Supervisory Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor.

Veterans Benefits Administration; Buffalo (NY); On-site; USD 90,000 - 125,000; Full time

Job summary

The Veterans Benefits Administration in Buffalo seeks a Supervisory Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor to lead the VR&E program, supervise staff across out-based locations, and manage contracts to ensure high-quality counseling, evaluation, and case management services.

You will collaborate with universities and training providers, analyze data to address service concerns, and guide teams in program planning, staffing decisions, and performance reviews at the division level.

Qualifications

• Master's degree in rehabilitation counseling or related field.
• Experience supervising VR&E staff and managing contracts.
• Ability to interpret data and coordinate with partner institutions.

Responsibilities

• Supervises VR&E staff at out-based locations and Regional Office.
• Manages administration and workflow of the VR&E Division program.
• Collaborates with universities and training providers to resolve training issues.
• Develops multi-year plans and evaluates contract quality reviews.

Skills

Leadership

Staff supervision

Contract management

Data interpretation

Education

Master's degree in rehabilitation counseling or related field

Job description

Duties

Duties are divided between counseling duties and case management which include the following, but are not limited to:

• Supervises Veteran Readiness and Employment (VR&E) staff at out-based locations and within the Regional Office. The AVREO is responsible for the administration and workflow of the VR&E Division program.
• Facilitates operations with major public and private universities, community colleges, and vocational/technical institutes in the state to resolve training issues.
• Serves as a technical representative in developing, awarding, implementing, and evaluating contracts to provide professional counseling, evaluation, case management, employment, and traumatic brain injury (TBI) services.
• Gathers and interprets a wide range of data addressing service concerns and is able to recommend appropriate action based on that data.
• Works closely with division teams in planning, designing, and carrying out programs, projects, studies, or other work to support the mission.
• Evaluates the work performance of subordinates, make recommendations to fill division positions, receive employee complaints, approve employee travel, recommend awards and determine alternative courses of action to reduce work backlogs and barriers to production.
• Develops multi-year plans for scheduling in-service and contract work. The incumbent provides supervision of contract quality reviews and ensures that all contracting activity in the out-based offices or under the division control is consistent with regulatory requirements

Promotion Potential

This position is at it's full performance level.

Work Schedule

8:00am - 4:30pm Monday through Friday

Telework

This position is eligible for situational (ad hoc) telework only. The selectee is required to report to the official duty station each scheduled workday. Telework may be approved only on a case-by-case basis with supervisory approval. Routine or recurring telework is not authorized for this position.

Virtual

This is not a virtual position

Position Description Title/PD#

Supervisory Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor 38428A

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives

Not Authorized

Financial Disclosure Report

Required. This position requires completion of a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report (OGE-450) under 5 C.F.R.

• 2634.904(a). OGE Form 450 is used to assist agencies and employees to avoid conflicts between duties and financial interest. The selectee must submit the form before entering on duty and annually thereafter. Bargaining Unit: No

Requirements

Conditions of employment

Required

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1-year supervisory probationary period during which we will evaluate your performance in your new role.Additional Conditions of Employment are as follows:

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• You may be required to serve a probationary or trial period
• 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
• 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.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement: 11/13/2026 The grade may have been in any occupation but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. AND OR Reference: Additional information on the qualification requirements for this position can be located on the OCHCO VA Qualifications Standards website found

• TIME-IN-GRADE REQUIREMENT: As a current Federal, GS employee you must meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement.
• For a GS-13 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-12 level.
• BASIC REQUIREMENTS: To be eligible for this position, candidates must meet the following basic requirements:
• 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.
• Internship or Experience Requirement: The required supervised internship or post-master's degree experience is described as follows:
• Supervised Internship: The education in the Basic Requirements above 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.
• Experience: One-year post-master's degree experience in direct delivery of professional vocational rehabilitation services to individuals with disabilities.
• Grandfathering Provision: VRCs employed in VBA on the effective date, July 28, 2023, 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:
• 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.
• 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.
• SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS: In addition to the time-in-grade and education/internship requirements, you must also meet the following grade-specific qualification requirements. Specialized experience is defined as at least one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-12) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience is defined as experience in Veteran Readiness and Employment programs 1) a comprehension of independent living (IL) requirements; 2) experience with psychological and vocational testing principles; 3) 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.

Note

Creditable experience must have been obtained post-graduate and be directly related to the duties to be performed to qualify to work as a professional VRC. Qualifying experience must also be equivalent to professional vocational rehabilitation counseling experience at the next lower level. Creditable experience must have been obtained post-graduate and be directly related to the duties to be performed to qualify to work as a professional VRC.

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.

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

All education claimed by applicants will be verified upon appointment. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a

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.

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP)

provide eligible displaced 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 CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at

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

Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests

To determine if you need a RA, please review: For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to 

Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding.

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.