Employment Specialist

The incumbent will serve as a triage team member to help disabled veterans make an informed choice regarding the appropriate employment track that best meets their needs with the understanding that veterans can move between tracks. The employment coordinator will also coordinate and/or perform the evaluation/assessment of rapid access to employment - employment needs (Pre-employment Job Readiness Evaluation) including: resume preparation interviewing assistance career search activities discussion of disability and related accommodations assistive technology needs labor market information re-employment information assistance and/or referral and self-directed job search via networking and electronic databases.

Typical duties include but are not limited to:

• Markets to employers based on vocational goals of the job-ready disabled Veterans.
• Markets and provides special employer incentives such as on-the-job training on-paid work experience special employer incentives and available tax information.
• Coordinates employment readiness classes for Veterans ready to go to work but lacking important traits in employment readiness.
• Maintains and promotes a positive image of the VR&E program through active networking and ongoing contacts with employers.
• Offers direction to employers regarding reasonable accommodation and rehabilitation technology accommodations.
• Disseminates labor market information to assist counselors and Veterans with informed choice. Provides Employment Services Performance Data for local office.
• Maintains and continually updates a database of job-ready disabled Veterans (incorporate Corporate WINRS tracking system).
• Assists Veterans with job networking development and placement.
• Develops partnerships with employers and other agencies to assist Veterans with employment services (e.g. - the Department of Labor Small Business Administration local and state agencies and private sector businesses and employment services).
• Assists counselors with employment follow-up according to regulatory requirements.
• Coordinates efforts to develop job clubs job labs or job readiness resource rooms for use by Veterans in job readiness preparation and self-directed job search.
• Maintains records of employment activities through case notes in Corporate WINRS.
• Markets to and becomes initial point of contact for employers who need assistance with return-to-work cases of disabled Veterans whose job is affected by disability.

Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory qualification and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level. The grade progression for this position is GS-9 GS-11 GS-12.

Duty Hours: 8:00am to 4:30 pm
Compressed/Flexible: May be available as determined by the hiring office.
Telework: Not available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Employment Specialist 31623A 11623A 01623A
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required
Bargaining Unit: YES

As a condition of employment for accepting this position you may be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness & whether your continued employment advances the public 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 probationary period or trial period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification in writing that your continued employment advances the public interest.

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 I-9 Acceptable Documents.
• Effective May 7 2025 drivers licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.

To qualify for this position applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement 08/03/2026.

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.

• For a GS-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07 level.
• For a GS-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09 level.
• For a GS-12 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-11 level.

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 this instance you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENT: You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:

GS-09 Grade Level:

Specialized Experience:

• Specialized Experience: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-07). Specialized experience is defined as experience recruiting candidates with disabilities for a hiring firm or organization; or experience providing employment assistance duties for a non-profit or community organization.

Examples of specialized experience would typically include but are not limited to:

• Recruiting for/placing candidates for a hiring firm or large corporation;
• Employment assistance duties for a non-profit or community organizations
• Human Resources experience in staffing employee relations or reemployment assistance

OR

• Education Substitution: Masters or equivalent graduate degree (including LL.B. or J.D. if related) or two full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree and which demonstrates the competencies necessary to do the work.

GS-11 Grade Level:

Specialized Experience: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-09). Specialized experience is defined as experience working with individuals with disabilities and providing individuals with work experiences internships or volunteer experiences related to overall employment goal. The experience may have been gained in the federal military or private sector.

Examples of specialized experience would typically include but are not limited to:

• Employment assistance duties for state or federal vocational rehabilitation offices;
• Account management/liaison for staffing or employment firms in the public or private sector;
• Federal Human Resources experience in staffing employee relations or reemployment assistance

OR

• Education Substitution: Ph.D or equivalent doctoral degree or at least 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M. if related.

OR

Combination: A combination of specialized experience as described in A and more than two years but less than three years of education as described (To compute the percentage divide your total months of qualifying experience by 12. Then divide your semester hours of graduate education beyond two years by 18. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify.

NON-QUALIFYING EXPERIENCE:

Vocational rehabilitation experience obtained prior to completion of the requirements for the masters degree is not qualifying. If one year of work experience is credited for the Basic Requirement that year cannot also be used for qualifying at the GS-11 level.

GS-12 Grade Level:

Specialized Experience: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-11). Specialized experience is defined as experience involving coordination of federal private and public hiring authorities working with veterans with disabilities to access veterans employment goals and aligning them to the employment track that best meets their needs. The experience may have been gained in the federal military or private sector.

Examples of specialized experience would typically include but are not limited to:

• Human Resources experience in the Department of Veterans Affairs or Veterans Service Organization that involves staffing and/or employment law;
• Employment coordination duties for private public or government entities that involve coordinating targeted outreach at various career fairs jobs clubs and/or job labs.

There is no education substitution at the GS-12 grade level.

Combining Education & Experience: If you do not fully meet the length of experience and education described for a specific grade level (e.g. have six months of experience and some coursework but not a degree) the two can be combined to total 100% of the requirement.
Click here for more information.

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; religions; 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; when including part-time employment in your resume you must specify the average hours worked per week.

Physical Requirements: The purpose of the contacts is to serve as an advocate for the employment of job-ready disabled veterans influence potential employers to hire job-ready disabled veterans assist qualified veterans in obtaining and retaining suitable employment conduct work-site analysis to ensure work area is conducive to the. job-ready disabled veteran or encourage the employer to implement reasonable accommodations and assist case managers with the development of potential job alternative for job-ready disabled veterans. The employee may encounter resistance due to organizational conflict with other VR&E staff competing resources or employers who may have doubts about the value of hiring disabled veterans and about the Employment Coordinator as a workforce consultant.

For more information on these qualification standards please visit the United States Office of Personnel Managements website at http://://