Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist

The Battle Creek VA Medical Center's Social Work Service is hiring a Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist to serve at the Battle Creek, MI VA Medical Center and the surrounding community.Qualifications: To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 01/08/2024.
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-09. 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: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-09 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: conducting cognitive and skills inventories in relation to employment; drafting treatment plans and case management for at risk members of the community; coaching and counseling in relation to job readiness skills; coordination of complex health care needs for at risk populations; research, comprehension and application of current rehabilitation methodologies, counseling techniques.

OR,

• Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree

OR,

• Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond 2 years of progressively higher level graduate education .

License: Applicants to this position must possess a current, valid driver's license
You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:

• Analytical Reasoning
• Clinical Data Collection/Documentation
• Compliance
• Intervention
• Technical Competence

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, although some slight physical effort may be required. The work usually takes place outside of the Medical Center. It will occur away from the Center and in the community (i.e. job sites, transitional housing, agencies, business, etc.) Incumbent will be at the Medical Center for meetings with the supervisor, VRS staff, interdisciplinary team meetings and when performing assessments and administrative functions.
Requires no exposure to blood borne pathogens, body fluids, and other potentially infectious materials.
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: Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree
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/.Employment Type: FULL_TIME