Supervisory Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor

The incumbent of this position will serve as a Supervisory Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor for the Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E) Division, in the Regional Office. The position supervises VR&E staff and is responsible for the administration and workflow of the division. The incumbent exercises technical and oversight responsibility through subordinate employees for the VR&E Division. EDUCATION: A transcript must be submitted with your application. It must include your coursework and date of conferral of a Masters degree in vocational rehabilitation (or related) field. Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education to be credited towards qualifications. Provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. All education claimed by applicants will be verified upon appointment. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript to receive credit.

Note: You may submit unofficial transcripts when applying. However, if you are selected for the position, you will be required to provide an official transcript or a statement from the institution (e.g., from the registrar, dean, or other appropriate official) or equivalent documentation prior to the start date. RESPONSIBILITIES:

As a Supervisory Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor (SVRC) for the Phoenix VA Regional Office, Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E) Division, located in the Phoenix Regional Benefit Office, the Supervisory VRC (SVRC) is responsible for providing supervisory oversight VR&E bargaining unit staff under the direct supervision of the AVREO. These duties include, but are not limited to the following:

Serves as a first-line supervisor for professional counseling staff and other VR&E staff as assigned.

Serves as a subject matter expert in the area of Vocational Rehabilitation and Counseling case processing for the staff.

Provides general guidance to employees on both work and administrative matters, in accordance with established regulations, policies, procedures, and practices. Assists with the staffing of difficult cases with the Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors and Employment Coordinator(s).

Identifies problems with the work, adjusting as needed, to keep the cases moving and ensure accurate, successful rehabilitation scenarios.-Ensures that caseload is appropriately balanced among the professional staff.

Responsible for carrying out case reviews for and training for assigned professional staff on a regular and recurring basis and for conducting these reviews on Phoenix and other out-based locations as needed. In addition, he or she will help to support the quality assurance integrity of the division.

Provides extensive training to incoming Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors within the office. Evaluates that training needs of all existing professional staff, and conducts refresher training, training on new technology/processes, and makes decisions on mission related training scenarios for individual staff.-Is responsible to the VR&E division for Systematic Analyses of Operations in area of program review. Is responsible for identifying and correcting deficiencies recognized through systematic analysis, and for using the information to make improvements and streamline processes.

Reviews Veterans' Counseling, Evaluation, Rehabilitation (CER) records to ensure compliance with regulations and procedures and to promote among staff members high quality of performance in entitlement determinations, evaluation, planning, rehabilitation, and placement services.-Assists the division level management in the process of understanding, implementing, and monitoring a management system of work measurement, program evaluation, accountability, and a management information reporting system as it applies to VR&E.

Manages and assesses employee performance. Makes decisions on inquiries or issues presented by subordinate professional employees, advises the division level management, and assesses the impact on the VR&E program. Takes measures, within VBA guidelines, to mitigate negative impact on the mission, with concurrence of division level management.

Interviews candidates for employment and internal merit promotion, keeping meticulous records of scoring on records review, written portion of interview, oral interview, etc. in compliance with VBA human resource policies.

Recommends performance, special contribution, and other awards for subordinate employees, providing full justification in each package.

Takes appropriate disciplinary action when warranted, carefully adhering to agency, local procedure, and legal requirement for doing so, with the approval of upper level management.

Responsible for handling employee and Veteran complaints and grievances and brings them to successful resolution. Only those which cannot be resolved within the authority of the Supervisory VRC are referred to the AVREO.

Serves as a VR&E Leave Approving Official for Professional Staff and other staff as assigned.

Makes recommendations to the division level management in planning and implementing the VR&E Professional Staff Development Program.

As directed by the Director's Office or division level management as assigned conducts formal investigative inquiries surrounding employee issues and questionable work scenarios. Provides narrative, written reports on investigative inquiry findings that are used by top division management to make decisions on these issues.

Promotion Potential: This position is at the full performance level.

Work Schedule: Full time, 7:00am - 3:30pm Monday through Friday

Compress ed/Flexible : Available

Telework: Yes, as determined by the agency policy

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Position Description Title/PD#: Supervisory Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor, 39814A

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized

Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required QUALIFICATIONS: To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 05/22/2026.

Time-in-Grade Requirements: 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.

For a GS-13 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-12 grade level .

To support your claim of time in grade, you must submit your most recent appointment, promotion, or within grade increase 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.

BASIC REQUIREMENTS. To qualify for the VRC position, candidates must meet the following basic requirements:

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.

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 in paragraph 3a 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.

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. 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.

(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.

Specialized Experience:

To qualify at the GS-13 grade level: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 level or higher. Specialized Experience is defined as experience in Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment programs 1) expertise with employment and vocational rehabilitation programs; 2) possessing knowledge and expertise in the procedures for vocational and rehabilitation law; 3) the expertise to administer and counsel in the areas of counseling, rehabilitation, psychology, career development, and job placement entitlements; 4) the expertise to control budgetary resources for approving and monitoring financial expenditures.

Education: Applicants may not substitute education for the experience at the GS-13 level.

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.

Volunteer Experience : 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.

Full vs. Part-Time Employment: Full-time employment is considered to be at least 35 hours per week. Part-time experience will be credited on a pro-rated basis. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.

Physical Requirements: The position is primarily in an office setting. Some travel may be necessary on occasion for training, meetings, or customer interactions.

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/ . SALARY: QuantitativeValue EMPLOYMENT TYPE: Other