Vocational Development Specialist

The Vocational Development Specialist performs a wide range of duties related to attaining and maintaining competitive employment for Veterans. The employee provides services to individuals whose employability or job adjustment is impaired by a physical, emotional or other disability, or by a lack of basic education and job skills.

This position is located at the VA Medical Centers in Canandaigua, New York or Rochester, New York.

Qualifications:

Applicant(s) must meet the following requirements to qualify for this position:

English Language Proficiency - In accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), No person shall serve in direct patient care positions unless they are proficient in basic written and spoken English. You must be proficient in basic written and spoken English in order to meet the requirements of this position.

AND

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Requires at least one (1) year of experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-7) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization.
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.

You will be rated on the following Competencies as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position:

• Education and Training
• Interpersonal Skills
• Technical Competence
• Therapy and Counseling

IMPORTANT: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. All experience listed on your resume must include the month and year start/end dates. 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.

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.

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/.

Responsibilities:

***THIS IS NOT A VIRTUAL POSITION, YOU MUST LIVE WITHIN OR BE WILLING TO RELOCATE WITHIN A COMMUTABLE DISTANCE OF THE DUTY LOCATION***

Duties include but may not be limited to:

• Identifying a broad spectrum of medical, psychological, and neurological problems and their impact on vocational functioning and psychosocial needs.
• Facilitating individual and group job counseling to people with disabilities and other employment challenges.
• Counseling and guiding employee(s) through difficult transitions or rough spots of adjusting to the new position.
• Planning and arranging for the client to study or train for job placements.
• Serving as liaison between the patient and the employment agency.
• Observing the client at the placement site and obtaining feedback on performance from the placement site supervisor.
• Connecting the participant with the appropriate resources to facilitate ongoing employment in a community setting.
• Networking with community employers, community agencies, and community businesses to develop professional relationships to place participants in suitable community employment.
• Providing ongoing support with problem solving, developing interpersonal work relationships, maintaining work performance and quality, and life management activities.
• Collects and organizes data.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 7:30am - 4:00pm
Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required

Salary : $57,118 - $74,250