Supervisory Vocation Rehab Counselor (AVREO)

The Supervisory Vocation Rehab Counselor (AVREO) serves as the Assistant Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Officer (AVREO). The incumbent will provide administrative and technical direction and professional leadership to a professional and technical staff of Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors and clerical staff at the Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Benefits Administration, Pittsburgh Regional Office, Veteran Readiness and Employment Office.

Qualifications:

Time-In-Grade: Applicants who are/were 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-13 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-12 level. To support your claim of time in grade, you must submit your most recent appointment, promotion, or within grade increase SF-50 (not an award or general adjustment SF-50). Some applicants may have to submit more than one SF-50 to demonstrate their eligibility. See the required documents section for more information.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement. Applicants must meet both the Basic Education Requirement and Specialized Experience in order to qualify for the Supervisory Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor position.

The Office of Personnel Management's group coverage qualification standards, associated individual occupational requirements (IOR), and individual qualification standards covering white collar occupations in the Federal competitive service can be found here.

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.

Basic Education Requirement:

a. Education. Successful completion of a master's degree (or higher) in rehabilitation counseling, rehabilitation services, clinical rehabilitation counseling, counseling psychology, mental health counseling, career counseling or social work from an accredited college or university. Your application MUST include a transcript, which must include your coursework and date of conferral of Masters degree in vocational rehabilitation or related field.
AND
b. Internship or Experience Requirement. The required (1) supervised internship or (2) post-master's degree experience is described as follows:
(1) Supervised Internship: The education described above must have included a supervised internship in rehabilitation counseling or case management specialization. The internship must have been supervised by a professional in vocational rehabilitation or a closely related professional field that typically has oversight for vocational rehabilitation programs.
OR
(2) Experience: One-year post-master's degree experience in direct delivery of professional vocational rehabilitation services to individuals with disabilities.

OR

c. Grandfathering Provision. VRCs employed in VBA on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series and grade held, including certifications that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation. For employees who do not meet all the basic requirements in this standard but met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed, the following provisions apply: (1) VRCs who are grandfathered into the GS-0101 occupational series may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance level of a career ladder or changed to a lower grade within the occupation or placed in a supervisory or managerial position. (2) VRCs who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of this qualification standard may not be extended or reappointed on a temporary or permanent basis until they fully meet the basic requirements of this standard. (3) If VRCs who are grandfathered under this provision leave the occupation, they lose protected status and must meet the full qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of re-entry to the occupation.

AND

Specialized Experience: GS-13 Grade Level: Specialized experience is defined as performing one year (52 weeks) of post-master's degree, professional vocational rehabilitation counseling work in delivery to individuals with disabilities. Cases must have involved determining entitlement ranges from simple to complex. This experience must be equivalent to the GS-12 level.

Supervisory/Managerial Probationary Period: This is a supervisory/managerial position. If appointed to this position, you must serve a one-year probationary period, unless you have already completed one as a supervisor or manager.

Responsibilities:

• Plans, organizes, coordinates, directs, and controls the work of the division.
• Directs staffing, placement, assignment, and training of division personnel to manage division workflow/productivity.
• Directs program activities for the delivery of VA benefit programs for Veterans.
• Serves as technical advisor to Regional Office Director for the administration of the VR&E program.
• Establishes and maintains effective relationships with various civic and Veterans organizations.
• Maintains the highest technical and professional authority to make final decisions in the types of claims considered most difficult or critical.
• Provides administrative expertise in all phases of rehabilitation activities, including counseling, case management, rehabilitation plan development, and job development and placement.
• Sets priorities and determines which program elements require immediate attention and which elements can be deferred.
• Identifies and corrects deficiencies recognized through systematic analysis of VR&E operations and multiple sources of performance data reflecting timeliness and quality.
• Maintains collaboration and referrals with employers, school officials, medical and rehabilitation officials, contractors, state employment service personnel, and other community resources.