Social Worker (Program Coordinator)

Clarification from the agency

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

In consultation with the Coordinator of Recovery Oriented Services, incumbent is responsible for the delivery of VRC services by overseeing daily operations to include, but not limited to,

• Consult review/assessment/intake, assignment of recovery advisors, review of class curriculum, monitoring of SAIL data (tracking continuum of care and population coverage) and tracking of VHA performance and business measures.
• Incumbent oversees daily operations and also provides individual and group services, as well as, carries a caseload of 5-10 Veterans for ongoing treatment planning.
• Incumbent is integral to creating updates/changes to course curriculum to ensure a broad range of appropriate services are made available.
• Incumbent will assist to develop, provide or secure training, orientation, and guidance within clinical practice.
• In tandem with the Coordinator of Recovery Oriented Services, incumbent will support staffing efforts and participate in interviewing candidates and orientating new providers.
• Incumbent will actively liaise with other recovery-oriented programs, support cross collaboration between teams and attend administrative, clinical and training opportunities across programs.
• Able to serve as a subject matter expert and either consult or provide direct treatment for a clinically complex cohort that is often psychosocially challenging.
• Assists in assuring continuity of care across settings and the ability of Veterans to directly access VA services. In addition, the incumbent uses sound judgment in the interpretation of trends and patterns; the application of guidelines; and the recommendation of program enhancements. The incumbent performs program analysis, development, review, research, design, and contact work as possible with various agencies, including VA evaluation programs such as NEPEC.
• Incumbent provides technical and clinical supervision of the interdisciplinary team that is necessary for accomplishing the work of the program. Provides informal feedback and periodically reviews employee's work and liaises with administrative supervisors as needed.
• Collaborates supervisors of related services to review and improve practice of staff from each discipline.
• Incumbent must be able to drive to meet with staff, provide services in the community, observe clinical services, facilitate meetings and to liaise with other program staff/coordinators.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm
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)
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 04590F

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

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: 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:

• 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 who 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 a 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 master's 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
  SW Licensure Summary by State.
• Failure to Obtain License or Certification: In all cases, social workers must actively
  pursue meeting state prerequisites for licensure or certification starting from the date
  of their appointment. Failure to become licensed or certified within the prescribed
  amount of time will result in removal from the GS-0185 social worker series and may
  result in termination of employment.
• Loss of Licensure or Certification: Once licensed or certified, social workers must
  maintain a full, valid, and unrestricted independent license or certification to remain
  qualified for employment. Loss of licensure or certification will result in removal from
  the GS-0185 social worker series and may result in termination of employment.

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.
• 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 provides direct patient care services in the program area. The program coordinator oversees the daily operation of the program, develops policies and procedures for program operation, and prepares 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 the efficacy of improvement efforts.

References: VA HANDBOOK 5005/120, PART II, APPENDIX G39

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

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes:

• Resume

Special Note for Applications: To complete your application, please use the following link https://vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Resume.docx to download the standard Clinical Resume Document. This one-page document does not need to be modified and must be uploaded into the two-page restricted 'Resume' document upload field.

Your full resume/CV may be uploaded without page limitation into the 'Other' document upload field.

The following documents are accepted, and may be required if applicable to your eligibility and/or qualifications for this position. Please ensure you have included all documents required for your application, such as a copy of your transcript (if using education to qualify), SF-50's (current/former Federal employees), etc.

• Cover Letter
• DD-214/ Statement of Service
• Disability Letter (VA)
• License
• CV/ Resume
• Professional Certification
• Resume
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcript

Next steps