Orientation and Mobility Specialist

Full Job Description

The Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (OVR), Bureau of Blindness and Visual Services (BBVS), Wilkes-Barre District Office is eager to welcome a dedicated Orientation and Mobility Specialist to complete our team.

In this role, you will have the opportunity to provide orientation and mobility instruction to blind and visually impaired customers in addition to evaluating and teaching independent travel within the customers’ homes, workplaces, and communities.

If you are searching for a rewarding career and are dedicated to improving the lives of others, this is the job for you!

Requirements

As an Orientation and Mobility Specialist, your focus is to promote optimal personal and social adjustment to blindness, leading to self-sufficiency and independent living. Work includes assessing customers referred to Orientation and Mobility services by collecting and reviewing reports and information, interviewing customers and observing current level of functioning. This position develops an individualized service plan that contains a schedule of instruction based on objectives and recommendations and in coordination with the Vocational Rehabilitation, Independent Living, and Social Services plan. You can expect to monitor customer progress by evaluating achievement to ensure that the customer benefits from instruction, leading to successful closure. You will have the opportunity to provide information, consultation, and in-service training to staff of provider agencies, nursing homes, hospitals and community facilities in order to assist them in meeting the needs of those who are blind and visually impaired.

Interested in learning more? Additional details regarding this position can be found in the position description.

Work Schedule and Additional Information:

• Full-time employment
• Work hours are 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM, Monday - Friday, with 30-minute lunch. Position's work hours are negotiable, 7.5 hour workday and lunch period is 30 minutes (or 60 minutes depending on work hours).
• Alternate Work Schedule eligible

Telework: You may have the opportunity to work from home (telework) part-time, upon successful completion of the training period.

In order to telework, you must have a securely configured high-speed internet connection and work from an approved location inside Pennsylvania.

If you are unable to telework, you will have the option to report to the headquarters office in Wilkes-Barre. However, HQ location may be flexible depending on the selected candidate.

The ability to telework is subject to change at any time. Additional details may be provided during the interview.

• Salary: Most employees will start at the beginning level of the advertised salary.
• You will receive further communication regarding this position via email. Check your email, including spam/junk folders, for these notices.

Qualifications

QUALIFICATIONS
Minimum Experience and Training Requirements:

• Successful completion of the commonwealth’s Orientation and Mobility Intern program; (Commonwealth job title or equivalent Federal Government job title, as determined by the Office of Administration); or
• A bachelor’s or master’s degree or certificate from an approved college or university program in orientation and mobility that includes a practicum; or
• Possession of an active Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist certificate issued by the Academy for Certification of Vision Rehabilitation and Education Professionals (ACVREP).
• Applicants will be considered to have met the educational requirements once they are within 3 months of graduating with a qualifying degree/credit.

Other Requirements:

• PA residency requirement is currently waived for this title.
• You must be able to perform essential job functions.

Legal Requirements:

• This position falls under the provisions of the Child Protective Services Law.
  • Under the Law, a conditional offer of employment will require submission and approval of satisfactory criminal history reports including, but not limited to, PA State Police clearance, PA Child Abuse history clearance, and FBI Fingerprint clearance.

How to Apply:

Resumes, cover letters, and similar documents will not be reviewed, and the information contained therein will not be considered for the purposes of determining your eligibility for the position.

Information to support your eligibility for the position must be provided on the application (i.e., relevant, detailed experience/education).

If you are claiming education in your answers to the supplemental application questions, you must attach a copy of your college transcripts for your claim to be accepted toward meeting the minimum requirements. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable.

Your application must be submitted by the posting closing date. Late applications and other required materials will not be accepted.

Failure to comply with the above application requirements may eliminate you from consideration for this position.

All application materials and interview responses must reflect the applicant’s own experience, qualifications, and work. Applicants may use generative AI tools for preparation purposes only.

Use of AI to misrepresent or falsify information, or to assist during interviews, is not permitted. Review the Guidance for Generative AI Tools & Job Seekers for additional information.

Veterans:

• Pennsylvania law (51 Pa. C.S. §7103) provides employment preference for qualified veterans for appointment to many state and local government jobs. To learn more about employment preferences for veterans, go to www.pa.gov/agencies/employment/how-to-apply.html and click on Veterans.

Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS):

• 711 (hearing and speech disabilities or other individuals).

If you are contacted for an interview and need accommodations due to a disability, please discuss your request for accommodations with the interviewer in advance of your interview date.

The Commonwealth is an equal employment opportunity employer and is committed to a diverse workforce.

The Commonwealth values inclusion as we seek to recruit, develop, and retain the most qualified people to serve the citizens of Pennsylvania.

The Commonwealth does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religious creed, ancestry, union membership, age, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, AIDS or HIV status, disability, or any other categories protected by applicable federal or state law.

All diverse candidates are encouraged to apply.

Additional Information

• Completing the application, including all supplemental questions, serves as your exam for this position. No additional exam is required at a test center (also referred to as a written exam).

• Your score is based on the detailed information you provide on your application and in response to the supplemental questions.
• Your score is valid for this specific posting only.
• You must provide complete and accurate information or:
  • your score may be lower than deserved.
  • you may be disqualified.
• You may only apply/test once for this posting.
• Your results will be provided via email.