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Summary The Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist (VRS) delivers individualized, recovery-oriented vocational rehabilitation services to Veterans facing significant barriers to employment, including serious mental illness, substance use disorders, homelessness, and other psychosocial challenges. The VRS supports Veterans throughout the employment continuum-preparing for, securing, and maintaining competitive community-based employment. Responsibilities Duties include, but are not limited to: Facilitates placement by identifying appropriate job matches, engaging employers, negotiating accommodations, and supporting the development of natural workplace supports. The VRS conducts comprehensive vocational assessments and develops individualized Vocational Assessment Profiles (VAPs) to identify Veterans' strengths, interests, employment goals, and potential barriers. Utilizing tools such as motivational interviewing, the VRS collaborates with Veterans to establish realistic and measurable vocational goals, which are integrated into the treatment or recovery plan. The VRS also facilitates referrals to appropriate internal and external resources, including educational programs, benefits specialists, or mental health supports, as needed to advance the Veteran's vocational success. The VRS is responsible for completing timely and accurate documentation in the Computerized Patient Record System (CPRS), including initial assessments, individualized service plans, progress notes, and discharge summaries. The VRS enters required program data into the Northeast Program Evaluation Center (NEPEC) system and tracks workload in Power BI or other VA platforms to meet local and national reporting requirements. Documentation must meet VHA policy and CARF accreditation standards. The VRS also participates in program evaluation efforts, fidelity reviews, and regular case conferences or consultation calls to ensure alignment with evidence-based practices and compliance with Compensated Work Therapy (CWT) program expectations. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 7:30AM - 4:00PM Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist/PD14661-A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized Requirements Conditions of Employment 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/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 (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP) Driver's License Requirement: A current, valid state - issued Driver's License is required for this position. NOTE: We cannot accept photographs, therefore; please do not submit a copy of your license with your application package. If an interview is requested, you will be required to provide a copy of your current, valid state-issued Driver's License. Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 08/05/2025. 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 by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07. 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. Individual Occupational Requirements (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 Individual Occupational Requirements (IOR), You must also meet the requirements below: Specialized Experience (GS-09): You must have one 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. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Providing rehabilitation counseling and guidance which facilitates the individual's adjustment to community employment; performing vocational assessments and plans services related to strengths, needs, abilities and personal desires of individuals in vocational rehabilitation program; documenting all interactions, assessments, and plans within the electronic medical record system; working closely with interdisciplinary teams to identify and address barriers to employment for individuals; helping others learn through formal or informal methods, identifying needs, providing constructive feedback, coaching others on how to perform tasks, acting as a mentor, such as assisting individuals with targeting job search activities and job seeking; gathering and entering data into computer system in order to evaluate program goals and individuals' progress; working directly with community employers and agencies regarding vocational rehabilitation program; adapting best practices to meet the needs of participants who have barriers such as severe mental illness, substance use disorder, and at risk for or currently homeless; developing collaborative relationships, contributing to a culture of trust, with participants. NOTE: 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 on their resume. OR GS-09 Substitution of Education for Experience (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED): 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 or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.B. or J.D., if related. OR GS-09 Combination of Education and Experience (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED): Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. Only education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level may be used to qualify applicants (GS-07: 1 full year of graduate level education or superior academic achievement). You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Interpersonal Effectiveness Psychology Teaching Others Technical Competence Therapy and Counseling 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. Physical Requirements: The work is primarily sedentary but requires regular mobility, including standing, walking, and bending during site visits or community outreach. The incumbent may occasionally carry light items such as work documents, resource materials, or a laptop. Travel is required to various community locations, including employer worksites, transitional housing programs, and partner agencies within the Eastern Colorado Health Care System's catchment area. Although the physical demands are generally minimal, the position may involve periods of heightened stress due to the nature of the Veteran population served and the emotional intensity of certain interactions. The incumbent must be able to manage multiple priorities and remain flexible in a fast-paced and variable work environments. 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/. Education A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. 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: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. 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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/. Additional Information Probationary Periods: Competitive Service: The First year of service of an employee who is given a career or career-conditional appointment to the competitive service under the civil service Regulations is a probationary period unless specifically be the appointing authority. Excepted Service: The first year of continuous service in the same or similar position of a preference eligible in the excepted service is a trial period. The first 2 years of continuous service in the same or similar position of an individual in the excepted service(other than a preference eligible). Is a trial period. 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. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement. 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. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.