Vocational Development Specialist

Description:

The Vocational Development Specialist serves as Community Employment Coordinator for Homeless Veterans at each VA Medical Center and serves as a central figure (liaison, advocate, technical advisor) responsible for the ongoing orientation and training of the Homeless Services continuum in order to connect Veterans to the most appropriate and least restrictive VA and/or community-based employment services.

Requirements:

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 08/08/2025.

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-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-9. 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.

You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:

• Specialized Experience: Applicants must have at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-9) in the Federal Service, that directly related to the work of the position and has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties as a Vocational Development Specialist. Qualifying experience includes the following:
  • 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.

OR,

• Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed a PH.D or equivalent doctoral degree, successfully completed three (3) full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree, or LL.M., with a major study in vocational rehabilitation, vocational or educational counseling, or other fields related to the Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist position.

OR,

• Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an equivalent combination of successfully completed graduate level education (beyond the first year) and specialized experience, as described above, to meet the total requirements. The education portion must include graduate courses that demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do to the work of the Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist position. Only graduate education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level may be used to qualify applicants for positions at grade GS-11.

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

• Customer Service
• Decision Making
• Influencing/Negotiating
• Interpersonal Skills
• Written Communication

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 & Work Environment: The work is primarily sedentary, but does require intermittent driving, standing, and walking. A valid driver's license is required. The work requires that the incumbent drive on a regular basis as a significant amount of their time may be spent in the community meeting with Veterans, employers, and other community agency representatives. The work will take place in both standard office settings and in the community at locations such as libraries, employment resource centers, and various job sites. Because of the driving requirement, some work will also take place in a vehicle. 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/ .