Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist

Description:

The Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist (VRS) position, GS 1715-11, is located within the Behavioral Health Service Line at the Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans' Hospital, Columbia, MO. The primary purpose of this position is to provide vocational rehabilitation, training, and placement services to veterans who may present with a wide array of psychiatric, physical, and neurological disabilities along with various psychosocial stressors.

Requirements:

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 02/28/2025.

INDIVIDUAL OCCUPATIONAL REQUIREMENT (IOR): An IOR is a basic requirement that must be met in order to qualify for entry into this job series, and it is something that can't be waived. To qualify for the GS 1715 occupational series, applicants MUST possess the following (Your resume must reflect your response and or transcript is required for education).

Education: Undergraduate and Graduate Education: Major study -- vocational rehabilitation, vocational or educational counseling, or other fields related to the position.

or

Experience

Specialized Experience (for positions above GS-5): Examples of qualifying specialized experience include:

• Work that required obtaining and applying occupational information for people with disabilities, knowledge of the interrelationships of the involved professional and specialist services, and skill in employing the methodology and techniques of counseling to motivate and encourage individuals served by the program.
• Experience that demonstrated knowledge of the vocational rehabilitation problems characteristic of the disabled , including familiarity with available resources and skill in identifying, evaluating, and making effective use of such resources to serve individuals with disabilities; or of the disadvantaged , including knowledge of adjustment problems of the educationally or culturally disadvantaged, familiarity with available adult education and training resources, and ability to recognize problem areas needing special attention.
• Experience in vocational guidance or teaching in a recognized vocational rehabilitation program or school, developmental or supervisory work in programs of vocational rehabilitation or training programs for the disadvantaged, or personnel or employment placement work that provided extensive knowledge of the training and adjustment requirements necessary to place persons having disabilities or social adjustment problems.

GS-11
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: Experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Applicants who have the 1 year of appropriate specialized experience, as indicated in the table, are not required by this standard to have general experience, education above the high school level, or any additional specialized experience to meet the minimum qualification requirements. OR,
• Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree

  or

  3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree

  or

  LL.M., if related. OR,
• Combination: Equivalent combinations of education and experience are qualifying for all grade levels for which both education and experience are acceptable. 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. (When crediting education that requires specific course work, prorate the number of hours of related courses required as a proportion of the total education to be used.)

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:

• Analysis and Problem Solving
• Clinical Data Collection/Documentation
• Planning and Evaluating
• Planning and Evaluating
• Psychology

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.

Preferred Experience: (1). Experience providing recovery-oriented substance abuse treatment services. (2). Experience providing community-based case management/clinical services. (3). Experience working with an integrated disciplinary mental health clinical team. (4). Experience building community partnerships in formal position.

Physical Requirements: Physical demands include walking, bending, stooping, and standing for extended periods of time.

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/ .