Clarification from the agency

This Job Announcement is open to the public. NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.

Videos

The incumbent is responsible for the maintenance, coordination, and supervision of a multidisciplinary staff consisting of psychologists, social workers, and other mental health professionals of other disciplines and a highly complex mental health acute inpatient unit program that provides a variety of critical medical and mental health services to Veterans experiencing mental health crises unable to be managed on an outpatient basis.

Management of Staff
- The incumbent directly develops individualized productivity standards for Social Workers and Psychologists. The incumbent reviews productivity with staff on a quarterly basis and adjusts standards as needed based on changes in clinic procedures and staff utilization. The incumbent reviews, approves or disapproves leave requests.
- The incumbent execute performance appraisals of Social Work and Psychology staff and provides secondary input on the performance appraisal of other unit staff.
- The incumbent participates in the recruitment of staff of other disciplines with the discipline Chief, serving as a member of the interview panel.

Management/Supervision of Unit/Clinic
- The incumbent co-manages the day-to-day operations of a highly complex inpatient mental health unit which is staffed around the clock and spread across two semi-autonomous sub-units. These operations include the provision of specialty inpatient care for Veterans of the geriatric cohort, female Veterans, Veterans who are admitted for substance used detoxification, Veterans admitted for psychiatric stabilization of psychosis, and Veterans admitted for due to suicidal intent and/or protective custody.
- The incumbent monitors the quality of care provided to the Veterans seeking mental health services from the MHAIU, to include review and documentation of Veteran care.
- The incumbent ensures unit operations follow all relevant local, state, or federal standards, VA Office of Mental Health Operations Handbook, and Joint Commission standards for mental health acute inpatient facilities.

Training and Education
- The incumbent teaches and mentors staff and students in Social Work practice and provides supervision for licensure or specialty certification. As a Field Instructor, the incumbent supervises Social Work graduate students and provides training experience for them. The incumbent provides a range of group/individual psychotherapeutic interventions with veterans and their families utilizing empirically supported modalities when indicated.
- The incumbent is responsible for furthering her/his own professional growth through education, appropriate to the area of assignment and providing coverage during absences of Social Work staff members. May be involved with education/teaching for a host of trainees and staff from various disciplines.
- The incumbent will assist with coverage of other mental health areas if deemed necessary by Mental Health Service Leadership.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm
Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized
EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact VISN17EDRP2@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more
This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific individual eligibility requirements in accordance with VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Program Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) and eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after complete review of the EDRP application.
Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases
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)
Telework: Not Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 00000
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

Basic Requirements

Citizenship. Be a citizen of the United States. (Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with 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-0185 series in VHA 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/

English Language Proficiency. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).


GRADE DETERMINATIONS. In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates.

Supervisory Social Worker, GS-13
Experience/Education. One year of experience equivalent to the GS-12 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) Skill in a range 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 by supervised social workers.
• (d) Ability to delegate authority, manage priorities, coordinate work, and follow up on pending issues to complete duties in an accurate and timely fashion.
• (e) Ability to analyze organizational and operational problems, develop and implement solutions that result in efficient operations, and use data effectively to manage workload, quality, performance, and productivity within the service.
• (f) Ability to provide staff training and development.

Assignment. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity (difficulty), and variety and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. Supervisory social workers at the GS-13 grade level typically supervise professional and non-professional staff. They are responsible for the professional and administrative management of an area in a social work service, in a care/product line, or across multiple sites, (e.g., multi-division facilities and CBOCs). Incumbent may also provide direct clinical services.

Preferred Experience:

• PE 1.Experience working as a supervisor in a MH Acute Inpatient Unit.
• PE 2.Experience providing case management and psychotherapy along with interfacing with mental health court related to involuntary commitments
• PE 3.Experience in multidisciplinary settings, including managing across disciplines.
• PE 4.Experience developing, evaluating, and improving programs
• PE 5.Experience treating a Veteran population
• PE. 6.Experience working with trainees (including psychiatry, psychology, social work)

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the GS-13.

Physical Requirements: The work is sedentary. Some work may require movement between offices, hospitals, warehouses, and similar areas for meetings and to conduct work. Work may also require walking/standing, in conjunctions with travel to and attendance at meetings and/or conferences away from the work site. Incumbent may carry and lift light items weighing less than 15 pounds and walking (1hr)

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.