Clarification from the agency

Open to Current, Permanent Veterans Health Administration Employees. NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.

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As part of the Palliative Care team, the Hospice and Palliative Care Coordinator is collaboratively responsible for planning and managing the palliative program at the Orlando VA Healthcare System - building referral processes, community partnerships, and quality improvement initiatives - while also providing specialized social work interventions to Veterans receiving end-of-life care.

Duties Include, but are not limited to:

• The Hospice and Palliative Care Coordinator plans, develops and implement components of the Hospice and Palliative Care program within the Orlando VA Medical Center and local community.
• Program Management: Develops a system to identify Hospice and Palliative Care patients served by the facility and community who belong in the special healthcare group.
• Serves as the point of contact for all inquiries regarding Hospice and Palliative Care services. This may include stakeholders (e.g. Veterans, families, community hospitals and nursing homes, and Veteran Service Organizations) and Congressional inquiries.
• Develops a process for referrals between Hospice and Palliative Care services and local VA and/or community hospitals and/or agencies.
• Conducts research on community resources (local, state and national) that are available to provide continuity of care and to enhance the quality of life of the Veteran.
• Is an expert on hospice level of care options in the community, i.e., inpatient hospice units, assisted living facilities, nursing homes, housing, and the State Veteran's Home.
• Develops data driven continuous quality improvement initiatives with established goals and outcomes to evaluate and document the effectiveness of Hospice and Palliative Care services.
• Works collaboratively with physicians, nurses and other disciplines to foster involvement in the care of Veterans with palliative care needs.
• The Hospice and Palliative Care Coordinator provides accountability for the services provided and ensures effective modification of services when indicated to enhance customer satisfaction.
• Direct Practice: The Hospice and Palliative Care Coordinator functions as a member of the interdisciplinary Palliative Care Consult Team (PCCT). Clinical social work services may be provided to the hospice and palliative care population with frequent complex and unpredictable case load requirements.
• The Hospice and Palliative Care Coordinator provides consultation to the Community Living Center and social worker assigned to the Hospice and Palliative Care beds.
• Completes comprehensive psychosocial assessments, assessments and periodic reassessments of Veterans receiving end of life care.
• Work is performed in a wide range of settings, including at the Orlando VA Medical Center, outpatient clinics, Veteran homes, community-based settings, or in transportation vehicles.
• The Hospice and Palliative Care Coordinator is a subject matter expert on VA and/or community resources.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8am to 4:30pm
Recruitment/Relocation Incentives (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized
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)
Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior [work experience] or military service experience.
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: Available, Ad-hoc
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 80037F
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.
• 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: Must be proficient in spoken and written English.
• Education-Transcripts Submitted: Must 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-Documentation Submitted: 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/. (NOTE: For those who have a Florida LCSW license, you must be registered with the state as a "Qualified Supervisor" in order to provide supervision for licensure or specialty certification. All others must meet the requirements of their state of licensure to be able to provide supervision for licensure.) Applicants with Puerto Rico LSW must be an active member of the College of Social Work Professionals of Puerto Rico (CPTSPR) and must provide CPTSPR active membership certification. For additional information, please visit Membership - CPTSPR.
• Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Services.
• 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:
(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.

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: Includes performing comprehensive assessments, developing and implementing treatment plans, coordinating care, crisis intervention, client advocacy, facilitating appropriate referrals, and managing program components to ensure continuity and quality of care. Candidates should demonstrate advanced practice skills, independent clinical judgement, program management ability, and the capacity to provide short-term, solution-focused counseling and psychosocial support for individuals and families facing end of life needs. Additional preferred qualifications include two or more years of post licensure advanced clinical experience with specialized expertise in hospice and palliative care or related specialties such as Acute Care, ICU/Critical Care, Oncology, Cardiology, Infectious Disease, Pulmonology, Nephrology, Neurology, Gastroenterology/Hepatology, Geriatrics. Ability to communicate effectively with an interdisciplinary team both verbally and in writing. Ability to provide care coordination to patients with complex end of life care needs.

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: 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.