Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist - Veterans Health Administration

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 08/27/2026. Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR) You must meet one of the following bullet points to qualify: Education: Undergraduate and Graduate Education: Major study -- vocational rehabilitation, rehabilitation counseling, or other fields related to the position. -OR- 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. Time-in-Grade Restriction: 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. (If you are a WG/WS/WL employee and have not held a GS grade at any time in the past 52 weeks, this question does not apply to you.) For this vacancy, applicants must have held grade GS-09 or higher for at least a year to be eligible for the GS-11 grade level of this position. The grade must have been held in the Federal service but may have been in any occupation. (SF-50 Required) Specialized Experience GS-11: Applicants must have one (1) full year of specialized experience related to this position. This experience must have been equivalent to at least the GS-09 grade level in the Federal Service. Examples of specialized experience include but are not limited to: Experience administering vocational assessment tools. Experience with the concepts of physical and psychosocial rehabilitation. Experience placing clients into appropriate employment sites and following up with clients Ability to communicate effectively with professionals and other staff orally and in writing. Knowledge of veteran benefits and eligibility requirements for various programs. -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 of Experience & Education: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an appropriate combination of specialized experience and education. The IOR, Time In Grade and Specialized Experience are 3 completely separate items and all 3 must be met to meet minimum qualifications***** You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Attention to Detail Customer Service Decision Making Flexibility Integrity/Honesty Interpersonal Skills Learning Reading Comprehension Reasoning Self-Management Stress Tolerance Teamwork 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: Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC) Credential issued by the Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification (CRCC). The following are quality ranking factors. These are knowledge, skills, abilities, and compe