot be used to verify 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. 2. BASIC REQUIREMENTS: To be eligible for this position, candidates must meet the following basic requirements: a. 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. AND b. Internship or Experience Requirement: The required supervised internship or post-master's degree experience is described as follows: Supervised Internship: The education in the Basic Requirements above 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 Experience: One-year post-master's degree experience in direct delivery of professional vocational rehabilitation services to individuals with disabilities. Grandfathering Provision: VRCs employed in VBA on the effective date, July 28, 2023, of 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. Reference: Additional information on the qualification requirements for this position can be located on the OCHCO VA Qualifications Standards website found here. 3. SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS: In addition to the requirements above, you must also meet the following grade-specific qualification requirements. Creditable experience must have been obtained post-graduate and be directly related to the duties to be performed to qualify to work as a professional VRC. NOTE: If work experience is credited for the basic requirement, that experience cannot also be used for qualifying at the GS-11 or GS-12 levels. GS-09 Grade Level: There are no additional qualification requirements at this grade level. GS-11 Grade Level: Specialized Experience: In addition to meeting the Basic Requirements stated above, completion of one year of specialized experience equivalent to at leas