Clarification from the agency

AREA OF CONSIDERATION: Open to Current Permanent Federal employees and The Public. Qualified applicants will be considered and referred in the following order: 1) Current, permanent employees of VA Northern Arizona Health Care System; 2) Current, permanent VA employees; 3) All other current, permanent Federal employees ; 4) The Public

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VA Careers - Licensed Clinical Social Worker: https://youtube.com/embed/U_xC25QsN0w

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

The purpose of this position is to strengthen the medical center's ability to provide integrated, patient-centered, and coordinated care for Veterans with complex medical, behavioral health, and psychosocial needs as well as ensure that the Care Coordination and Integrated Case Management (CCICM) framework is implemented consistently, with oversight of policy adherence, training, and monitoring of care coordination standards. The position will also provide accessible, high-quality PACT social work services, addressing psychosocial barriers that impact health outcomes and reduce duplication of services, enhance communication among clinical programs, and improve care transitions throughout VHA's continuum of care.

The position operates throughout the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) healthcare system, serving Veterans across outpatient and inpatient environments. Work may occur in PACT - providing direct clinical social work services as part of an interdisciplinary primary care team. Work may also occur within CCICM Program Infrastructure - collaborating with nursing counterparts, specialty care teams, navigators, case managers, and facility leadership. This position also works with the Care Coordination Review Team (CCRT) - co-leading interdisciplinary meetings focused on moderate- and high-complexity Veterans and will also utilize virtual modalities including Tele-Social Work and Tele-Mental Health, as required by national VHA standards. This role requires flexibility in working across multiple clinics and service lines, with duties occurring in offices, primary care settings, specialty clinics, and virtual platforms.

CCICM Program Coordination - 50%
-Leads implementation, coordination, and management of the CCICM framework, ensuring alignment with national guidance and accreditation standards through the following:
- Collaborates with nursing leadership to develop, monitor, and evaluate CCICM operations
- Identifies and monitors high-need Veteran cohorts requiring coordinated, integrated case management
- Ensures integration with facility-wide care coordination teams, navigators, and specialty programs for seamless continuity of care
- Provides oversight of CCICM education initiatives for staff and Veterans
- Co-coordinates CCRT activities and assigns Lead Coordinators
- Manages CCICM-related data tracking, reporting, and quality improvement activities

PACT Social Work Services - 50%
- Provides direct clinical social work services to PACT patients, including assessment, treatment planning, intervention, and follow-up
- Participates in daily PACT huddles and interdisciplinary collaboration to support population health efforts
- Provides crisis intervention, resource navigation, and solution-focused social work services
- Ensures adherence to suicide prevention protocols, including Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (CSSRS), Comprehensive Suicide Risk Evaluation (CSRE), safety planning, and required documentation
- Addresses psychosocial barriers impacting access, adherence, and overall health outcomes
- Collaborates with medical, nursing, and behavioral health staff to support high-quality, Veteran-centered care

This position functions at the GS-12 advanced practice level, requiring specialized experience, advanced licensure, and the ability to provide clinical supervision. The scope of work includes program coordination, administration, advanced clinical services, interprofessional leadership, and integrated case management.

Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 8 AM to 4:30 PM
Recruitment/Relocation Incentives (Sign-on Bonus): May be authorized for highly qualified candidates
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: ADHOC- May be available for highly qualified candidates
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 dentification 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

***Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): May be authorized for highly qualified candidates***

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

This is an OPEN CONTINUOUS ANNOUNCEMENT and will remain open until October 28, 2026. The initial cut-off date for referral of eligible applications will be August 17, 2026, with subsequent cut-off dates on the 1st of each month. Eligible applications received after that date will be referred at regular intervals or as additional vacancies occur on an as-needed basis until positions are filled.

Basic Requirements. The basic requirements for employment as a VHA social worker are prescribed by statute in 38 U.S.C. § 7402(b)(9), as amended by section 205 of Public Law 106-419, enacted November 1, 2000. To qualify for appointment as a social worker in VHA, all applicants must meet the following:

• Citizenship: Be a citizen of the United States.
• 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/.
• 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.

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

(1) 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.

(2) 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.

[(3) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:(a) Knowledge of program coordination and administration which includes consultation, negotiation, and monitoring.(b) Knowledge and ability to write policies, procedures, and/or practice guidelines for the program.(c) Ability to supervise multidisciplinary staff assigned to the program.(d) Skill in organizing work, setting priorities, meeting multiple deadlines, and evaluating assigned program area(s).(e) Ability to provide training, orientation, and guidance within clinical practice.

(4) Assignments. 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. Program coordinators at the GS 12 grade level are administratively responsible for a clinical program providing treatment to Veterans in a major specialty area, such as but not limited to: Spinal Cord Injury, Homeless Continuum Veteran Program, Hospice and Palliative Care Program, Suicide Prevention Program, Veterans Justice Outreach, Caregiver Support Program and Community Nursing Home Program. The program coordinator may be the sole practitioner in this specialty at the facility and typically provide direct patient care services in the program area. The program coordinator oversees the daily operation of the program, develop policies and procedures for program operation, and prepare reports and statistics for facility, VISN, and national use. They may be responsible for the program's budget, developing and monitoring staff compliance with practice, standards and guidelines on documentation, workload, data entry, ethical practice and service delivery. The program coordinator provides analysis and evaluation of clinical program data and computerized programs to identify system-wide trends and needs to enhance the quality of service. They may be responsible for, or contribute to, the program's resource and fiscal management, monitoring control points developing the annual budget, operating within that budget, and accounting for appropriated funds. The program coordinator is administratively responsible for the clinical programming and prepares reports and statistics for facility, VISN, and national use. They provide leadership, direction, orientation, coaching, in-service training, staff development, and continuing education programs for assigned staff. They initiate and conduct a variety of program or service audits and complete designated clinical practice audits and reports, including productivity assessments. They oversee program operations and evaluations, identifying areas for improvement, gathering relevant data, assessing the data, developing and implementing ideas for improvement and evaluating efficacy of improvement efforts.]

Preferred Experience: Previous experience in program oversight and leadership. Familiarity with fiscal processing or budget management.

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

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12.

Physical Requirements: The work environment involves everyday risks or discomforts that require normal safety precautions typical of such places as offices, training rooms, and libraries. The work area is adequately lighted, heated, and ventilated. The incumbent must also work outdoors in all types of weather. There may be occasional exposure to moderate risks or discomforts in storage areas or hazardous waste sites.
The work is primarily sedentary, although some physical effort may be required, e.g., walking, standing, climbing ladders, stooping, kneeling, and carrying light items such as manuals or briefcases, or driving or traveling by motor vehicle. Job entails the ability to have active listening, reading, observing and evaluating verbal and non verbal behavior; walking, speaking, writing clinical notes, writing and reading policies and procedures, using office equipment such as computers, telephones, fax machines, copy machines and cell phones. Must be able to remain current in Basic Life Support (BLS) certifications and able to engage in Prevention and Management of Disruptive Behavior, or have a valid exemption.

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.