Supervisory Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor (VR&E Officer)

Specific duties include:

• Directs the Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VRE)Program which performs technical administrative and professional work.
• Serves as the Regional Offices professional and technical expert in conducting administering and advising in the areas of education training testing evaluation counseling rehabilitation psychology job development job placement and entitlement.
• Provides administrative and technical direction and professional leadership to a professional and technical staff of Counseling Psychologists Rehabilitation Counselors Vocational Rehabilitation Specialists Employment/Program Specialists and support staff as well as providing oversight of contractors.
• Oversees a team of Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors (VRCs) and other staff in the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) Regional Office (RO) RO Out-based office locations VetSuccess On Campus (VSOC) school sites or Integrated Disability Evaluation System (IDES) locations on military installations.
• Develops short- and Long-term plans to assure work is accomplished in a timely manner is of acceptable quality and accomplishes the changing initiatives and emphasis established by VA Central Office managers as well as local management policy changes and procedural modifications.
• Ensures that his/her staff provides expert and high-quality services to the Veterans with a service-connected disability such as vocational counseling and consultation; counseling interventions; and superb case management.
• Responsible for managing allocated budgetary resources and for authorizing and supervising the expenditure of funds such as staff travel beneficiary travel tools supplies equipment revolving fund loans tutoring or reader services individual instructor fees tuition and subsistence allowances.
• Provides counseling training and employment services to all eligible beneficiaries within the State of Mississippi. Activities and services provided by the VR&E Program directly and significantly impact a wide range of agency activities. The VR&E Program deals with the direct payment of benefits to veterans and dependents as well as providing payment for educational programs which can typically cost many thousands of dollars.
• Meets with senior managers at the Regional Office State or Labor representatives focal VA Medical Centers Outpatient Clinics and other facilities. Incumbent must frequently contact high-ranking civilian managers supervisors and technical staff regarding contracting of services. Other professional contacts are with physicians psychiatrists clinical psychologists social workers program and administration officials with VA and other local state and federal agencies. Given the interrelated nature of the various contracted services state and federal Vocational Rehabilitation programs the level of these contacts has a decided impact on the successful performance of the work.
• Develops short- and Jong-term plans to assure work is accomplished in a timely manner is of acceptable quality and accomplishes the changing initiatives and emphasis established by VA Central Office managers as well as local management policy changes and procedural modifications. Takes a variety of personnel-related actions such as hearing/resolving grievances or complaints proposes disciplinary and adverse actions evaluates performance of rehabilitation professionals; decides on nonroutine training needs approves expenses relative to employee travel and overtime; recommends within-grade increases awards bonuses; and recommends changes in position classification.

Work Schedule: Full time Monday - Friday 8:00 am - 4:30 pm
Compressed/Flexible: Not Available
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/PD#: Supervisory Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor (VR&E Officer); PD38428A
Relocation: Authorized
Relocation expenses and services (Permanent Change of Station - PCS) are authorized. PCS covers the relocation of a household for government convenience when transferring between duty stations. By accepting PCS the selectee agrees to remain in Federal service for 12 months after the move. Failure to complete the service period may require repayment of PCS expenses. Click here for more information./
Financial Disclosure Report: Required. This position requires completion of a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report (OGE-450) under 5 C.F.R. 2634.904(a). The selectee must submit the form before entering on duty and annually thereafter.
Bargaining Unit: No

As a condition of employment for accepting this position you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and 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 or period 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
• Selectees are required to serve a one-year supervisory probationary period if not previously completed in a Federal position.
• 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:09/29/2026.

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-14 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-13 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- 14 or higher and the promotion potential of your current position must be at least GS-14.

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: To qualify for this position you must meet both the Basic Requirements (Individual Occupational Requirements) and the specialized experience requirements described below:

1. Individual Occupational Requirements (Basic Requirements):

To be eligible for this position you must meet one of the following:

A). Degree: Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelors or higher degree in behavioral or social science or a related discipline appropriate to the position. OR;

B). Combination of education and experience: A combination of education and experience that provided you with the knowledge of one or more of the behavioral or social sciences equivalent to a major in the field. OR;

C). Experience: Four years of appropriate experience that demonstrates you have acquired knowledge of one or more of the behavioral or social sciences equivalent to a major in the field.

Note: You must submit transcripts if you are qualifying based on education or a combination of education and experience.

2. Specialized Experience GS-14:

In addition to meeting the basic requirements above you must have at least one (1) year of specialized experience to at least the next lower grade GS-13 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience is defined as experience in Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment programs: 1) expertise with employment and vocational rehabilitation programs; 2) possessing knowledge and expertise in the procedures for vocational and rehabilitation law; 3) the expertise to administer and counsel in the areas of counseling rehabilitation psychology career development and job placement entitlements; 4) the expertise to control budgetary resources for approving and monitoring financial expenditures.


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: This position is primarily sedentary with some walking standing bending stooping and carrying of lightweight items (i.e. folders claims files). This position requires mental rather than physical exertion.

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