Summary The Rehabilitation Counselor is assigned to VHA Vocational Rehabilitation Services at the Syracuse VA Medical Center. The counselor serves Veterans with mental health, physical, or psychosocial disabilities affecting employment, independence, or personal adjustment. Working with an interdisciplinary team, the counselor provides assessment, counseling, case management, and rehabilitation planning to support employment, independent living, and personal goals. Responsibilities The Rehabilitation Counselor is assigned to VHA Vocational Rehabilitation Services within the Syracuse VA Medical Center and is under the clinical and administrative supervision of the Vocational Rehabilitation Service Team Leader. Rehabilitation Counselors work with Veterans who experience functional impairments and disabilities associated with mental health, physical, and/or psychosocial challenges that affect employment, independent living, or personal adjustment. They use a variety of professional counseling and clinical modalities to promote optimal functioning, independence, personal adjustment, adaptation to disability, community reintegration, and recovery. Working with an interdisciplinary team, Rehabilitation Counselors provide and coordinate a wide range of rehabilitation counseling services, including assessment, counseling and case management, development of rehabilitation plans, and assistance in attaining and maintaining employment, independent living, and personal goals. Major duties include, but are not limited to: Provides vocational and personal adjustment counseling, therapeutic rehabilitation interventions, and case coordination to Veterans with psychiatric, physical, and psychosocial disabilities to achieve competitive employment, educational, and independent living goals. Conducts biopsychosocial assessments using medical records, disability documentation, observations, and interviews with Veterans and their support systems to generate personal, vocational, and educational histories. Synthesizes assessment information to develop case conceptualizations and make clinical recommendations for treatment planning and provision. Determines the clinical need for, and capacity to benefit from, therapeutic and rehabilitation services. Develops patient-centered treatment plans using SMART (Specific, Measurable, Agreed upon, Realistic, and Time-based) goals. Evaluates Veterans' abilities and disabilities and monitors and records progress toward goals and objectives. Selects, administers, and interprets psychometric and vocational instruments to measure transferable skills, aptitudes, interests, values, preferences, and work resilience. Customizes vocational exploration activities, including informational interviews and labor market research, to identify self-determined rehabilitation needs and goals. Ensures fidelity to evidence-based and evidence-informed vocational and professional counseling practices. Facilitates job placement by teaching job search skills, resume and application development, interview skills, and basic computer skills. Coordinates job search clubs to help Veterans improve self-directed job search activities. Uses clinical counseling techniques to help Veterans develop soft skills (e.g., personal hygiene, cooperation with co-workers, and following instructions) that enhance job satisfaction and foster natural supports in the workplace. Applies a working understanding of military culture to assist Veterans returning to the community, including community-based work. Serves as a consultant to interdisciplinary treatment teams and other clinical staff on Veterans' vocational rehabilitation needs. Communicates with community health care professionals and employers to share useful information about the Veteran. Completes clinical charting and participates in professional peer reviews. Receives guidance and advice from supervisors and senior staff as needed. Promotes employment programs to community employers to establish relationships that create work opportunities for Veterans with significant behavioral, physical, emotional, and/or cognitive impairments. Provides job development, job coaching, retention, and education services for Veterans with disabilities and the employers who hire them. Conducts job analyses to identify essential functions and develop reasonable accommodations. Coordinates vocational programming services, which may include work restoration and resilience treatment, transitional work placement and compensation, financial benefits counseling, benefits protections, supported employment, and assistive technology. Performs other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm Telework: Ad-hoc as determined by the agency policy. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 000000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Authorized. Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized. Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959. Must be proficient in written and spoken English. Subject to background/security investigation. Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP). Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement. Drivers License: Must possess a current, valid, and unrestricted drivers license in order to operate a government owned vehicle. As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Upon completion of your trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. Qualifications Basic Requirements: United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. English Language Proficiency: Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f). Education: A master's degree in rehabilitation counseling or clinical rehabilitation counseling from a rehabilitation counseling program accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). If the applicant's degree was granted prior to July 1, 2017, the program must be accredited by the Council on Rehabilitation Education. OR A master's degree in counseling or clinical rehabilitation counseling from a college or university accredited by a national or regional accrediting body accredited by Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). OR A master's or doctoral degree in a related field of study with course content that emphasized rehabilitation, counseling, disability, therapy, health, employment, wellness, or human development from a college or university accredited by a national or regional accrediting body accredited by CHEA. OR Foreign graduates with a degree acceptable by the Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification (CRCC). Certification: Current, full and unrestricted certification as a certified rehabilitation counselor (CRC) from the CRCC to practice vocational rehabilitation counseling. Exceptions for Graduate RCs: RC graduates from an approved counseling or rehabilitation counseling program who otherwise meet the basic qualification requirements and the additional degree requirements for CRC certification by the CRCC, but do not possess the required certification, may be appointed, pending certification, as a graduate RC on a full-time temporary appointment not-to-exceed two years under the authority of 38 U.S.C. § 7405(a)(1)(D). Graduate RCs may only be appointed at the entry grade level and may not be promoted/converted until certification is obtained. Temporary graduate RC appointments may not be extended beyond two years or converted to a new temporary appointment. Grandfathering Provision: May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria). Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates. a. Rehabilitation Counselor, GS-09 Experience. None beyond the basic requirements. AND Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs). In addition to meeting the experience or educational requirements for this grade level, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Knowledge of human development and behavior, medical, psychosocial, and vocational aspects of disability and differential influences of environmental factors to assist persons with disabilities in determining suitable vocational goals Knowledge of history, philosophy and disability rights legislation in the field of rehabilitation to apply in the practice of rehabilitation counseling. Ability to synthesize assessment and diagnosis information in conjunction with labor market trends and community/educational resources to develop an effective individual service delivery plan. Knowledge of caseload management strategies to maximize an individual's independent functioning from assessment through provision of post-employment services. Ability to employ person-centered job development strategies to facilitate successful job placement. Knowledge of assessment tools and methods, functional capacity evaluations and specific vocational preparation to evaluate transferrable skills, residual capacities and needs for accommodations and assistive technology. b. Rehabilitation Counselor, GS-11 Experience. Completion of one year of professional experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-09) directly related to the position being filled. Examples of qualifying professional experience include, but are not limited to: conducting assessments through record reviews, observations, and interviews to document personal, vocational, and educational histories, and evaluating abilities, aptitudes, interests, and preferences; developing and amending patient-centered SMART treatment plans with interdisciplinary teams, and assisting Veterans with vocational exploration, labor market research, and benefits counseling; conducting employer outreach and job development, promoting employment programs to community employers, and matching Veterans' strengths to local needs; facilitating job placement by teaching job search, resume, interview, and basic computer skills, and completing job analyses for job coaching and retention; and counseling Veterans on workplace soft skills, coordinating job search clubs, and completing clinical documentation and peer reviews. OR Education. A doctoral degree in rehabilitation counselor education or related field (e.g. rehabilitation psychology) from a CACREP accredited institution or from an institution accredited by a national or regional accrediting body accredited by CHEA. AND Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs. Knowledge of physical and psychological disabilities, appropriate accommodations and assistive technology principles to mitigate and reduce or eliminate barriers to integrate into the community. Knowledge of counseling theory, medical and psychiatric terminology and signs and symptomology of suicidal and homicidal ideations, to communicate appropriately with community health care professionals to provide useful input to other team members and employers in relation to the Veteran and/or his/her family's psychosocial needs and to recommend and help implement suitable treatment plans. Ability to use evidence-based and evidence informed vocational and professional counseling practices to include individual placement and support (IPS), customized employment and supported employment models and motivational interviewing skills to promote self-awareness, adjustment to disability, enhanced job retention and successful integration to the community. Knowledge of career development processes and job analysis methodology to determine essential functions of jobs, worksite modifications and/or alternative vocational goals given the work history and residual functional capacities of individuals with disabilities. Ability to administer and interpret a wide variety of assessment methods including transferrable skills and labor market analyses to evaluate for individual interests, aptitudes and abilities and to identify suitable vocational goals for the development of an effective individual service delivery plan. Knowledge of marketing strategies to develop collaborative partnerships/Memorandums of Agreement within VA and local business community to enhance employment and/or work opportunities Knowledge of military lifestyle, specific factors, and dynamics associated with Veterans, particularly combat Veterans, to assist those who are returning to community and community based-work. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-11. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-09 to GS-11. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Service. 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/. Additional Information Receiving Service Credit for 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. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. 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. During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status. VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority. 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. 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. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.
