Rehabilitation Technician

Summary

This position is assigned to the Assistant Chief of Staff of Mental Health Service providing clinical services to Veterans in the VA SORCC Domiciliary Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Programs. The incumbent provides short term, rehabilitation services to Veterans, family members, and groups of Veterans in the VA SORCC DRRTP. The incumbent is also responsible for meeting program requirements for accreditation and national standards in conjunction with the inter-disciplinary team members.

Duties

• This position involves a multi-grade career ladder. The major duties listed below represent the full performance level of GS-07, however a selection can be made at any of the following grade levels: GS-05, GS-06 OR GS-07. At the GS-05 grade level, you will perform assignments of a more limited scope and with less independence. At the GS-06 grade level, you will progressively acquire the background necessary to perform at the full performance level of GS-07. Promotion is at the discretion of the supervisor and is contingent upon satisfactory performance. The incumbent in this position assists the other members of the provider staff team with the responsibility of administering and providing services to the VA SORCC DRRTP residential rehabilitation treatment programs. The incumbent will be responsible for assisting with specialized treatment services for Veterans with serious mental illnesses, PTSD, substance abuse, dual diagnoses, and other psychological problems. In any area of the program, the incumbent will provide support and rehabilitation services directed towards the goal of returning the veteran to his/her community, without dependence on drugs or alcohol, functioning effectively and compliant with medications and treatment. Specific duties may include, but are not limited to the following: He/she is responsible for the care and comfort of all Domiciliary Veterans and acts as Domiciliary first-line clinician. Accepts responsibility for a specific group of residents during the work shift, and reports individual progress or problems to the interdisciplinary team. Acts on recommendations by the team and accepts responsibility for working with the individual Veterans to bring about a reconciliation of issues. In conjunction with the treatment team, the incumbent exercises judgment to identify veteran treatment goals, support treatment plan, and obtain other pertinent clinical information. The incumbent directs and supports the veteran in the implementation of treatment goals and provides input into the treatment and discharge plans. Provides consultation to and leadership of the therapeutic community groups and resident committees, where appropriate. (45%) The incumbent facilities daily individual and group sessions, utilizing sophisticated skills to achieve the veteran s goals of highest level of function and rehabilitation through personal growth; accepting responsibility for the behavior and recovery; gaining insight into their medical, psychosocial, and mental health problems; and clarifying alternatives for positive independence in the rehabilitation of the Veteran. (20%) A variety of techniques will be used including, but not limited to: Utilizing and teaching communication, relapse prevention, and problem solving techniques with individuals and groups; role play and ongoing small group discussion will be utilized to identify common problems in daily living as well as methods of coping. Facilitating ongoing individual group sessions to teach Veterans evidence based interventions aimed at identifying and combating negative cognitions and/or maladaptive coping strategies. Providing counseling follow-up of veteran case load, utilizing accepted standards for individual counseling techniques concerned with psychosocial recovery and rehabilitation. The incumbent interacts with interdisciplinary treatment teams on treatment plan development, implementation and progress review. He/she provides pertinent information during treatment team planning meetings and assists Veterans in determining the steps he/she needs to take in order to achieve these goals. (10%) Maintains ongoing contact with Veterans in the programs, monitoring their progress through all phases of the program with individual contact and through written notes in the resident's medical record (frequency dated in the program's policy and procedures manual). Documents all work in appropriate systems including Computerized Veteran Record System and Decision Support System Event Capture. Carries out administrative and clinical services required by program and accreditation agencies such as safety checks, chart reviews, and other procedures and monitors as identified by supervisor and program managers. (10%) 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. Work Schedule: First week- Sun-Tues:6a-6:30pm PST , Wed:6a-2:30pm PST, Second Week- Sun-Tues: 6a-6:30pm PST Compressed/Flexible: Authorized Telework: Not Authorized Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Rehabilitation Technician/PD90333A, PD90334A, and PD90335A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet time-in-grade requirements and specialized experience within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement, 09/25/2026. GS-5 Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees may be advanced without time restriction to positions up to GS-5 position if the position to be filled is no more than two grades above the lowest grade the employee held within the preceding 52 weeks under his or her latest non-temporary competitive appointment. Applicants must have held a GS-03 or higher to be eligible for the GS-05 level. GS-6 and GS-7 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 within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement. Applicants must have held GS-05 or higher for at least (1) year to be eligible for the GS-06 grade level. Applicants must have held GS-06 or higher for at least (1) year to be eligible for the GS-07 grade 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 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. To qualify for this position, applicants must meet the Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR). An IOR is a basic requirement that must be met in order to qualify for the GS 0181 occupational series. To qualify for this occupational series, applicants must have one of the following listed below: Specialized Experience (for positions at GS-4 and above): You must have experience that involved the observation of and assistance in the application of techniques relating to behavior, capacities, traits, interests, and activities of either humans or, under laboratory conditions, animals. Experience may have been gained in connection with a program of research or direct services in psychology that gave a practical understanding of some of the principles, methods, and techniques of psychology needed to assist professional psychologists. OR; For GS-5: Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree with major study or at least 24 semester hours in any combination of subjects as shown above for GS-3. In addition to meeting the IOR, you may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: GS-05: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-04 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Developmental level assisting various members of a provider staff team with administering and providing services to a residential rehabilitation treatment programs; Ability to assist with specialized treatment services for Veterans with serious mental illnesses, PTSD, substance abuse, dual diagnoses, and other psychological programs. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed a 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree with major study or at least 24 semester hours in any combination of subjects such as psychology, statistics, or other directly related subjects. This education was obtained in an accredited business, secretarial or technical school, junior college, college or university. If you are qualifying on education, transcripts are required. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education in excess of 60 semester hours (2 years) is creditable. If you qualify by a combination, your experience must be detailed in your resume and transcripts are required. GS-06: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-05 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Intermediate level-Skill at assisting various members of a provider staff team with administering and providing services to a residential rehabilitation treatment programs; Ability to assist with specialized treatment services for Veterans with serious mental illnesses, PTSD, substance abuse, dual diagnoses, and other psychological programs; Knowledge of support and rehabilitation regulations, policies, procedures, and techniques directed towards the goal of returning the veteran to their community, without dependence on drugs or alcohol, functioning effectively and compliant with medications and treatment.. GS-07: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-06 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Skill at assisting various members of a provider staff team with administering and providing services to a residential rehabilitation treatment programs; Ability to assist with specialized treatment services for Veterans with serious mental illnesses, PTSD, substance abuse, dual diagnoses, and other psychological programs; Knowledge of support and rehabilitation regulations, policies, procedures, and techniques directed towards the goal of returning the veteran to their community, without dependence on drugs or alcohol, functioning effectively and compliant with medications and treatment; Skill at maintaining contact and monitor Veteran progress through all phases of the rehabilitation process; Ability to respond appropriately to unexpected situations and developing innovative monitoring programs. OR; Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed 1 full year of graduate education that is directly related to the work of the position such as psychology, statistics, or other related subjects. This education must be obtained in an accredited business, secretarial or technical school, junior college, college or university. If you are qualifying on education, transcripts are required. ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY: In accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), No person shall serve in direct patient care positions unless they are proficient in basic written and spoken English. You must be proficient in basic written and spoken English in order to meet the requirements of this position. 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. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

Requirements

You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 Physical Requirements: The work required does not inherently include any physical requirements essential for successful job performance that could not otherwise be performed with accommodation or workplace adjustment. A pre-placement physical examination is not required. 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 (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). 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. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP) As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In 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, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Education

A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

How to apply

Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply for this position, you must complete the initial online application, to include the initial online questionnaire and submission of the required documentation specified in the How to Apply and Required Documents section. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration. To preview the application questionnaire, click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13056063. The application process is as follows: To begin, click Apply Online to create a USA JOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USA JOBS resume and/or other supporting documents. Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation. Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59 PM (ET) on the announcement closing date, 09/25/2026. If you are required to complete any USA Hire Assessments, you will be notified after submitting your application. The notification will be provided in your application submission screen and via email. The notification will include your unique assessment access link to the USA Hire system and the completion deadline. Additionally, in USAJOBS you can click "Track this application" to return to your assessment completion notice. Access USA Hire using your unique assessment link. Access is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials. Review all instructions prior to beginning your assessments. You will have the opportunity to request a testing accommodation before beginning the assessments should you have a disability covered under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended. Set aside at least 3 hours to take the USA Hire Assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue later, you can re-use your unique assessment link. NOTE: Your responses to the USA Hire Assessments will be reused for one year (in most cases) from the date you complete an assessment. If future applications you submit require completion of the same assessments, your responses will be automatically reused. Visit the USA Hire Applicant Resource Center for practice assessments and assessment preparation resources at https://support-usahire.opm.gov/hc/en-us. To update your application, including supporting documentation: During the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account, find your application record, and click Edit my application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed. To view the announcement status or your application status: https://help.usajobs.gov/how-to. Your application status page is where you can view your application status, USA Hire assessment completion status, and review your notifications sent by the hiring agency regarding your application. Beginning September 27, 2025, Federal agencies will only accept resumes up to two pages in length to comply with the Merit Hiring Plan. Resumes longer than two pages will result in ineligibility for further consideration for the position. USAJOBS will not allow you to upload or build resumes longer than two pages, and you will need to update the resumes in your profile before applying for a job. Resumes should include information relevant to the knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies of the position to which you are applying. VA is unable to make assumptions about qualifications if not clearly listed. Resumes must be legible so they can be reviewed for eligibility, minimum qualifications and other position requirements listed in the job announcement. Your resume must be 5MB or less. We recommend saving and uploading your resume as a PDF to maintain formatting and number of pages. We also accept GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, TXT, PDF, ODT or Word (DOC or DOCX). We do not accept PDF portfolio files. We recommend using a sans-serif font size like Lato, if available. Other widely available options are Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, Open San Source Sans Pro, Roboto or Noro Sans. Make your page margins 0.5 inches. Consider using 14-point size font for titles and 10-point for the main text in your resume. The resume builder can help you create a resume using these recommendations and uses the information in your USAJOBS profile to help you get started. Helpful Hints for Creating a Two-Page Resume: Prioritize most relevant and recent experience Use concise, results focused language Align language from the job announcement Focus on demonstrating skills and competencies Remove outdated or unrelated experience Use the USAJOBS resume builder Additional guidance on this new requirement and resume building tools can be found at https://help.usajobs.gov/faq/application/documents/resume/page-limit