Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist

Summary

The Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist (VRS) position is located within the Vocational Readiness and Employment (VR&E) program. Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist (VRS) carries out all duties related to assisting Veterans and Service members with completing their program of rehabilitation services.

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Duties

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The Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist (VRS) is responsible for the provision, supervision and coordination of the rehabilitation services for Veterans or Servicemembers participating in the various programs described in Chapters 36 and 31, and for selected participants under Chapters 18 and 35, of Title 38 U.S.C. Major duties include:

• Authorizes all necessary services and benefits, and receives, reviews and authorizes all charges for services before submitting invoices to Finance Division for payment; provides training and supervision to contract service providers to assure that the services rendered are appropriate and in accordance with accepted professional standards.
• Acts as Contracting Officer's Technical Representative (COTR) to acquire evaluation, case management, employment, and other services needed in the rehabilitation process.
• Provides case management services to includes assistance applying for VA benefits and resolving individual VA benefits issues; coordination of all rehabilitation and employment services; referrals for medical and mental health services; transition support; documentation of progress and adjustment; and development of community and on-campus resources to provide comprehensive services to Veteran Students; and maintenance of case records according to Veterans Affairs (VA) regulations.
• Provides coordination of all rehabilitation services, such as financial decisions, adjusts rehabilitation plans, and coordinates employment services. Makes minor adjustments to rehabilitation plans, if necessary for the Veteran to meet the goals of the original plan.
• Provides comprehensive employment and post-employment services which include assessing employability and assisting in the development of an employment assistance plan; researches resources and funding available in the community for consumers.
• Obtains written reports regarding client progress, documents progress and adjustment, as needed, and maintains case records in accordance with laws and regulations.
• Utilize information from a variety of sources, including an assessment of the Veteran's disabilities, knowledge of VA regulations and other guidelines, the assessment of data received from medical and psychological sources, and vocational evaluations and labor market information.

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.

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#: Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist; 38706A, 38707A

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized

Financial Disclosure Report : Not Required

Bargaining Unit: Yes

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, may be required to serve a 1-year 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.

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.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement: 10/07/2026

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-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.
• 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-9 (or higher) and the promotion potential of your current position must be at least GS-11.

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.

2. INDIVIDUAL OCCUPATIONAL REQUIREMENT (IOR):

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

OR

Experience: Specialized Experience: 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.

In addition to the IOR applicants must possess specialized experience and/or education as described below:

3. MINIMUM QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENT: You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:

GS-09 Grade Level:

• Specialized Experience: Applicants must have one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-07) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience is defined as knowledge or experience in rehabilitation, counseling, disability, therapy, health, employment, wellness or human development theory and principles; experience in career development process and career development theory.

OR

• Education Substitution : Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have a master's or equivalent graduate degree: Major study - vocational rehabilitation, vocational or educational counseling, or other fields related to the position, or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.B. or J.D., if related.

OR

• Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond 1 full year of graduate level education.

GS-11 Grade Level:

• Specialized Experience: Applicants must have at least one year of specialized experience which is equivalent to the next lower grade GS-09, in the normal line of progression for the position. Specialized experience is defined as knowledge and experience in rehabilitation, counseling, disability, therapy, health, employment, wellness or human development theory and principles; rehabilitation counseling skills, techniques and resources needed to work with individuals with multiple disabilities, homebound individuals, individuals with acute or chronic mental disabilities and those with problems adjusting to social and occupational requirements.

OR

• Education Substitution: 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 (major study - vocational rehabilitation, vocational or educational counseling, or other fields related to the position) or 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M., if related.

OR

• Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond 2 full years of graduate level education.

Combining Education & Experience: If you do not fully meet the length of experience and education described for a specific grade level (e.g., have six months of experience and some coursework but not a degree), the two can be combined to total 100% of the requirement. Click here for more information.

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

Education

A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

• Your transcript must show coursework and the total number of credits earned to include graduation date and degree. A diploma is NOT sufficient to determine qualifications.

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit:

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

Special Employment Consideration: VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply, including those eligible for hiring under 5 CFR 213.3102(u), Schedule A, Appointment of persons with disabilities [i.e., intellectual disabilities, severe physical disabilities, or psychiatric disabilities], and/or Disabled veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more. Contact the Agency Contact for information on how to apply under this appointment authority via the Selective Placement Coordinator.

The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP)and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal/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 your 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 ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at

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),

Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments. (

For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the OHRM Status Candidates and Other Candidate Definitions document.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

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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 benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

Receiving Service Credit or Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave : Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6, or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a federal employee. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employees credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved before the appointment date and is not guaranteed.

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Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.