O&M Instructor - 60026468

Full Job Description

The mission of the SC Commission for the Blind (SCCB), established in 1966, is to provide quality individualized vocational rehabilitation services, independent living services, and prevention-of-blindness services to South Carolinians who are blind or have low vision leading to competitive employment and social and economic independence.

Our goal is to become a national model vocational rehabilitation agency for people who are blind or have low vision, demonstrating quality services, accountability, innovation, effectiveness and efficiency.

Do you want a career doing meaningful work that has a positive impact on people’s lives? Have you thought about a career in state government but weren’t sure how or where to begin?

The SCCB is looking for hard working passionate individuals such as you!

Every SCCB employee is important and a career with the SCCB will give you the opportunity to grow professionally and personally as you play a crucial role in the delivery of services to South Carolinians with visual impairments.

Our orientation and mobility (O&M) training program equips individuals with the skills needed to travel safely and independently throughout their home and community.

Orientation is the process of using one’s senses to establish positioning in the environment relative to other significant objects around.

Mobility is the skill of navigating safely from one’s present position to a desired position in another part of the environment. Instructors begin working with consumers indoors.

Once proper techniques have been mastered, instruction moves outside in nearby residential and downtown areas.

After successfully navigating both residential and highly trafficked areas, individuals may advance to independent travel on foot and on public transportation.

Training is designed to be applicable within the home, community and other places frequently visited.

Our goal is to enable consumers to function safely upon entering any environment, familiar or unfamiliar, with efficiency and confidence.

The O&M Instructor also provides follow-up services upon completion of training on a job site or in other environments as needed.

We are currently accepting applications for an O&M Instructor in the Conway/Florence, SC, area.

The O&M Instructor works one-on-one with consumers to evaluate their needs through assessment and direct observation.

The instructor establishes an O&M teaching plan, provides appropriate instruction using adaptive techniques and/or equipment, and documents progress to help consumers achieve their goals.

Other duties include, but are not limited to the following:

• Conduct initial pre-training assessments to evaluate a consumer’s current Orientation and Mobility (O&M) needs and develop a teaching plan.
• Utilize current industry best practices to deliver O&M instruction to consumers based on their individualized needs, IPE goals/objectives, and functional/motivational levels.
• Coordinate with counselors to provide orientation to consumers with essential orientation needs at their job sites, college campuses, and areas within their homes to address safety concerns.
• Schedule lessons and coordinate orientation within the community in a timely manner to meet consumers’ needs.
• Schedule and confirm travel offsite to consumers' work sites, homes, or educational facilities to provide individualized O&M training and evaluations.
• Participate in monthly team meetings with each consumer, their VR counselor, and relevant training center staff to discuss their O&M training progress.
• Assist with maintaining the Shared Equipment Inventory spreadsheet.
• Stay abreast of industry trends and maintain up-to-date knowledge of the latest technology, best practices, and instruction methods available in orientation and mobility.

Frequent in-state travel is required.

Requirements

State: A bachelor's degree and relevant training and development experience.
Agency: A bachelor's degree in Orientation and Mobility, Special Education, Rehabilitation Teaching, or a related field, and related experience. A master's degree in in Orientation and Mobility, Special Education, Rehabilitation Teaching, or a related field, may substitute for experience. Certification in Orientation and Mobility (COMS) through the Academy for Certification of Vision Rehabilitation and Education Professionals (ACVREP) is required.

Qualifications

Must have above average knowledge of state and Federal Vocational Rehabilitation laws and regulations. Must have excellent verbal and written communication.

Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with consumer, and community partners. Knowledge of objectives and values derived from instruction in rehabilitation.

Employee must possess good organizational skills and must be able to work with minimal amount of supervision. This person must be able to work as part of a team.

A great deal of judgement is required in order to adequately assess the skill levels and needs of each consumer served. Work involves travel 2-4 days per week and occasional overnight travel.

May require evenings and weekend shifts. Occasionally ascends/descends stairs. Constantly positions self to provide orientation and mobility instruction to consumers.

Frequently moves orientation and mobility equipment across campus for various training needs. Occasionally works outdoors.

Additional Information

The SCCB is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all applicants and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions including, but not limited to, lactation), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information.

The SCCB offers an exceptional benefits package for full time (FTE) employees:

• Health, dental, vision, long-term disability, and life insurance for employees, spouses, and children,
• 15 days of annual (vacation) leave per year*,
• 15 days of sick leave per year,
• 13 paid holidays,
• Paid Parental Leave,
• Relocation reimbursement**,
• State Retirement Plan and Deferred Compensation Programs, and
• Public Service Loan Forgiveness.

*Employees holding FTE status earn additional annual leave the longer they remain employed with the state.

**Eligible new hires from out-of-state may receive up to $5,000 in reimbursements for certain expenses, pursuant to Section 8-11-135 of the South Carolina Code of Laws.

A copy of your transcript may be uploaded as an attachment to the application. Upon hiring, candidates must submit official college transcript(s) or diploma(s) for degree(s) obtained. Failure to produce an official, certified transcript may result in not being hired or termination.