Supervisory Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor (SVRC)

Summary The Supervisory Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor (SVRC) is assigned to the San Diego Regional Benefits Office, Veteran Readiness and Employment (VR&E). The incumbent is an integral part of VBA's Quality Assurance (QA) Program, supervises the QA Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors (VRCs) on the Local Quality Review Team (QRT) conducting QA reviews for individual case managers, and serves as a key technical advisor to VR&E Service. Responsibilities The Major Duties of the Supervisory Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor (SVRC) are not limited to: Examines VR&E case files chosen for every VRC to ensure they comply with various guidelines, policies, and directives related to Chapter 31 delivery and other VR&E benefits. Identifies trends, best practices, and areas in which individual VRCs need clarification of policy or guidance, as well as training needs. Addresses employee grievances and forwards others to the relevant manager. Ensures that everyone in the team is aware of and involved in the planning process for achieving the goals and objectives of the group. Identifies, assigns, and distributes work among team members in accordance with established workflow, skill level, and/or occupational specialization. Maintains program knowledge to answer questions related to statutes, regulations, directives, policies, and procedures governing the provision of VR&E services. Reviews work completed by QRT employees under supervision and verifies the reviews' accuracy. Assesses and indicates issues in various case components, such as application, entitlement, assessment, planning, case management, financial activity, and case closure. Provides clarification for errors and adds remarks where appropriate. Work Schedule: 7:00AM - 3:30PM Monday through Friday. Telework: Available. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: 39814A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized. Financial Disclosure Report: Not required. Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/21/2024. Local Commuting Area Requirement: This vacancy announcement is open ONLY to current, permanent Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) employees and current/former VA employees who are CTAP eligible. If you are a current VBA employee requesting a reassignment or change to a lower grade via this vacancy announcement, you must currently hold the GS-13 (or higher) and the promotion potential of your current position must be at least GS-13. And, Time-In-Grade Requirement: You must provide a copy of your most recent SF-50, "Notification of Personnel Action" showing that you are in the competitive service and the highest grade or promotion potential held. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate that you possess (1) year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates (1) year time-in-grade. General Adjustment and Award SF-50's cannot be used for time-in-grade verification purposes. For a GS-13 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-12. Specialized Experience: One (1) year of Specialized Experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level. Specialized experience is defined as GS-13 Level: A comprehension of independent living (IL) requirements; Experience with psychological and vocational testing principles; Experience with a broad range of vocational rehabilitation laws, regulations, rules, and policies in the realm of implementing adjudicative decisions and/or developing rehabilitation plans. 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. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at http://://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/. Education There is no educational substitution at this grade level. Additional Information Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer (TJO). Please visit the Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP), va.gov/EMPLOYEE/docs/The-Fair-Chance-to-Compete-Act.pdf for more information. VA supports the use of telework as a way to help attract and retain talented individuals in public service, increase worker productivity, and better prepare the agency to operate during emergencies. This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Receiving Service Credit or Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed. Special Employment Consideration: VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply, including those eligible for hiring under 5 CFR 213.3102(u), Schedule A, Appointment of persons with disabilities [intellectual, severe physical, or psychiatric disabilities], and/or Disabled veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more. Contact the Agency Contact for information on how to apply under this appointment authority via the Selective Placement Coordinator. The Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal/VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified (have a final rating of 85 or more) for this vacancy. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/. Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the position. It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members. For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the OHRM Status Candidates and Other Candidate Definitions document. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.