Orientation and Mobility Specialist

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

Wilkes-Barre (Luzerne County)

Hybrid

USD 61,000 - 92,000

Full time

2 days ago

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Job summary

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania seeks an Orientation and Mobility Specialist for the Wilkes-Barre District Office to teach independence in travel for visually impaired individuals. You will assess needs, plan instruction, and deliver both individual and group mobility sessions across multiple counties, empowering clients to live safely in homes, workplaces, and communities.

Responsibilities include creating service plans, evaluating progress, and offering counseling to clients and families.

Qualifications

Successful completion of the Orientation and Mobility Intern program, or
Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in orientation and mobility with practicum, or
ACVREP Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist.

Responsibilities

Assess referred individuals through interviews and observation
Develop individual service plans and recommend adaptive equipment
Teach sequences of instruction for independent mobility
Monitor progress and adjust instruction to support success
Provide guidance to individuals and families on mobility skills and options

Skills

Assessments

Service planning

Skill instruction

Progress evaluation

Counseling

Education

Orientation and Mobility Intern program

Bachelor’s or Master’s in orientation and mobility

ACVREP certification

Job description

Salary

$60,538.00 - $92,010.00 Annually

Location

Schuylkill County, PA

Job Type

Civil Service Permanent Full-Time

Job Number

CS-2026-59818-44920

Department

Department of Labor & Industry

Division

LI BBVS Wilkes Barre Dstr Off

Opening Date

10/13/2026

Closing Date

11/9/2026 11:59 PM Eastern

Job Code

44920

Position Number

00262751

Union

SEIU

Bargaining Unit

Pay Group

ST07

Bureau / Division Code

00126430

Bureau / Division

Bureau of Blindness & Visual Services - Wilkes-Barre District Office

Worksite Address

8 W Market Street, Suite 200

City

Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania

Zip Code

18701

Contact Name

Kaleya Rivera Pena

Contact Email

kriverapen@pa.gov

THE POSITION

As an Orientation and Mobility Specialist for the Bureau of Blindness & Visual Services, you will help blind and visually impaired people learn the skills they need to travel through their lives with confidence. Work focuses on planning and providing instruction that empowers people to live safely and independently while promoting cultural awareness and educational background amongst community partners, professionals, and the families of people we serve.

This position is part of the Wilkes-Barre District Office; however, the caseload area may cover the following counties: Berks, Carbon, Lehigh, Monroe, Northampton, and Schuylkill.

DESCRIPTION OF WORK

With our office, you will provide orientation and mobility instruction to blind and visually impaired customers. This work helps children and adults gain the skills they need to live and travel independently within their homes, workplaces, and communities. As an Orientation and Mobility Specialist, you will perform the following duties:

Assessments: Interview and observe individuals who are referred for services, review reports, and confer with staff to fully understand each person's needs and motivation
Service Planning: Develop individual service plans for instruction, provide further referrals, and recommend adaptive equipment based on each person's individual needs, input, and circumstances
Skill Instruction: Teach sequences of individualized and group instruction to provide experience-based learning and supervised practice
Progress Evaluation: Monitor achievement and adjust instruction to support individual success
Supportive Counseling: Provide guidance to individuals and families to help them understand and utilize mobility skills, options, and opportunities

Interested in learning more? Additional details regarding this position can be found in the position description.

Work Schedule and Additional Information:

Full-time employment
Work hours are negotiable - 7.5 hour workday and lunch period is 30 minutes or 60 minutes depending on work hours. The position eligible for Alternate Work Schedules (AWS).
Telework: You may have the opportunity to work from home (telework) part-time, upon successful completion of the training period. In order to telework, you must have a securely configured high-speed internet connection and work from an approved location inside Pennsylvania. If you are unable to telework, you will have the option to report to the headquarters office in Wilkes-Barre. This location may be flexible depending on the selected candidate. The ability to telework is subject to change at any time. Additional details may be provided during the interview.
Salary:In some cases, the starting salary may be non-negotiable.
You will receive further communication regarding this position via email. Check your email, including spam/junk folders, for these notices.

REQUIRED EXPERIENCE, TRAINING & ELIGIBILITY

QUALIFICATIONS

Minimum Experience and Training Requirements

Successful completion of the commonwealth's Orientation and Mobility Intern program; or
A bachelor's or master's degree or certificate from an approved college or university program in orientation and mobility that includes a practicum; or
Possession of an active Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist certificate issued by the Academy for Certification of Vision Rehabilitation and Education Professionals (ACVREP).

Other Requirements

PA residency requirement is currently waived for this title.
You must be able to perform essential job functions.

Legal Requirements

This position falls under the provisions of the Child Protective Services Law.
- Under the Law, a conditional offer of employment will require submission and approval of satisfactory criminal history reports including, but not limited to, PA State Police clearance, PA Child Abuse history clearance, and FBI Fingerprint clearance.

Veterans

Pennsylvania law (51 Pa. C.S. *7103) provides employment preference for qualified veterans for appointment to many state and local government jobs. To learn more about employment preferences for veterans, go to www.pa.gov/agencies/employment/how-to-apply.html and click on Veterans.

Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS)

711 (hearing and speech disabilities or other individuals).

If you are contacted for an interview and need accommodations due to a disability, please discuss your request for accommodations with the interviewer in advance of your interview date.

The Commonwealth is an equal employment opportunity employer and is committed to a diverse workforce. The Commonwealth values inclusion as we seek to recruit, develop, and retain the most qualified people to serve the citizens of Pennsylvania. The Commonwealth does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religious creed, ancestry, union membership, age, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, AIDS or HIV status, disability, or any other categories protected by applicable federal or state law. All diverse candidates are encouraged to apply.

EXAMINATION INFORMATION

Completing the application, including all supplemental questions, serves as your exam for this position. No additional exam is required at a test center (also referred to as a written exam).

Your score is based on the detailed information you provide on your application and in response to the supplemental questions.
Your score is valid for this specific posting only.
You must provide complete and accurate information or:
- your score may be lower than deserved.
- you may be disqualified.
You may only apply/test once for this posting.
Your results will be provided via email.