Supervisory Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor

Veterans Benefits Administration•Chicago, IL

2d•Onsite

About The Position

This is a Supervisory Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor (Local Quality Assurance Supervisor) position within the Veterans Benefits Administration’s Veteran Readiness and Employment (VR&E) program. The incumbent is part of VBA’s Quality Assurance Program, supervises the Quality Review Team (QRT) Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors conducting reviews of individual case managers, and serves as a technical advisor to VR&E Service. The supervisor examines VR&E case files to assess compliance with guidelines, policies, and directives governing Chapter 31 services and other VR&E benefits. The role identifies trends, best practices, policy clarification and guidance needs, and training needs. It also coordinates team planning, assigns and distributes work, maintains knowledge of applicable statutes and policies, and reviews work completed by supervised QRT employees for accuracy. Case review may address applications, entitlement, assessment, planning, case management, financial activity, and case closure. The position is full time, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. It is not a remote or virtual position. Situational (ad hoc) telework may be approved case by case; the selectee must report to the official duty station each scheduled workday. The position is primarily in an office setting, with occasional travel possible for training, meetings, or customer interactions. A one-year probationary period and, if applicable, a one-year supervisory probationary period are required. A Confidential Financial Disclosure Report (OGE-450) is required before entering on duty and annually thereafter.

Requirements

U.S. citizenship is required.
Meet the applicable GS-13 time-in-grade requirement: current Federal GS employees must have 52 weeks at GS-12 by the announcement closing date; VBA employees seeking reassignment or change to a lower grade must currently hold GS-13 or higher.
Meet the basic education requirement: 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, unless covered by the stated grandfathering provision.
Meet the basic internship or experience requirement: a supervised internship in rehabilitation counseling or case management specialization supervised by a professional in vocational rehabilitation or a closely related field with typical oversight of vocational rehabilitation programs; alternatively, one year of post-master’s experience delivering professional vocational rehabilitation services directly to individuals with disabilities.
Meet the specialized experience requirement: one year equivalent to at least GS-12 in the normal line of progression, involving VR&E programs and familiarity with Independent Living requirements, application of psychological and vocational testing principles, and practice involving vocational rehabilitation laws, regulations, rules, and policies related to implementing adjudicative decisions and/or developing rehabilitation plans.
Submit transcripts if education is used to meet qualification requirements; education must be from an appropriately accredited institution.
Serve a one-year probationary period; selectees who have not previously completed a Federal supervisory probationary period must serve one year in that period.
Meet applicable Selective Service registration requirements for males born after December 31, 1959.
Be subject to a background/security investigation and complete the online onboarding process and employment eligibility verification (Form I-9).

Responsibilities

Examine VR&E case files selected for each VRC to ensure compliance with guidelines, policies, and directives related to Chapter 31 delivery and other VR&E benefits.
Identify trends, best practices, individual VRC policy clarification or guidance needs, and training needs.
Ensure team members are informed and involved in planning to achieve group goals and objectives.
Identify, assign, and distribute work among team members according to workflow, skill level, and occupational specialization.
Maintain program knowledge to answer questions about statutes, regulations, directives, policies, and procedures governing VR&E services.
Review work completed by supervised QRT employees and verify the accuracy of their reviews.
Assess and indicate issues in case components, including application, entitlement, assessment, planning, case management, financial activity, and case closure.