Clarification from the agency

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

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The position functions a member of the multidisciplinary Women Veterans Program including the Maternity Care Nurse Coordinator and Postpartum/Lactation Nurse Coordinator as well as the larger Women Veterans Program team. Social Work Services are carried out in full accordance with specific program goals and broad objectives of the VA health care system.

Major Duties include but are not limited to the following:

Clinical:
1. Employs a high level of skill and expertise to establish and maintain effective therapeutic relationships with women Veterans and their families, being sensitive to the unique issues of women Veterans.
2. As part of the perinatal team, builds and implements perinatal mental health monitoring across VA NCHCS.
3. Conducts comprehensive biopsychosocial assessments to identify those at high-risk for mood disorders or other mental health concerns and identify social determinants of health.
4. Accepts referrals from the team for any women otherwise identified as needing additional social work support during pregnancy or postpartum period for up to 1 year postpartum, while receiving IVF/Infertility treatments, and/or after a pregnancy loss.
5. Completes follow-up assessments and periodic scheduled check-ins to monitor perinatal mental health and social determinants of health.
6. Works with women and families to assess their strengths and challenges during the perinatal period. Assures assessments and interventions are strengths-based and trauma-informed.
7. Assesses high-risk and crisis situations, formulates crisis plans, and provides crisis interventions, coordinating with WVP team as well as other teams and service lines in response to crisis situations.
8. Provides follow-up intervention services, developing individualized treatment plans, with particular regard for addressing situations related to harm to self, others, or grave disability and coordinates with mental health and suicide prevention coordinators as needed.
9. Provides timely and appropriate interventions for issues identified.
10. Provides referrals to mental health when appropriate, tracking and following up to make sure referrals are completed, and refers clients to other support services or community agencies if necessary

Administrative:
1. Attends training sponsored by the Veteran Integrated Service Network (VISN), VA Medical Center (VAMC), and other NASW-recognized training programs to enhance knowledge, skills, and abilities.
2. Attends outreach events as part of the Women Veterans Program, including events that may be held on weekends or after hours.
3. Assists in planning and coordination of any outreach specific to assigned patient population and WVP.
4. As may be required, travel may be part of the outreach including special events in the community and other NCHCS sites. Such travel requires the incumbent to function without immediate supervision or consultation including working after hours or weekends on occasion.
5. Identifies need and creates any additional patient educational handouts, flyers, pamphlets, brochures, etc., going through proper channels for review and approval.
6. Creates and provides educational presentations to VA and community organizations related to position and program.
7. Serves on committees, workgroups, and task forces at the facility as deemed appropriate by the supervisor.
8. Keeps their supervisor apprised of problems and recommended solutions to problems encountered in the incumbent's area of responsibility.
9. Assists with the orientation and learning of less experienced social workers and, if interested, serves as a preceptor for social work students.
10. Demonstrates knowledge and skill in using software applications for drafting documents, data management, and other computer systems in use by the VHA.

Work Schedule: M - F, 8am - 430pm
Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases
When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade).
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: AdHoc only
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 02841F

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 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

Preferred Experience:

• 2 plus years full time work experience with perinatal populations preferred.
• Specialized knowledge and experience in perinatal mental health, including assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of peripartum and postpartum mood disorders preferred.
• Knowledge of VA and community resources related to perinatal veteran patient populations across NCHCS wide catchment area.
• Detailed and organized in relation to setting up and implementing tracking and monitoring systems. Ability to organize, prioritize and multitask efficiently and work as a part of inter disciplinary team.
• Comfort and skill in utilizing technology in everyday work, including independently navigating virtual individual and group visits and utilizing software programs related to systems of care, tracking and program evaluation.

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.
• 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.
• 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.

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:

GS-12 Senior Social Worker

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.

References: VA Handbook 5005/120, Part II, Appendix G39, Social Worker Qualification Standard, GS-0185, Veterans Health Administration, dated September 10, 2019.

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

Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Services.

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.