Clarification from the agency

Open to 10RCS VHA District 1 Employees

Videos

NOTE: This position is multi-disciplinary and can be filled by: Social Worker, Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor or Marriage & Family Therapist. Applicants must apply to the appropriate vacancy announcement.

Major duties include but is not limited to:

The incumbent's primary responsibility is to provide clinical and administrative leadership, management and supervision of all Vet Center staff and all other professional, paraprofessional and nonprofessional staff assigned to work at the Vet Center and to plan, develop, implement, coordinate, monitor and evaluate all treatment services of the Vet Center. Additional duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Ensures that the Vet Center operates in an efficient manner that ensures good patient care. Budget management, clinical staff supervision, compliance to applicable RCS and VHA policy is performed on a routine basis.
• Responsible for staff selection, education and career development.
• Provides clinical, professional, and administrative supervision to the clinical staff of the Vet Center, to include evaluating staff performance.
• Provides screening/assessment of Veteran clients, treatment planning and goal setting, referral to service providers, development of a resource file, Veteran advocacy, crisis intervention, education/health promotion, coordination of non-institutional and institutional services, and individual/group counseling.
• Develops, implements, and measures market penetration of Vet Center services through a comprehensive outreach plan for the primary service area of the Vet Center.
• Ensures the most efficient assignment of staff to meet client needs within allotted resources.
• Provides crisis intervention, stabilization and follow-up for Veterans and significant others.
• Keeps abreast of current state-of-the-art procedures, processes and data-driven treatment approaches.
• Develops and determines appropriate community referral resources in the VA and private sector, and will refer Veterans and their family members to those available resources when appropriate.
• Other duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00am - 4:30pm; Some evenings and weekends may be required to meet the Veteran's needs
Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized.
Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized
Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases when setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of existing pay, higher or unique qualifications, or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade).
Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year)
Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior [work experience] or military service experience.
Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child.
Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment, full time employees with a total family income below $144,000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66.
Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA
Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement)
Remote: This is a remote position
Functional Statement #: 795820
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU
VA Careers - Licensed Clinical Social Worker: https://youtube.com/embed/U_xC25QsN0w
Total-Rewards-of-an-Allied-Health-VA-Career-Brochure.pdf
Social Work: vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Total-Rewards-of-a-Social-Worker-Career-Flyer.pdf

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• You may be required to serve a probationary period.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process.
• Must pass pre-employment physical examination.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details.

Qualifications

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met.

The basic requirements for employment as a VHA social worker are prescribed by statute in 38 U.S.C. 7402(b)(9), as amended by section 205 of Public Law 106-419, enacted November 1, 2000. To qualify for appointment as a social worker in VHA, all applicants must meet the following:

Basic Requirements:

• United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy (chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3g this part).
• Education: Have a master's degree in social work from a school of social work fully accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). Graduates of schools of social work that are in candidacy status do not meet this requirement until the School of Social Work is fully accredited. A doctoral degree in social work may not be substituted for the master's degree in social work. Verification of the degree can be made by going to http://www.cswe.org/Accreditation to verify that the social work degree meets the accreditation standards for a masters of social work.
• Licensure: Persons hired or reassigned to social worker positions in the GS-185 series in VHA must be licensed or certified by a state to independently practice social work at the master's degree level. Individuals assigned as supervisory social workers must be licensed or certified at the advanced practice level, and must be able to provide supervision for licensure.
• English Language Proficiency. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. 7403(f).

May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria).

Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates. GS-13 Experience and Education: Completion of a minimum of one year of experience equivalent to the GS-12 grade level. Experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills and judgment, demonstrating progressively more professional competency. Candidate may have certification or other post-master's degree training from a nationally recognized professional organization or university that includes a defined curriculum/course of study and internship, or equivalent supervised professional experience.

In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of the following Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs):

• Skill in coordinating and implementing one or more specialty program(s), across the facility.
• Skill in local policy and practice development, procedures, and/or practice guidelines for the program as prescribed by the program handbook or national directive.
• Skill in organizing work, setting priorities, meeting multiple deadlines, and evaluating assigned program area(s).
• Ability to collaborate with internal and external partners to further program goals and enhance patient centered care.
• Ability to provide the full range of supervisory duties including assignment of work to be performed; performance evaluations; and selection of staff, training, and recommendation of awards, advancements, and when appropriate, disciplinary action.
• Ability to oversee the fiscal matters of the functions supervised (including fund controls, contracts, and equipment expenditures), forecast resource and equipment needs, and administer the allocated budget.
• Knowledge of organizational structure and impact on program operations.

Preferred Experience: Working with combat veterans in providing family counseling services; working with veterans who were sexually traumatized/harassed while in the military; conducting psycho-social assessments and the provision of processing psychotherapy for trauma related conditions; and implementing treatment plans for combat Veterans/and their families

References: VA Handbook 5005/120, Part II, Appendix G39, dated September 10, 2019.

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-13.

Physical Requirements: The work does not inherently include physical requirements essential for successful job performance that could not otherwise be performed with a workplace accommodation. A pre-placement exam is not required.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Your application, resume, C.V., and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for employment.

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.

The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.