Social Worker (Program Coordinator)

Clarification from the agency

This job is open to current permanent employees of the facility/CBOCs where this vacancy is located at Overton Brooks VA Medical Center. NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position.

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

Duties Include but are not limited to:

• Responsible for oversight for Community Nursing Home (CNH) Program, Social Workers Assigned to the Home-Based Primary Care (HBPC) Team, and State Veteran Home Program (SVH).
• Establish the Geriatric Evaluation Program in coordination with primary care as well as other needed service lines.
• Responsible for staffing, work assignments, budget, services provided, program criteria, day-to-day program operations, and all reporting requirements.
• Supervises staff assigned to Community Nursing Home Program, Social Workers Assigned to the Home-Based Primary Care Team, and State Veteran Home Program.
• Coordinates implementation with multiple clinical services across all campus locations within the VA facility, including but not limited to nursing, physical, occupational, and speech therapists; mental health and primary care providers.
• Subject matter expert to VA Facility leadership and staff for Community Nursing Home (CNH) Program, Social Workers Assigned to the Home-Based Primary Care (HBPC) Team, and State Veteran Home Program (SVH).
• Addresses SWS related issues and serves as a consultant to other VA professionals and administrators on program specific activities.
• Serves as a liaison to Veterans Integrated Service Network Program (VISN) and the VA Central Office (VACO) Program on the Community Nursing Home (CNH) Program, Social Workers Assigned to the Home-Based Primary Care (HBPC) Team, and State Veteran Home Program (SVH) programs.
• Will supervise and monitor the State Veteran Home Program, oversee completion of application, application timeliness, State Veteran Home payments, Community Nursing Home payments, and monitoring of Veteran Home Surveys, Community Nursing Home Operations, and monitoring of per diem spreadsheets.
• Performs the administrative and personnel management function relative to staff supervised including personnel actions, clinical supervision, consultation, negotiation with other departments, and quality improvement.
• Responsible for monitoring performance measures at the local, VISN, and Central Office levels; providing responses to congressional inquiries; and briefings to providers, VA leadership, community organizations and other internal and external stakeholders.
• Develops policies and procedures for program operation, and prepares reports and statistics for facility, VISN, and national use.
• Addresses Congressional inquiries, VISN, and VA Central Office action items as requested.
• Develops a data-driven, continuous quality improvement program with established goals and outcomes to evaluate and document the program's effectiveness.
• Recognizes gaps in workforce competencies and ensures supervised staff who require knowledge and skill development receive the training necessary to execute their duties.
• Plans, organize and coordinate administrative, operational, clinical and personnel activities for the Community Nursing Home Program, Community Care Network Nursing homes/skilled facilities as well as Social Workers Assigned to the Home-Based Primary Care Team, State Veteran Home Program and other services listed in this functional statement.
• Responsible for managing and reporting on program specific fund control points, labor mapping, workload, and clinic utilization within the assigned program area.
• Manages and controls the use of data related to these programs regarding day-to-day functioning and program evaluation.
• Provides oversight of Outpatient Medical Social Work Services fiscal matters of the functions supervised (which would include fund controls, contracts, and equipment expenditures), forecasts resource and equipment need, and administers the allocated budget.

Work Schedule: 8:00am - 4:30pm Monday - Friday, subject to change based on the needs of the facility.
Relocation Incentives (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized
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: Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 00245F
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.
• 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.
• Must be able to independently operate Government Vehicle.
• Must provide clean driving record report from the DMV during the pre-employment process.

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. 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. 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/.
• 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-13
Experience/Education. One year of experience equivalent to the GS-12 grade level. Experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills and judgment, demonstrating progressively more professional competency. Candidates 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) Skill in coordinating and implementing one or more specialty program(s), across the facility.
(b) Skill in local policy and practice development, procedures, and/or practice guidelines for the program as prescribed by the program handbook or national directive.
(c) Skill in organizing work, setting priorities, meeting multiple deadlines, and evaluating assigned program area(s).
(d) Ability to collaborate with internal and external partners to further program goals and enhance patient centered care.
(e) Ability to provide the full range of supervisory duties including assignment of work to be performed; performance evaluations; and selection of staff, training, and recommendation of awards, advancements, and when appropriate, disciplinary action.
(f) Ability to oversee the fiscal matters of the functions supervised (including fund controls, contracts, and equipment expenditures), forecast resource and equipment needs, and administer the allocated budget.
(g) Knowledge of organizational structure and impact on program operations.

Preferred Experience: Experience serving as a coordinator for a program, including any permanent, interim, and detail experience.

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

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS13.

Physical Requirements: Physical aspects associated with work required of this assignment are typical for the occupation, see Duties section for essential job duties of the position. May require standing, lifting, carrying, sitting, stooping, bending, puling, and pushing. May be required to wear personal protective equipment and undergo annual TB screening or testing as conditions of employment.
Work Environment: Work is performed in an office/clinic setting with minimal risks that requires normal safety precautions; the area is adequately lighted, heated, and ventilated. However, the work environment requires someone with the ability to handle several tasks at once in sometimes stressful situations.

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:

• License
• Long-form resume/Curriculum vitae (CV)
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcript

Resume Requirement: Your resume must include the following information: Job title, description of duties, beginning and ending date (month/year) of employment, and average hours worked per week.

SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action:

• Most recent SF-50 if you are a current or former Federal employee

In addition to your most recent SF-50, other examples of SF-50's to include in your application packet include:

• Within grade increases at the highest grade held; or
• Promotions with an effective date more than one year old; or
• SF-50's at the highest grade held with an effective date more than one year old.

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
• License
• Long-form resume/Curriculum vitae (CV)
• Performance Appraisal
• Professional Certification
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcript

Next steps