Summary

This Supervisory Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor (SVRC) position is located within the Veteran Readiness and Employment Division (VR&E). The Supervisory Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor for the Veteran Readiness and Employment (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 incumbent exercises technical and oversight responsibility for subordinate employees for the VR&E Division.

Duties

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The Supervisory Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor (SVRC) Duties are:

• Serves as a first-level supervisor for the VR&E personnel located at the Regional Office or out-based facility, providing advice and guidance on unusual or unprecedented problems. The work supervised is vital to the processes through which VBA directly serves the public.
• Responsible for interviewing and recommending selection of employees to the VR&E Officer. Is also responsible for training and monitoring performance of employees within the unit. Prepares performance ratings, assists on preparing division reports, resolves disciplinary and performance problems, and assesses the ongoing training needs of the employees supervised at the out-based locations.
• Reviews and provides consultation and supervision regarding the most difficult cases, using expertise, training, and experience beyond the journeyman level of line VR&E Counselors. This also includes broad expertise of divisional operations to provide supervision and management of the Employment Coordinator and Program Specialist positions.
• Provides quality assurance, contributing to the development of reports, such as Strategic Oversight and Analysis Review (SOAR) quarterly reports, congressional and AVA inquiries and white papers. The SVRC is supervised and accountable to the VR&E officer, with consultation of the Assistant VR&E officer.
• Collects data and prepares accurate reports and analysis as required by the VR&E officer, including systematic analysis of operations (SAO's) and reports on special projects. Identifies and recommends to the VR&E officer changes needed for improvement of operations or service and acts as directed. The incumbent prepares a budget for travel funds for employees under their supervision and monitors the use of travel funds.
• Provides technical support and supervision as needed for accomplishing the work of the unit. Analyzes, interprets, and managerially enforces the application of laws, regulations, and rules as they affect policies, procedures and methods of operations. Also performs administrative and personnel management functions relative to staff supervised as directed.

Promotion Potential: Position is at Full-Performance Level.

Work Schedule: Full time, Monday through Friday, 8:00AM - 4:30PM.

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#: Supervisory Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor; 39814A

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized

Financial Disclosure Report: Required

Bargaining Unit: No

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1-year Supervisory probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the Agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the Agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your probationary period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Additional Conditions of Employment are as follows:

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• You may be required to serve a probationary or trial period
• Subject to background/security investigation
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements I-9 Acceptable Documents.
• Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.

Qualifications

As a current Federal, GS employee you must meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement.: 08/12/2026

1. TIME-IN-GRADE REQUIREMENT: As a current Federal, GS employee you must meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

• For a GS-13 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-12 level.

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.

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:

1. 1. 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

1. 1. Experience: One-year post-master's degree experience in direct delivery of professional vocational rehabilitation services to individuals with disabilities.

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 time-in-grade and education/internship requirements, 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.

GS-13 Grade Level: 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.

• Specialized Experience: GS-12 working with employment and vocational rehabilitation programs; possessing knowledge and expertise in the procedures for vocational and rehabilitation law; administering counsel in the areas of career development, job placement, psychology, rehabilitation and counseling; and provide individual and group training, orientation, consultation and guidance within specialization of rehabilitation counseling practice to develop, improve and maintain programming.
• Education cannot be used to qualify for the GS-13.

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; religious; 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. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.

Physical Requirements: The position is primarily in an office setting. Some travel may be necessary on occasion for training, meetings, or customer interactions.

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/.

Education

A transcript must be submitted with your application. It must include your coursework and date of conferral of a Masters degree in vocational rehabilitation (or related) field.

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education to be credited towards qualifications. Provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. All education claimed by applicants will be verified upon appointment. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript to receive credit.

Note: You may submit unofficial transcripts when applying. However, if you are selected for the position, you will be required to provide an official transcript or a statement from the institution (e.g., from the registrar, dean, or other appropriate official) or equivalent documentation prior to the start date.

Additional information

The Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified (have a final rating of 85 or more) for this vacancy. Information about CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.

Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the position.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.

Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer (TJO). Please visit the Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP), https://www.va.gov/EMPLOYEE/documents/The-Fair-Chance-to-Compete-Act.pdf

Benefits

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A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of bene