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Social Work Program Manager (ACOS for Mental Health)

Department of Veterans Affairs
Veterans Health Administration
VA Hudson Valley Healthcare System
This job announcement has closed

Summary

The VA Hudson Valley Healthcare System is hiring an advanced level Social Worker to be the Associate Chief of Staff for Mental Health. Located in the heart of NY's Hudson Valley Region, the VAHVHCS is situated with close access to both NYC and the sprawling wilderness of NY's beautiful Catskill Mountain region. The Mental Health service serves eligible Veterans at both the Montrose and Castle Point campuses, its associated CBOCs and includes inpatient and outpatient services. Come Join us Today!

Overview

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Reviewing applications
Open & closing dates
06/11/2025 to 07/11/2025
Salary
$172,621 to - $195,200 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 15
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Montrose, NY
1 vacancy
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
No
Travel Required
25% or less - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Excepted
Promotion potential
None
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
Yes
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
Yes
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
CBTE-12747573-25-MJK
Control number
838685100

Videos

Duties

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

The Social Work Program Manager, ACOS of Mental Health provides leadership, coordination and direction to the entire Mental Health Service to achieve optimal utilization of available resources. The SWPM ACOS of Mental Health has responsibility for staffing, work assignments, budget, oversight of the clinical services provided, establishing and maintaining admission criteria for the behavioral health programs, and oversight of program operations. Additionally, the position may have collateral assignments determined by the needs of the local facility, the VISN and/or VACO.

The incumbent must demonstrate advanced practice skills and judgment, advanced supervisory skills, the ability to supervise a multidisciplinary staff, and program management skills and competencies consistent with the management of projects of broad scope, magnitude and complexity. They must be licensed at the advanced practice level.

Major duties include:

  • Oversees, plans, organizes and directs the development of mental health programs and services.
  • Establishes and follows a capabilities model to achieve goals for eligibility, referral and authorization, care coordination, and utilization management to ensure improved Veteran experience.
  • Makes recommendations for the development of mental health programs based on data analysis and industry trends.
  • Provides program oversight over the field assistance program by assessing core functions and identifying opportunities for improvement.
  • Provides oversight, expertise, and leadership to the delivery of quality mental healthcare services.
  • Responsible for daily operations and management by interfacing with other operational departments, internal and external customers, policies, and procedures.
  • Participates in senior management business and clinical strategy development and implementation.
  • Oversees a program that carries out the functions of performance and quality standards, while improving the Veteran's experience and outcomes.
  • Defines mental health policies, utilization management process and procedures, financial and utilization reports made available to the appropriate stakeholders.
  • Assumes responsibility for the overall quality of mental health services and for planning, developing, organizing, integrating, and directing programs, staff, and budget in support of organizational goals and commitments.
  • Establishes care coordination guidelines to assure appropriate utilization of services, level of care, and documentation, assuring fiscal integrity.
  • Provides oversight and direction over a variety of complex clinical and administrative programs from initiation and monitoring to implementation and maintenance.
  • Responsible for a multi-disciplinary care team to provide consistent, cost-effective, quality mental healthcare.
  • Identifies, manages, and mitigates risks of mental healthcare coordination efforts.
  • Develop and implement process redesign and programmatic improvements.
  • Serves on internal and external quality, provider, and quality management committees.
  • Implements utilization management strategies and creates processes/business controls for approval and denial of mental healthcare authorizations.
  • Ensure that veterans are provided mental healthcare that is accessible, convenient, and delivered promptly and are informed about care delivery options, including face-to-face care, as well as all available telehealth modalities.
Work Schedule: Full Time, Monday - Friday, 8AM to 4:30 PM
Compressed/Flexible:Not Available
Telework: Not Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 12559F
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: A recruitment or relocation incentive have been authorized for this position.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
  • All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
  • Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
  • Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
  • You may be required to serve a probationary period.
  • 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).

Qualifications

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. Verification of the degree can be made by going to http://www.cswe.org/Accreditation to verify that the social work degree meets the 4 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:
  1. Experience/Education. The social work program manager at the GS-15 grade level must have at least four years of experience as a VA clinical social worker with at least one-year equivalent to the GS-14 grade level. The social work program manager must evidence possession of progressively higher supervisory and management skills. Experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills in administration, demonstrating progressively more professional competency skills and judgment. The individual 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. The social work manager 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 (KSAs). In addition to the experience above, the candidate must fully meet the KSAs for the GS-14 grade level and demonstrate all the following professional KSAs:
  • Ability to manage and direct unusually large interdisciplinary programs, complex organizational units, apply effective management practices, plan, design, implement, and evaluate a program(s) that encompasses a wide range of facility/ healthcare system/VISN/CO activities.
  • Ability to oversee issues related to budget projections and participate with senior leaders from the governing body, management and staff in upholding the facility mission, vision, value and strategic plan to include directly interacting with elected officials on VA related issues/concerns (i.e., members of Congress, Veterans Service Organizations, State and Local entities).
  • Knowledge in establishing policy, procedures and quality monitors while considering multiple priorities, funding sources, and varying resources.
  • Skill in assessing need for basic and complex services across multiple programmatic patient care venues, coordinate and expand the efforts of multiple program elements across a complex system.
  • Knowledge to complete all program evaluations and documents required by the medical center, VISN and VHA Central Office, ensuring compliance with appropriate accrediting bodies such as The Joint Commission (TJC), Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF), and Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs (AAHRPP).
  • Ability to orient, teach and serve as a consultant to other medical center staff and trainees and assists in their formulation of the clinical social work characteristics and appropriate treatment expectations regarding Veterans, family members and 29 caregivers.
  • Skill in balancing responsibilities in a complex environment and to work with great autonomy, set priorities and delegate tasks, meet multiple deadlines; analyze complex organizational problems and develop and implement effective solutions for those problems.
  • Ability to promote and effectively manage a workforce which embraces the values and needs of all individuals through long-term commitment, strategic and business planning, education, experience which broadens the mindset and by fully managing human resources.
Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

Physical Requirements: Physical requirements are outlined in VHA Handbook 5019.

Education

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Additional information

Receiving Service Credit or Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.

During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status.

VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority.

If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.

Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.

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.

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