Clarification from the agency

NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below. This position is open to all U.S. citizens, facility employees will get first consideration.

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VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU

• Utilization of program coordination skills to develop and monitor administrative and clinical plans for assigned programs within medical center catchment. Emergency and Contingency program operations will be routinely reviewed with regular staff education.
• Completion and monitor of Facility, VISN or Central Office Implementation dashboards or reports.
• Monitoring and oversight of daily operations in assigned programs, including reporting updates with team assignment for panel management. - Monitoring, reporting and development of corrective action plans associated with directive, policy, metric, or data trends to include access, clinic utilization and productivity trends in coordination with Section Chiefs.
• Participation in clinic grid and stop code creation in coordination with MH/BMS Administrative Officer and Group Practice Management.
• Coordination with Community Care Services, with strong focus on access and wait time parameters.
• Coordinator serve as service level patient advocates.
• Reporting and assisting with resolution of any patient safety issues.
• Participation with the facility response team for disruptive behavior management team with expectation of being PMDB training.
• Skills in independent organization of work, setting priorities, meeting multiple deadlines, and ongoing evaluation/performance improvement for assigned areas.
• Direct patient care services to include crisis, urgent and routine evaluations of mental health conditions. Competency in Suicide Prevention Clinical care standards and Mental Health Procedure Requirements for psychiatry crisis. Timely and through documentation with Electronic Health Record.
• Collaboration with multiple disciplines across service lines to develop standard of work uniformity to meet patient care expectations.
• Coordination with Health Administration Services, with strong coordination with Eligibly for Limited Episode of Care and Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program tracking.
• Coordination with Local Recovery and Evidence Base Care coordinators for continued implementation of episode of care model.
• Coordination with specialty mental health services to support referrals for care transfer or episode of care.
• Coordination with Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) and Primary Care Mental Health Integration services for referral management and discharge from BHIP/COMPACT services.
• Participation in assigned committees, peer reviews, work group, action teams and special projects as assigned.
• Participation in On-Call service rotation.
• Other duties as assigned based on service or facility needs.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: 8:00am to 4:30pm, Monday thru Friday
Telework: May be available.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive.Contact VHAVISN04HREDRP@VA.GOV, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more
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

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. 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 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.
  • Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:
    • 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 INTERNAL EMPLOYEES MUST SUBMIT A RECENT SF-50 FOR CONSIDERATION!

Preferred Experience: none

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

Physical Requirements: The work requires sitting, bending, stooping and walking consistent with the delivery of services in the office, hospital and community. The position may entail lifting of no more than 25 pounds on an occasional basis. Whenever possible, carts and dollies will be utilized as an alternative to lifting. In carrying out responsibilities, operation of a motor vehicle with a valid driver's license is required. The social worker must meet the requirements to use a government vehicle in accordance with VHA directive 2008-020. It will be necessary for the social worker to travel throughout the Wilkes-Barre VAMC catchment area where they conduct interviews with Veterans, family members, representatives of community health, welfare and law enforcement agencies

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.