Supervisory Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor.

Veterans Benefits Administration; Indianapolis (IN); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Veterans Benefits Administration in Indianapolis, Indiana seeks a Senior VR&E Program Supervisor to oversee VR&E staff at out-based locations and Regional Office. The position administers the VR&E Division workflow and coordinates with universities and colleges in the state to resolve training issues.

The role requires advising management on education, training, and rehabilitation services under Chapter 31, developing multi-year plans, evaluating staff performance, and ensuring contracting

Qualifications

• Master's degree in rehabilitation counseling or related field.
• One year of supervised internship or post-master's degree experience in delivering vocational rehabilitation services.
• Time-in-grade requirements for federal employment and potential reassignment considerations.

Responsibilities

• Supervises VR&E staff at out-based locations and within the Regional Office.
• Serves as a technical expert advising higher management in education, training, psychology, testing, evaluation, counseling, rehabilitation, job development and placement.

Education

Master's degree in rehabilitation counseling or related field

Job description

• Supervises Veteran Readiness and Employment (VR&E) staff at out-based locations and within the Regional Office. The SVRC 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.
• Possess extensive knowledge about Department of Veterans Affairs laws, regulations, policies, and procedures and their proper utilization and application and must be aware of the full scope of benefits and services available through the Department of Veterans Affairs and other agencies or sources.
• Serves as the professional and technical expert to advise higher management in areas of education, training, psychology, testing, evaluation, counseling, rehabilitation, job development, and job placement in this capacity is responsible for implementing the counseling, training, and related rehabilitation services under Chapter 31 and other VA rehabilitation, educational, and training programs as well.
• Assists the VR&E Officer by providing professional and technical expertise in all phases of rehabilitation activities, including counseling, case management, rehabilitation plan development, and job development and placement.

Duties

• Supervises Veteran Readiness and Employment (VR&E) staff at out-based locations and within the Regional Office. The SVRC 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.
• Possess extensive knowledge about Department of Veterans Affairs laws, regulations, policies, and procedures and their proper utilization and application and must be aware of the full scope of benefits and services available through the Department of Veterans Affairs and other agencies or sources.
• Serves as the professional and technical expert to advise higher management in areas of education, training, psychology, testing, evaluation, counseling, rehabilitation, job development, and job placement in this capacity is responsible for implementing the counseling, training, and related rehabilitation services under Chapter 31 and other VA rehabilitation, educational, and training programs as well.
• Assists the VR&E Officer by providing professional and technical expertise in all phases of rehabilitation activities, including counseling, case management, rehabilitation plan development, and job development and placement.

Requirements

Conditions of employment

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.

• 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.
• If you are a current VBA employee requesting reassignment or change to lower grade via this vacancy announcement, you must currently hold the GS-13 or higher and the promotion potential of your current position must be at least GS-12.
• 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.

AND OR Reference:

Additional information on the qualification requirements for this position can be located on the OCHCO VA Qualifications Standards website found

• 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. 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.

GS-13 Grade Level

• Specialized Experience: In addition to meeting the Basic Requirements stated above, you must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-13 level or higher. Specialized experience is defined as: Experience in conducting assessments of veteran's employability; Involvement in the development of appropriate vocational goals and subsequent objectives outlined in rehabilitation plans; Providing case management services to veterans while pursuing their rehabilitation plans (e.g. personal contact regarding achievement of vocational goals, referral for medical or ancillary services, and responding efficiently to veteran's concerns); and Experience interpreting the benefits and services, to veterans, available through the VR&E program.

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

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

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.

Additional information

The 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.

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 (TJO). Please visit the Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP)

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.

For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the

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.