Clarification from the agency

NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.

Videos

VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU

Specific Duties Include:

• The incumbent performs specialized treatment of patient's with complex mental and physical illnesses. Incumbent incorporates complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment of Veterans, including making psychosocial and psychiatric diagnoses within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice.
• The incumbent collaborates with members of the HCHV team, the other Grant and Per Diem programs, VA Supported Housing program, and other professional specialty clinics to provide comprehensive care to HCHV Veterans.
• The Senior Social Worker will provide services to and oversight of the VA Grant and Per Diem Program.
• The incumbent is responsible for monitoring the clinical care and assessing the compliance of the Grant and Per Diem program as outlined in the grant. When necessary, the incumbent will intervene to facilitate compliance or corrective actions and when appropriate, develop, facilitate and monitor plans of correction.
• The incumbent is responsible for coordinating and participating in facility inspections; document inspection deficiencies; establish methods to monitor corrective actions; and develop timelines for further administrative decisions to be taken if deficiencies are not remedied to meet VA inspection standards.
• The incumbent will coordinate care including serving as an advocate on behalf of the Veterans to ensure comprehensive service delivery and linking and referring Veterans to the VA Medical Center, VA Regional Office and /or other community agencies. He/she will engage in coordination with community agencies, organizations, and groups to learn of services or resources available for homeless Veterans as well as provide current information on VA services and benefits available to Veterans participating in the Grant and Per Diem Programs.
• The incumbent conducts individual and family clinical interventions to facilitate the identification of substance abuse, psychiatric illness, and social needs as treatment issues. He/she is responsible for documenting patient and family contacts in the Veteran's medical record via CPRS.
• The Senior Social Worker participates in program planning, development and evaluation. He/she is responsible for advising the section supervisor of shifting trends with caseloads and identifying the need for and making recommendations on program procedure or policy changes. The incumbent will collaborate with VA staff and community agencies to strive to develop more effective and efficient ways of delivering healthcare services to homeless Veterans.
• The incumbent will participate and coordinate special homeless events including Stand Down the Community Homelessness Assessment and Local Education and Networking Groups (CHALENG) meeting, and other VA and community-based events as they pertain to the incumbent's role in the HCHV program.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 7:00 am - 3:30 pm
Telework: Not authorized.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 00000
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

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.

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.
• 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/.

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: Senior Social Worker 0185, GS-12

Experience: The candidate must have at least two years of experience post advanced practice clinical licensure and should be in a specialized area of social work practice of which, one year must be equivalent to the GS-11 grade level. Show both the two years of experience and the dates of you advanced practice clinical license on your resume and with license documentation. Senior social workers have experience that demonstrates possession of advanced practice skills and judgment. Senior social workers are experts in their specialized area of practice. Senior social workers may have certification or other post-masters 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 a specialty.

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

(a) Skill in a range of specialized interventions and treatment modalities used in specialty treatment programs or with special patient populations. This includes individual, group, and/or family counseling or psychotherapy and advanced level psychosocial and/or case management.
(b) Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice.
(c) Knowledge in developing and implementing methods for measuring effectiveness of social work practice and services in the specialty area, utilizing outcome evaluations to improve treatment services and to design system changes.
(d) Ability to provide specialized consultation to colleagues and students on the psychosocial treatment of patients in the service delivery area, as well as role modeling effective social work practice skills.(e) Ability to expand clinical knowledge in the social work profession, and to write policies,

Preferred Experience: Best qualified candidate will have two years of experience in the specialized area of medical/psychiatric social work.

References: VA Handbook 5005/120, PART II, APPENDIX G39 dated September 10, 2019

This position is above the Full Performance Level for this series. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-12.

Physical Requirements: This work is primarily sedentary but also requires some standing, walking, bending, lifting and carrying of items. Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process.

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.