Clarification from the agency

Open to current VHA employees Nationwide only, First Consideration will be given to Orlando VA Healthcare System Employees (Station 675) NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.

Videos

The selected Supervisory Social Worker facilitates an atmosphere of interactive management and development of collegial relationships among interdisciplinary team members, serving as a link between Geriatrics and Extended Care Service and all healthcare disciplines included on the HBPC teams. The Supervisory Social Worker works with the HBPC Program Director, to direct the clinical and administrative services offered by the program to ensure that the program follows local and VHA standards and policies as well as accreditation standards for home care organizations. Some of the duties include, but are not limited to;

• Assists with the development and continued effective functioning of the interdisciplinary health care team.
• Recognizes and utilizes the skills, knowledge, and contributions of each team member.
• Shares expertise with the interdisciplinary team, and mentors staff in the development of special projects, presentation, publications, etc.
• Collaborates with the HBPC Program Director, HBPC Medical Director, and HBPC Nurse Manager for daily program management and collaborates with other HBPC program Directors, Veteran Integrated Service Network (VISN) leadership and VA Central Office staff on a regular and ongoing basis.
• Responsible for the interpretation and communication of VA policies to the HBPC team and the VHA facility.
• Responsible for communicating and interpreting non-VA national, state, and local home care policies and facilitates coordination and communication with non-VA care providers when necessary.
• Assists with the HBPC team development and implementation of local HBPC policies and procedures to include performance improvement, patient safety, utilization review, emergency preparedness, and staff safety.
• Ensures staff have knowledge of Performance Improvement (PI) process, roles, and responsibilities and empowers staff to implement PI projects.
• Evaluates and/or utilizes outcomes from quality improvement activities and initiates and/or leads changes in policy and practice as appropriate.
• Assists with the evaluation of the effectiveness of the program and assuring effective/efficient resources are maintained.
• Collaborates with the HBPC Program Director and HBPC Medical Director to manage human resources for the HBPC Program, including selecting qualified staff, orients, and mentors the staff, promotes staff development and professional growth, and assures a process for ongoing staff clinical competency.
• Collaborates to develop, implement, and evaluate unit/area(s) educational programs based on staff learning needs, changes in professional standards, changes in patient population, and changes in treatment modalities.
• Assists with managing and tracking program resources to include but not limited to equipment inventory, GSA and VA owned Vehicles.
• Collaborates with the business office and fiscal service to ensure accurate reporting of HBPC clinical, administrative and workload data.
• Responsible to provide assistance, collaboration, and subject matter expertise for a complex group of services HBPC often works with, such as Home Oxygen Programs, Home Medical Equipment and contracting services to comply with regulatory standards.
• Other duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: The primary tour of duty will be M-F 8am to 4:30pm. However, the selectee may also be required to work various shifts on a permanent or temporary basis, based on the needs of the service and patient care.
Telework: Not available.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: Supervisory Social Worker - (HBPC) Assistant Program Director GS-0185-12
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• 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 dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• 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).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 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 trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

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.

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.
• English Language: Must be proficient in spoken and written English
• Education-Transcripts Submitted: Must 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-Documentation Submitted: Must be licensed or certified by a state to independently practice social work at the Master's Degree level. Current state requirements may be found by going to http://vaww.va.gov/OHRM/T38Hybrid/. (NOTE: For those who have a Florida LCSW license, you must be registered with the state as a "Qualified Supervisor" in order to provide supervision for licensure or specialty certification. All others must meet the requirements of their state of licensure to be able to provide supervision for licensure.) Applicants with Puerto Rico LSW must be an active member of the College of Social Work Professionals of Puerto Rico (CPTSPR) and must provide CPTSPR active membership certification. For additional information, please visit Membership - CPTSPR.
• Driver's License: A current, valid state-issued Driver's License is required for this position. NOTE: We cannot accept photographs, therefore; please do not submit a copy of your license with your application package.

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). All persons employed in VHA in this occupation on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series and grade held, including positive education and licensure or certification that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation. For employees who do not meet all of the basic requirements in this standard, but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it, the following provisions apply:

• Such employees in an occupation that requires a licensure or certification, may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance (journey) level, or changed to lower grade within the occupation, but may not be promoted beyond the journey level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions.
• Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed, on a temporary or permanent basis, until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard.
• Employees initially grandfathered into this occupation, who subsequently obtain additional education and/or licensure/certification/registration that meet all of the basic requirements of this qualification standard must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation.
• If an employee who was retained in an occupation listed in 38 U.S.C. § 7401 (3) under this provision leaves that occupation, the employee loses protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry to the occupation.

Grade Determinations: Supervisory Social Worker, GS-12

• Education and Experience: One year of experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level. Experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills in a specialty area or in administration demonstrating progressively more professional competency and judgment. 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.
• Licensure/Certification: 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.
• Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: (a) Ability to independently organize work, set priorities, and meet multiple deadlines. (b) Knowledge of supervisory duties which includes clinical supervision, consultation, negotiation with other departments and quality improvement. (c) Ability to ensure provision of clinical social work services. (d) Ability to provide staff training and development. (e) Skill in interpersonal relationships in dealing with employees, team leaders, and managers.

Preferred Experience: HBPC experience; Medical Foster Home (MFH) experience; Program Coordinator experience; Supervisory experience

Reference: VA Handbook 5005/120, Part II, Appendix G39. For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

Physical Requirements: The position requires performance of work which involves light physical effort, such as that involved in lifting light files, bending, standing, reaching, operating office equipment such as telephone, copier, fax machine, scanner, etc. The physical demands of the work requires use of fingers; moderate walking and standing; near vision correctable at 13" to 16" to Jaeger 1 to 4; far vision correctable in on eye to 20/20 and to 20/40 in the other; hearing aid permitted; and clear speech. Must meet occupational health requirements for driving due to the requirement to drive a government owned vehicle for numerous hours on an intermittent basis. This position requires emotional stability and often places the incumbent in a position of stress.

How you will be evaluated

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

Area of Consideration - Eligible applications will be reviewed and referred in the following order:

1. Current permanent VHA employees of the facility.
2. All other VHA employees.

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.