Vocational Specialist

Join Tessera and make a difference.

Tessera is a national leader in creating meaningful employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities and veterans. We are a dynamic and growing organization of social entrepreneurs dedicated to building strong communities and delivering exceptional service.

About Tessera:

• A recognized leader in inclusive employment and workforce development.

• A mission-driven team of innovative and passionate professionals.

• Operating self-sustaining businesses across 15 states and the District of Columbia, with a workforce of more than 2,000 employees.

• Committed to providing outstanding customer experiences across all service lines.

• Focused on supporting employee growth through robust training, development, and support programs.

Our Bremerton, Washington Home Office supports nationwide operations with a highly skilled and motivated team specializing in finance, human resources, vocational and workforce development, information systems, strategy, business development, communications, marketing, quality, safety, learning, and more.

Location: Bremerton, Washington

Type: Non-exempt

Compensation: $25.77 - $34.45

Work Schedule: Full-time Monday - Friday 7:30am - 4:00pm (flexible start and end times depending on scheduling needs)

As a Vocational Specialist, you'll... meet with every AbilityOne-qualified employee throughout their Tessera life cycle to ensure they are thriving and productive members of our workforce. These activities include, but are not limited to, assisting with obtaining disability documentation during recruiting; partnering with their supervisor to develop an effective accommodation plan; frequent check-ins during their probationary period and scheduled check-ins each year; assisting with identifying and implementing safety considerations, and connecting them to Tessera Career Advisors and resources for their career aspirations. Professional duties also include ensuring compliance with AbilityOne and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) documentation requirements. The success of this position will also draw from Tessera's professional staff leadership competencies: Purpose and Values; Safety Awareness; Operations Excellence; Customer Service and Servant Leadership.

• Travels to supported Tessera worksites for approximately two weeks each quarter, or more frequently as business needs require, to provide direct vocational support, training, consultation, employee engagement, and operational partnership.

• Promotes the Tessera purpose and educates supervisors, managers, and employees on disability awareness and the requirements of the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) for Tessera workplaces.

• Works as a member of a diverse Cross Functional Team consisting of professionals dedicated to servicing a large and diverse number of Tessera sites.

• Develops collaborative relationships with Tessera site management and supervisors to support all Tessera employees of all abilities. This will require monthly meetings with site management and supervisors to ensure job accommodations for employees are effective and to ensure federal AbilityOne reporting is accurate.

• Supports the Regional Vice President (RVP), Recruiters, Human Resource (HR) Partners, functional Vocational leadership, and site managers in maintaining the AbilityOne disability ratio.

• Manages a caseload of approximately 70-100 Tessera employees with a wide variety of disabilities; ensure that these employees are being provided job customization and individualization as well as the most appropriate accommodations to allow them to perform their work successfully and safely.

• Provides job coaching as needed for employees to learn job tasks/functions.

• Partners with Tessera's Career Advisors to ensure career conversations and support are creating opportunities for upward mobility within Tessera and outward mobility beyond Tessera, depending on employee career aspirations.

• Works with site leadership, safety personnel and Tessera's Workers' Comp team to ensure that employees returning to work after an injury are provided with any additional accommodations as deemed necessary by medical personnel.

• Reviews and assesses disability documentation for applicants and current employees to ensure they qualify under the AbilityOne program. Frequently, this will require phone calls to applicants.

• Maintains required documentation for each employee on caseload to include: Federal AbilityOne reports, case notes, accommodation plans, and Workday employee summaries.

• Administrative support duties including obtaining new disability documents and preparing for internal and external audit reviews.

• Makes phone calls to physicians, mental health providers, state Voc Rehab agencies, and Veterans Affairs offices to assist applicants and employees with obtaining qualifying AbilityOne documentation.

• Uploading data into the Source America portal on a timely basis, typically two weeks before the stipulated federal deadlines.

• Assists with crisis intervention, suicide prevention, and suicide safety planning to support employees who are struggling or in crises.

• Assists employees with paperwork, including benefits enrollment and accessing their information within the Workday system.

• Assists employees in applying for internal positions within Tessera.

• Connects employees with internal resources such as HR, Career Advisor, CES, Benefits, Security, etc.

• Performs check-ins with all employees on caseload during their first 30/60/90 days of employment and minimum of twice annually thereafter, documenting these check-ins with case notes in Workday, Tessera's HRIS. Discusses safety considerations and career mobility in all check-ins.

• Oversees, responds, and follows up on accommodation requests in a timely manner. This includes: providing employees with ADA packets when accommodations require additional documentation from provider. Upon receipt of completed packet, assist managers and supervisors with determining if limitations can be accommodated.

• Gathers, promotes, and coordinates Veteran resources to ensure Tessera employees are supported.

• Assists in the development and support of innovative job positions. Establishes relationships with local nonprofits or government organizations to assist recruiters in finding applicants. Collaborate with Job Coaches from external agencies.

• Supports and occasionally attends recruiting functions to assist the cross-functional team members in networking with local employment vendors.

• Acts as an advocate, participant and/or consultant in employee relations matters that are being managed by Tessera's HR staff.

• Maintains and promotes collaboration with all employees, departments, and service providers in a team-oriented environment.

• Creates and presents trainings on a quarterly basis to all supported sites. Training topics will include - Disability Awareness, How to support employees through accommodations, Tessera resources, Overview of ADA federal law, Physical, Mental health and other trainings for specific disabilities.

• Maintains knowledge of disability-related topics and trends such as person-centered planning, supported employment, systematic instruction, ADA, suicide prevention, mental health, mandatory reporting, and ability awareness. This would require attending training through SourceAmerica, JAN, WISE, APSE, etc. on each topic.

• Has knowledge of and follows Tessera processes for mandatory reporting, ADA, suicide safety planning, etc.

• Has excellent time management, problem-solving, professional writing and oral communication skills.

• Is self-directed and can work independently.

• All Other Duties as Assigned.

You'd make an excellent Vocational Specialist if you:

• Consider yourself a people person.

• Love working on collaborative teams.

• Are dedicated to internal and external customer service.

• Take pride in your work.

• Are drawn to serving others and want to challenge yourself through mission-driven work.

Tessera is proud to offer a comprehensive compensation and benefits package to our eligible part-time and full-time employees.

• Medical, Dental, Vision, Life & Short-Term Disability Insurance

• Elective 401(k) retirement plan with a 3% employer discretionary contribution after 90-days of employment

• Flexible Spending Accounts for both medical and dependent care

• 11 paid federal holidays, accrual of 12 paid days of vacation, paid sick leave

• Potential shared earning bonus

• Tuition assistance is available after 1 year of employment and potential scholarships for qualified dependents

• Professional development, certifications, and training opportunities

• Verizon wireless discount

• Employee Assistance Program (EAP), and an engaging wellness program

• Public Service Loan Forgiveness eligibility for full-time employees

Summary of desired skills and experience for the Tessera Vocational Specialist:

• Associate's Degree in Human Services is preferred

• At least a year of previous Vocational Support experience is required

• Previous experience in workplace accommodations and community support services is preferred

• CPR and First Aid required within the first six months of employment

• A valid state driver's license is required with the ability to obtain and maintain coverage by Tessera's insurance.

• Access to a federal military installation requires a REAL ID-compliant driver's license or an acceptable alternative, such as a U.S. passport or military ID, in accordance with the REAL ID Act. Please visit this website for more information: https://www.dhs.gov/real-id.

• Must be able to obtain and maintain applicable security clearances and installation access. A background check and E-Verify will be conducted for this position.

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*** Access to a federal military installation requires a REAL ID-compliant driver's license or an acceptable alternative, such as a U.S. passport or military ID, in accordance with the REAL ID Act.

Please visit this website for more information: https://www.dhs.gov/real-id.

To Apply: Visit our website at www.tessera.org to complete an application.

Current Employees: need to log into their Workday to apply through the Jobs Hub. Please reach out to your Recruiter if you need assistance.

Tessera is a national non-profit, government contractor that is dedicated to "Creating Opportunities for People with Disabilities" through hiring and supporting individuals with disabilities and veterans with disabilities. We take pride in our mission-focused culture, our Core Values, Diversity, Partnership, Commitment, Integrity, and Quality, and our dedication to providing a safe and respectful work environment to our employees.

Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply.

Tessera is here to help you with the recruitment process.

If you require an accommodation or support, please contact us at

(360) 475-0756 ext. 349, or emailrecruiting@tessera.org.