Vocational Development Specialist

Veterans Health Administration; West Palm Beach (FL); On-site; USD 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

West Palm Beach VA Medical Center seeks a Vocational Development Specialist to serve as a Community Employment Coordinator for Homeless Veterans within the CWT/VR Team, in the Transitional Work Experience Program. The role emphasizes counseling, assessment, and placement planning to support veterans' employment goals.

Applicants should demonstrate expertise in vocational rehabilitation, Motivational Interviewing, and collaboration with interdisciplinary teams to help veterans secure and sustain

Qualifications

• Specialized experience in vocational guidance for people with disabilities or disadvantaged groups.
• Experience using counseling methodologies to motivate and assist program participants.
• Knowledge of available vocational rehabilitation resources and placement strategies.

Responsibilities

• Interview participants and assess suitability for vocational programs.
• Provide job seeking skills guidance and monitor progress toward placement.
• Coordinate with interdisciplinary teams to place participants in community employment.
• Employ coaching techniques to support ongoing employment and retention.

Skills

Interviewing potential participants

Motivational Interviewing

Job search guidance

Interdisciplinary teamwork

Education

Vocational rehabilitation-related degree required

Job description

West Palm Beach VA Medical Center is looking for Vocational Development Specialist who works as a Community Employment Coordinator for Homeless Veterans as a member of the Compensated Work Therapy/Vocational Rehabilitation (CWT/VR) Team, located in the Transitional Work Experience Program within the Social Work Service.

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 09/21/2026. Time-In-Grade Requirement: 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 by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-9. 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. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. Individual Occupational Requirements: Applicants MUST meet the minimum requirements to qualify for the Vocational Rehabilitation Series, 1715. Undergraduate and Graduate Education - Major study - vocational rehabilitation, vocational or educational counseling, or other fields related to the position OR Specialized Experience: Examples of qualifying specialized experience include: Work that required obtaining and applying occupational information for people with disabilities, knowledge of the interrelationships of the involved professional and specialist services, and skill in employing the methodology and techniques of counseling to motivate and encourage individuals served by the program. Experience that demonstrated knowledge of the vocational rehabilitation problems characteristic of the disabled, including familiarity with available resources and skill in identifying, evaluating, and making effective use of such resources to serve individuals with disabilities; or of the disadvantaged, including knowledge of adjustment problems of the educationally or culturally disadvantaged, familiarity with available adult education and training resources, and ability to recognize problem areas needing special attention. Experience in vocational guidance or teaching in a recognized vocational rehabilitation program or school, developmental or supervisory work in programs of vocational rehabilitation or training programs for the disadvantaged, or personnel or employment placement work that provided extensive knowledge of the training and adjustment requirements necessary to place persons having disabilities or social adjustment problems. AND Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-09 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: interviewing potential program participants utilizing the Vocational Assessment Profiles (VAP); utilizing Motivational Interviewing techniques to ensure the highest level of services; gathering information to assist the program participant in identifying occupational areas in which they would like to target their job search activities towards; providing assistance with job seeking skills and strategies as needed; monitoring the program participant's progress, providing feedback, support, and assistance in the job seeking process; finding techniques such as job carving to assist the program participant in obtaining community employment; and working closely with interdisciplinary teams to assist the program participant in obtaining and maintaining suitable community employment OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have three full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M., if related (transcripts required) OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have a combination of specialized experience and graduate level education beyond a master's degree. NOTE: Only graduate education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level may be used to qualify for position at GS-11. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Customer Service: Works and communicates with clients and customers to satisfy their expectations. Committed to quality services. Interpersonal Skills: Interpersonal skills-Shows understan