Supervisory Social Worker - EDRP Approved

Clarification from the agency

This job is open to current permanent Department of Veteran Affairs employees, current permanent Federal employees of other agencies. NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.

The Clinical Director serves as a key member of a four-person administrative leadership team for the Mental Health Acute Inpatient Unit (MHAIU). Working collaboratively with the Medical Director and two Nurse Managers, this position manages and coordinates all clinical and administrative functions of a highly complex, 24/7 inpatient mental health program serving Veterans experiencing acute mental health crises.

The Clinical Director provides direct supervision to Social Workers, Psychologists, and Peer Support Specialists, oversees all aspects of inpatient clinical operations, ensures regulatory compliance, and maintains high standards of patient care, staff performance, and operational efficiency.

Key Responsibilities

Staff Management & Supervision

• Co-manage a multidisciplinary professional team including Social Workers, Psychologists, and Peer Support Specialists.
• Develop individualized productivity standards and review/adjust them quarterly.
• Approve or deny leave requests and complete performance appraisals for Social Work and Psychology staff.
• Participate in recruitment and serve on interview panels for multiple disciplines.
• Address interpersonal conflicts and resolve staff issues to support quality care and attendance.

Unit & Clinical Operations Management

• Co-manage daily operations of a complex inpatient mental health unit across two semi-autonomous sub-units serving diverse cohorts (geriatric, female Veterans, detox admissions, psychosis stabilization, suicidality/protective custody).
• Monitor and document quality of care provided to Veterans.
• Ensure all operations comply with local, state, federal, VA, and Joint Commission standards.
• Serve as subject matter expert for involuntary court orders, including submission, tracking, and communication of decisions.
• Support Joint Commission site readiness and ongoing compliance.
• Drive quality improvement through policy development, program planning, and new program implementation.
• Manage operational metrics including SAIL measures, encounters, documentation compliance, PATS-R items, consults, and clinical reminders.
• Support Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) objectives and uphold nondiscriminatory practices in hiring, promotion, and staff development.
• Provide technical assistance for program monitoring, data analysis, trend interpretation, and enhancement recommendations.
• Coordinate key project activities and develop operational procedures for community-oriented programs.
• Participate in required committees and councils (e.g., MH Quality Improvement, MH Operations Council, MH Performance Measures, Supervisory Social Work).

Training, Education & Professional Development

• Teach, mentor, and supervise Social Work staff and students; provide licensure or specialty supervision as required.
• Serve as Field Instructor and supervise graduate-level trainees.
• Deliver group and individual psychotherapeutic interventions using evidence-based modalities.
• Maintain professional growth through ongoing education and provide coverage for absent staff as needed.
• Assist with coverage in other mental health areas at the direction of Mental Health Service Leadership.

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

VA Careers - Licensed Clinical Social Worker: https://youtube.com/embed/U_xC25QsN0w

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm
Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized
EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact VISN17EDRP2@VA.GOV, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 55861F
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

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.
• 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

Basic Requirements

1. Citizenship. Be a citizen of the United States. (Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3g this part).
2. 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.
3. 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/
4. English Language Proficiency. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).

GRADE DETERMINATIONS GS-13
In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates.

Supervisory Social Worker, GS-13

Experience/Education. One year of experience equivalent to the GS-12 grade level. Experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills in a specialty area or in administration demonstrating progressively more professional competency and judgment. Examples of specialized experience include, but are not limited to: Having significant personnel management responsibilities for a small to moderate sized professional and non-professional staff, including support staff and professional staff at the GS-12 grade level (or equivalent) and below; responsible for the professional and administrative management of an area in a social work service, in a care/product line, or multiple facilities; providing direct clinical services with or without program coordination responsibilities. Experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills in a specialty area or in administration demonstrating progressively more professional competency and judgment. 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 supervisory social workers must be licensed or certified at the advanced practice level, and must be able to provide supervision for licensure. Advanced practice levelsocial workers must be licensed or certified by a state at the advanced practice level which includes an advanced generalist or clinical examination, unless they are grandfathered by the state in which they are licensed to practice at the advanced practice level (except for licenses issued in California, which administers its own clinical examination for advanced practice) and they must be able to provide supervision for licensure. All states except California use a series of licensure exams administered by the ASWB. Information can be found at https://www.aswb.org/.

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:

• Ability to independently organize work, set priorities, and meet multiple deadlines.
• Skill in a range of supervisory duties which includes clinical supervision, consultation, negotiation with other departments and quality improvement.
• Ability to ensure provision of clinical social work services by supervised social workers.
• Ability to delegate authority, manage priorities, coordinate work, and follow up on pending issues to complete duties in an accurate and timely fashion.
• Ability to analyze organizational and operational problems, develop and implement solutions that result in efficient operations, and use data effectively to manage workload, quality, performance, and productivity within the service.
• Ability to provide staff training and development.

Assignment. 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. Supervisory social workers at the GS-13 grade level typically supervise professional and non-professional staff. They are responsible for the professional and administrative management of an area in a social work service, in a care/product line, or across multiple sites, (e.g., multi-division facilities and CBOCs). Incumbent may also provide direct clinical services.

Preferred Experience:

• Experience working as a supervisor in a MH Acute Inpatient Unit.
• Experience providing case management and psychotherapy along with interfacing with mental health court related to involuntary commitments
• Experience in multidisciplinary settings, including managing across disciplines.
• Experience developing, evaluating, and improving programs
• Experience treating a Veteran population

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

The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the GS-13.

Physical Requirements: The work is sedentary. Some work may require movement between offices, hospitals, warehouses, and similar areas for meetings and to conduct work. Work may also require walking/standing, in conjunctions with travel to and attendance at meetings and/or conferences away from the work site. Incumbent may carry and lift light items weighing less than 15 pounds and walking (1hr)

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
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action

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 (Schedule A)
• Disability Letter (VA)
• License
• Other (1)
• PCS Orders
• Performance Appraisal
• Professional Certification
• Resume
• Separation Notice (RIF)
• SF-15
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcript

Next steps