Clarification from the agency

This job is open to current permanent employees of the VA Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System. Only current permanent employees of the VA Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System will be eligible for referral.

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Major Duties include but are not limited to the following:

• Acquires appropriate knowledge concerning spinal cord injuries, neurological disorders and care giver issues.
• Provides referrals for appropriate VA and community resources.
• Provides or refers for appropriate psychosocial interventions including counseling for such issues as adjustment to illness for Veteran and families, grief and emotional issues related to disorders.
• Develops, implements and evaluates clinical guidelines and protocols to establish appropriate utilization of services.
• Provides specialized case management services to the specialized populations.
• Conducts psychosocial assessments to determine needs of Veterans and family members.
• 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.
• Knowledge of program coordination and administration which includes consultation, negotiation, and monitoring.
• Knowledge and ability to write policies, procedures, and/or practice guidelines for the program.
• Skill in organizing work, setting priorities, meeting multiple deadlines, and evaluating assigned program area(s).
• Ability to provide training, orientation, and guidance within clinical practice.
• Actively participates in the treatment planning, goal setting, interdisciplinary meetings regarding patient care.
• Evaluates the need for mental health services and make referrals as appropriate.
• Provides consultation/education to Veterans and families on community resources, advance directives and VA benefits.
• Acts as a consultant to other team/staff members.
• Social Worker understands the intimidation of bureaucracy and will act as an advocate when it serves the best interest of the veteran/family. When appropriate and feasible, social worker will educate and encourage the veteran/family to advocate for themselves, thus fostering a sense of independence and empowerment.
• Conducts rapid assessments and developing crisis management plans to maintain patient in the home, for admission to acute, short term and/or long term placements. Social worker has access to multiple resource directories in addition to previously developed resources to meet the demands of a crisis. In the event of a medical or psychiatric emergency, staff will follow the protocol of the Medical Center.
• Enters all veteran/family contacts in the electronic record using appropriate formats. The information will be entered in a complete, confidential, and professional manner to insure information on the patient is shared with other VA staff. This information will be reviewed on a regular basis.
• Provides a full range of social work services within commonly accepted standards of social work practice which includes case work, individual, family and group counseling, discharge planning, case management and other services as appropriate.
• Coordinates treatment and communicates with the care teams as well as with other facilities/agencies (PVA for example) to facilitate continuity of care for Veterans
• Completes clinical reminders and interfaces with mental health to ensure integrated delivery of services. - Establishes and maintains positive working relationships with co-workers, other employees, volunteers, consumers, and stakeholders within the VA and outside community agencies.
• Collaborates in the performance improvement process and comply with performance measures as required by the VA for their specific population and/or program and for Social Work Service. This includes referring cases for on Protected Peer Review and Intensive Case Review.

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00am-4:30pm
Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): https://youtube.com/embed/U_xC25QsN0w
Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): https://youtube.com/embed/U_xC25QsN0w
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 #: 000000
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.
• NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.
• 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:

• United States Citizenship: Be a citizen of the United States. (Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.)
• English Language Proficiency: Social workers must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3j, 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 4 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. Current state requirements may be found by going to http://vaww.va.gov/OHRM/T38Hybrid/.

Grade Determinations:Social Worker (Program Coordinator) GS-12:

• Experience and Education: One year of experience equivalent to the GS-11 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.
• Licensure/Certification: Individuals assigned as social worker program coordinator must be licensed or certified at the advanced practice level, and must be able to provide supervision for licensure. Applicants must meet the requirements for providing supervision in the state where they are licensed at the advanced practice level and should list these qualifications within the assessment narrative and their resume. Documentation is required if part of your state's requirements for providing supervision for licensure is beyond your licensure only (example: certification of continuing education credits).
• Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs (submission of a document with written demonstration of KSAs is highly recommended with application).
  • Knowledge of program coordination and administration which includes consultation, negotiation, and monitoring.
  • Knowledge and ability to write policies, procedures, and/or practice guidelines for the program.
  • Ability to supervise multidisciplinary staff assigned to the program.
  • Skill in organizing work, setting priorities, meeting multiple deadlines, and evaluating assigned program area(s).
  • Ability to provide training, orientation, and guidance within clinical practice.

All qualifying experience you possess must be clearly described in your application package. We will not make assumptions when reviewing applications. Failure to demonstrate your experience in your resume may result in disqualification. It is strongly recommended that you write to each KSA in your application package.

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-12.

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

Physical Requirements: You will be asked to participate in a pre-employment examination or evaluation as part of the pre-employment process for this position. Questions about physical demands or environmental factors may be addressed at the time of evaluation or examination.

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.

This job is open to current permanent employees of the VA Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System. Only current permanent employees of the VA Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System will be eligible for referral.

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.