Employment Specialist

About the role

The Employment Specialist provides employment assistance to job-ready disabled Veterans including overseeing the activities of job readiness, job-seeking services, job development, and job placement that entail consideration of employment laws and regulations. The incumbent develops employer partnerships to assist in the successful placement of Veterans into job vacancies developed with those employers or identified through networking with other resources such as state employment services. To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement:06/24/2026. 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. MINIMUM QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENT: You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: GS-09 Grade Level: 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. Education Substitution: Master's 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 aligning individuals with disabilities with work experiences, internships, or volunteer experiences related to overall employment goal. Education Substitution: Ph.D or equivalent doctoral degree or at least three full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M., if related. 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 working with veterans with disabilities to access veteran's employment goals and aligning them to the employment track that best meets their needs. Experience must include outreach at career fairs, job 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 Management's website at http://://www.opm.gov/policy-data-ove

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