Clarification from the agency

This Position is Open to Current, Permanent Employees of the VA New Jersey Healthcare System. NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.

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

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

Duties and Responsibilities

• Search out new methods of applying best practices treatment concepts. When incumbent has specialized techniques or knowledge, he/she serves as consultant to other staff in areas of treating substance abuse and mental illness.
• Plans and organize work to meet priorities; meets established standards and criteria of accountability and quality assurance.
• Maintains familiarity with overall VA policy, program and the range of benefits potentially available to eligible veterans and their families; similarly awareness of constantly changing community resources.
• Possesses flexibility related to changing caseload focus, pressures and priorities, to changing programs and personnel who, due to training nature of this health care facility.
• Assumes responsibility for own learning and professional development. Alert to the need for continuing education by keeping abreast of new knowledge and techniques related to the practice of psychosocial rehabilitation.
• Maintains administrative knowledge of the HUD VASH program organization including rules, regulations and policies regarding patient eligibility, screening, discharge procedures, treatment and care while providing a continuity of services to veterans.
• Screens all veterans referred to the HUD VASH program via admission screening and team meetings. Coordinates the meetings as well as maintains data log of all screenings.
• Reviews the agreements between Section 8 landlords, HUD, and the VA to establish appropriate referral sites for placements.
• Engages in coordination with the VA and community agencies, organizations, and groups to learn of current services, resources and/or benefits available for homeless veterans.
• Actively participates in program planning and development, advising the Chief of Homeless Services of shifting trends with caseloads and identifying the need for and making recommendations on program procedure or policy changes based upon work experiences.
• Actively participates in HUD VASH conference calls and participates in other relevant conference calls and/or meetings as assigned.
• Has knowledge of Medical Center fire & environmental safety procedures; knowledge and familiarity of MSDS, where it is located and how to retrieve pertinent information; knowledge of Medical Center and Department infection control policies, procedures and knowledge of universal precaution practices; knowledge of patient confidentiality; knowledge of his/her responsibility in the event of a disaster.
• Caseload composed of the more complex cases, managed by HUD VASH. Typically, such veterans have Axis I diagnoses, co-occurring substance abuse disorders, as well as medical co-morbidity.
• Provides service to veterans at any and all points on the continuum of care while in the HUD VASH program, from pre-admission to post-discharge and travel would be essential.
• Participates in orientation, training and staff development programs, and research activities of the Medical Center.
• Expected to serve as a model of excellence in practice and assume a leadership and teaching role.
• Maintains a community-focus, which requires close alliance with all community agencies and resources related to nature of workload.

Supervisory duties include:

• Assignment of work based on priorities, selective consideration of the difficulty and requirements of assignments and the capabilities of employees and review of work daily, weekly or on a monthly basis.
• Assure that caseload and accuracy requirements are met.
• Plan work to be accomplished by subordinates, set and adjust short-term priorities, and prepare schedules for completion of work.
• Approve leave- Recommend performance standards and ratings.
• Evaluate work performance of subordinates.
• Give advice, counsel or instruction to employees on both work and administrative matters such as leave and performance; hear and resolve complaints from employees, referring group grievances and more serious unresolved complaints to a higher-level supervisor or manager; effect minor disciplinary measures, such as warning and reprimands, recommending other action in more serious cases.
• Interview candidates for positions in the unit, recommend appointment, promotion or reassignment to such positions.
• Identify developmental and training needs of employees, providing or arranging for needed development and training.
• Interface with organizations within the community.
• Participates in the overall activities of Social Work, Homeless Services and the Medical Center as requested.
• Performs the administrative and personnel management functions relative to staff supervised.

Performs other related duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00am-4:30pm (May be required to work nights and weekends)
Telework: Not Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 24559-F

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 dentification 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

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/.
  • 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.
• 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: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates.

Supervisory Social Worker, GS-12:
Education and Experience: One year of experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level. 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.

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:
(a) Ability to independently organize work, set priorities, and meet multiple deadlines.
(b) Knowledge of supervisory duties which includes clinical supervision, consultation, negotiation with other departments and quality improvement.
(c) Ability to ensure provision of clinical social work services.
(d) Ability to provide staff training and development.
(e) Skill in interpersonal relationships in dealing with employees, team leaders, and managers.

References: VA HANDBOOK 5005/120 PART II APPENDIX G39 Dated September 10, 2019

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

Physical Requirements: Work is sedentary but also demands standing, walking, bending, twisting, and carrying light items.

Creditable Experience: The candidate must have knowledge of current professional social work practices. To be creditable, the experience must have required the use of knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics associated with current professional social work practice. The experience or education must be post-Masters of Social Work (MSW) degree. Experience and education satisfying this requirement must be active professional practice, which is paid/non-paid employment as a professional social worker, as defined by the appropriate state licensing board.

Quality of Experience: Experience is only creditable if it is obtained following graduation with a master's degree in social work and if it includes work as a professional social worker directly related to the position to be filled. Qualifying experience must also be at a level comparable to social work experience at the next lower level.

Part-Time Experience. Part-time experience is creditable according to its relationship to the full-time work week. For example, one week of full-time credit is equivalent to two weeks of part-time work.

Fellowships or Post-Graduate Training. Fellowship and post-graduate training programs are typically in a specialized area of clinical practice, i.e., group or family practice. Training as a fellow or post-graduate may be substituted for creditable experience on a year-for-year basis.

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
• Proof of State Social Work License at Advanced Practice Level
• Resume
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcript

Veterans' preference does not apply for internal agency employees.

Next steps