Clarification from the agency

This job is open to current permanent Department of Veteran Affairs employees, current permanent Federal employees of other agencies and all US Citizens.

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Duties and responsibilities include but not limited to:

• Conducts assessments with focus on the identified referral need, triages patient needs appropriately and develops treatment plan based on assessment. These assessments may include biopsychosocial assessments, cognitive and behavioral assessment, brief crisis assessment, and brief diagnostic assessments.
• Offers consultation to interdisciplinary colleagues and students on the psychosocial treatment of patients treated in specialty areas, rendering professional opinions based on experience and expertise and role modeling effective social work practice skills.
• Collaborates with interdisciplinary treatment team, the Veteran, family, and significant others. Including collateral assignments working collaboratively within medical/surgical/in-patient and mental health settings as assigned.
• Develops and consults on the treatment plan with interdisciplinary teams, setting achievable treatment goals with the Veteran/family and providing behavioral health care utilizing advanced clinical judgment to determine the appropriate treatment intervention for the Veteran and their loved ones.
• Promotes Whole health, preventing illness, aiding with adaptive coping. Treatments include evidence-based interventions for mild to moderate mental health/behavioral health conditions as indicated. Psychotherapeutic interventions are based on episodes of care model.
• Provides clinical interventions independently and in various VA and community settings.
• Provides services after hours and on weekends on a flexible schedule.
• Establishes and maintains a therapeutic relationship with Veterans and their loved ones through engagement, rapport building, instilling hope, and offering support.
• Utilizes advanced clinical training, insight, and experience to interpret data and to identify viable treatment options.
• Provides explanation of different treatment options/levels of care available and why one treatment option/level of care may be more beneficial to the Veteran and their loved ones than another.
• Utilizes advanced clinical skills and training to provide interventions to Veterans considered a high risk population and their loved ones. Educate these Veterans and their loved ones about communication skills and problem-solving skills in an effort to prevent relapse and reduce recidivism rates.
• Has knowledge of VA and community resources and provide the veteran and their loved one with referrals to services as needed.
• Works collaboratively with other programs and disciplines to promote continuity of care while providing treatment interventions in conjunction with other services the Veteran may be receiving.
• Facilitates group psychotherapy and evidenced based practices, make appropriate referrals.
• Collaborates with Medical Center staff on projects to improve patient care and resolving problems that might negatively impact patient care.
• Provides coverage as needed to address consults for MST/Family Services and on occasion IPVAP.
• Serves as a consultant to various treatment teams within Mental Health Service, Social Work Service, Primary Care, Medicine Services and other programs regarding Veteran issues and treatment options.
• Provides education and training on various evidence-based treatment practices.
• Participates in the writing of policies, procedures, and practice guidelines.
• Utilizes outcome evaluations to further treatment and designs systems changes based on empirical findings.
• Provides supervision for MSW seeking independent licensure or specialty certifications.
• Duties may include supervising and mentoring social work students and interns as assigned.
• Demonstrates accountability and responsibility for professional development by keeping abreast of current research in MST, families and couples therapy, and mental illness.
• Adheres to the ethical and professional standards of the National Association of Social Workers, VHA, and other statues.
• Maintains professional standards of practice.
• Completes other clinical and collateral duties as assigned by Special Services Division Director.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00am - 4:30pm
Telework: Not eligible
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 92918A
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.
• 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.
• 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 Proficiency. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).
• 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 GS12

Experience/Education 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. 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.

Licensure/Certification: Senior social workers must be licensed or certified by a state at the advanced practice level which included an advanced generalist or clinical examination, unless they are grandfathered by the state in which they are licensed to practice at the advanced practice level (except for licenses issued in California, which administers its own clinical examination for advanced practice) and they must be able to provide supervision for licensure.

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

• 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.
• Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice.
• 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.
• 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.
• Ability to expand clinical knowledge in the social work profession, and to write policies, procedures, and/or practice guidelines pertaining to the service delivery area.

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 Social Worker at least 25% of the time. Senior social workers are licensed or certified to independently practice social work at an advanced level. Senior social workers typically practice in a major program area such as but not limited to: Polytrauma Rehabilitation Center or Polytrauma Network Site; a Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Center, or a national VHA referral center, such as a national Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or a national Transplant Center, or other program areas of equivalent scope and complexity. The senior social worker may be assigned administrative responsibility for clinical program development and is accountable for clinical program effectiveness and modification of service patterns. Assignments include clinical settings where they have limited access to onsite supervision such as CBOCs or satellite outpatient clinics. The senior social worker collaborates with the other members of the treatment team in the provision of comprehensive health care services to Veterans, ensures equity of access, service, and benefits to this population, ensures the care provided is of the highest quality. The senior social worker provides leadership, direction, orientation, coaching, in-service training, staff development, and continuing education programs for assigned social work staff. They serve on committees, work groups, and task forces at the facility, VISN and national level, or in the community as deemed appropriate by the supervisor, Social Work Executive or Chief of Social Work Services. This assignment must represent substantial additional responsibility over and above that required at the full performance grade level and cannot be used as the full performance level of this occupation.

Preferred Experience: Working multiple programs, to include Couples/Family Therapy and Trauma treatment

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

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS12.

Physical Requirements: The work described above places no special physical demand on the incumbent. The work required walking, standing, bending, lifting, and carrying light items. The incumbent may be required to drive to a Community Based Outpatient Clinic to conduct treatment, and on those occasion the work will require driving a car.

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 VA employees of the facility.
2. All other VA employees.
3. Current permanent Federal employees of other agencies.
4. All other applicants.

Note: Veterans' Preference is not applicable to VA employees or employees of other Federal agencies.

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.