Clarification from the agency

NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below. The area of consideration will be: Current permanent Alaska VA Health System employees.

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Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional
Duties will include, but are not limited to:

• Strategic planning and operation of Social Work programs.
• Ensuring the administrative and clinical supervision of social work staff in their professional role.
• Collaborate with others in negotiating, deciding upon and/or coordinating social work changes affecting other programs.
• Participates in making selections for supervisory and non-supervisory positions.
• Hears group grievances and serious employee complaints, reviews serious disciplinary cases (i.e., those proposing suspensions and removals), and disciplinary problems involving key employees.
• Program planning and evaluation activities.
• Develops and monitors clinical practice/standards of care for Social Work, including development of care guidelines, manuals and guides to professional practice.
• Develops consistent standard operating procedures required to accomplish clinical care interventions and ensures that they are followed.
• Establishes and maintains position descriptions.
• Establishes and maintains performance requirements.
• Counsels employees regarding poor performance or other unsatisfactory situations, takes disciplinary or appropriate action when necessary, or reviews or concurs in disciplinary actions or other appropriate actions or recommendations from subordinate supervisors.
• Establishes, or ensures the establishment of work schedules, tours of duty, and time and attendance policies to ensure the accomplishment of necessary work based on local medical center requirements, personnel regulations and available resources.
• Serves as a consultant to management and other professional staff directly or through committees concerning a wide variety of matters related to the social work profession in order to provide professional advice and assistance in matters related to Social Work programs.
• Ensures that regular scheduled Social Work staff meetings are convened and where necessary include a review and evaluation of the quality monitoring activities within the Social Work programs.
• Continuously monitors the professional standards of all social workers including ensuring that they practice within their scope of practice and maintain appropriate competencies.
• Provide Direct Patient Care.
• Provides consultation to social work staff on complex or unusual cases.
• Provide education and training to members of the medical staff through various conferences, committees, and lecture series.
• Assist, train, supervise, and mentor social workers in the performance of their duties.

Work Schedule: Monday Thru Friday 8:00am.- 4:30pm.
Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized.
Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized.
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).
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: AD-HOC
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 50483-F
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized.

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.
• 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 identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Must pass pre-employment physical evaluation.
• 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

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement.

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/.
  • Loss of Licensure or Certification: Once licensed or certified, social workers must maintain a full, valid, and unrestricted independent license or certification to remain qualified for employment. Loss of licensure or certification will result in removal from the GS-0185 social worker series and may result in termination of employment.
• 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:

Social Work Executive, GS-14.

Experience/Education: One year of experience equivalent to the GS-13 grade level. Social work executive positions are only established at facilities that do not have a chief social work service. In facilities with care/product lines, the social work executive is the highest level professional position at the facility with responsibility for the professional practice of all facility social workers and provision of social work services. Social work executive must evidence possession of supervisory and management skills. Experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills in administration, demonstrating progressively more professional competency skills and judgment. Individual 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: The social work executive must be licensed or certified at the advanced practice level, and must be able to provide supervision for licensure.

In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:

1. Skill in providing technical social work guidance in order to complete job assignments in multiple divisions/sections.
2. Skill in applying legal, ethical, and professional standards to social work practice.
3. Knowledge of social work practice, policy, and accreditation standards across the continuum of health care.
4. Skill in providing consultation to facility leadership, care/product line managers, and other staff on social work qualification standards, practice, competency, productivity, and continuing education requirements.
5. Skill in developing, implementing, and maintaining clinical social work practice standards in multiple divisions/sections.
6. Skill in administrative oversight to ensure compliance with social work licensure requirements.

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. At the GS-14 grade level the size, scope, significance, and impact are greater than at the GS-13 social work executive level. In the absence of a social work chief, GS-14, grade level, the social work executive is typically responsible for clinical oversight of a professional social work practice in a large program at a VHA facility. Social work executive is typically assigned to a care/product line management role at a VHA facility and has responsibility for overseeing the practice of social workers in the facility or of social workers in multiple divisions of a VHA facility. The GS-14 social work executive is responsible for overseeing the professional practice of all facility social workers and provision of social work services the professional practice of all facility social workers to include participation in the selection and credentialing of social workers. The position usually includes a management role, such as a care/product line manager/administrator.

Preferred Experience: VA leadership experience.

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 GS-14.

Physical Requirements: This work requires light lifting, under 15 pounds, moderate carrying, 15-44 pounds, use of fingers, walking, standing, near vision correctable at 13" to 16" to Jaeger 1 to 4, far vision correctable in one eye to 20/20 and to 20/40 in the other, hearing (aid may be permitted), emotion/mental stability. Environmental factors include outside and inside and working alone.

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.