Summary
The incumbent has full responsibility for clinical practice, program management, educations, human resource management and supervision, and organizational stewardship for the mental health social workers within the service. The incumbent is responsible for developing, planning, clarifying, administering and managing Social worker services within the service line. Make independent professional decisions and recommendations.
Duties
Total-Rewards-of-an-Allied-Health-VA-Career-Brochure.pdf
Social Work: vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Total-Rewards-of-a-Social-Worker-Career-Flyer.pdf
Major Duties:
- The incumbent serves as the Mental Health Social Work Lead(Supervisory) for NAVAHCS representing the professional interests of over 60 Mental Health Social Workers at NAVAHCS.
- Responsible for vetting and hiring all Mental Health Social Workers at NAVAHCS.
- Serve as a resource to the Chief of Mental Health Service Line on all matters related to Social Work within the service and collaborates with the facility Chief of Social Work.
- Recommends to senior Mental Health management the appropriate utilization and distribution of Mental Health Social Work resources within the organization.
- Provide consultation to Mental Health managers and other staff on Social Work qualification standards, Social Work Practice, Social Work competency and Social Work continuing education.
- Directs the Mental Health Social Work Peer Review, in collaboration with the facility Chief of Social Work.
- Provide advice and counsel to Managers and Social Worker related to work and administrative matters.
- Effects disciplinary measures as appropriate to authority delegated in this area.
- Reviews the professional credentials of all applicants for Mental Health Social Work positions and assesses their potential fit within the organization.
- Organizes and directs recruitments, assessments, interviews, and selection of all Social Work Candidates.
- Assigns mentors to new hires.
- Coordinates hiring activities with Human Resources or other offices responsible for credentialing, tracks required licensure and certification for all Mental Health Social Workers.
- Provides consultation to Mental Health Managers on issues pertaining to Social Work ethics, ethical dilemmas in the delivery of care and ethical issues within the larger organization.
- Has direct input and/or completes performance appraisals on all Mental Health Social Worker who are directly supervised by a non-Social Worker.
- Provide intensive clinical services in complex cases and carries full professional responsibility for cases presenting with a wide range of psychosocial and environmental problems.
- Diagnostic assessment of a patient's present mental and social functioning based on developmental and vocational history that can be used by others for treatment planning or disability rating purposes.
- Makes clinical assessments and develop psychotherapeutic modalities including referral to a Psychiatrists/Psychiatric Prescribers for prescription of appropriate medications or clarification of diagnosis.
- Treatment for mental illness, maladaptive behaviors, and other problems of an emotional nature including establishing a professional relationship with the patient for the purpose of removing, modifying, or retarding existing problems.
- Utilization of group dynamics and family interactions to diagnose the dysfunctional aspects of the familial relationship and provide treatment in an effort to improve or resolve the identified problems.
- Recording of information in the patient's medical record related to the patient's database, psychosocial diagnosis, treatment plan, and progress in therapy.
- Use of diagnostic knowledge of the patient's needs to make referrals to a variety of VA and non-VA resources in support of the treatment objectives of the patient.
- Participation in interdisciplinary collaboration with clinic personnel and with community resources.
- Serve on NAVAHCE, VISN, and National VA committees, as assigned.
- Perform other duties as assigned.
Work Schedule: Monday through Friday: 8:00am to 4:30pm
Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): May be authorized.
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.
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)
Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior [work experience] or military service experience.
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: Ad-Hoc
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 000000
Requirements
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.
- 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.
- Must pass pre-employment medical evaluation.
- Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
- Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details.
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.
- 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.
- 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 for this position.
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. 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:
- 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
Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit
https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.
Physical Requirements: The work environment involves everyday risks or discomforts that require normal safety precautions typical of such places as offices, training rooms, and libraries. The work area is adequately lighted, heated, and ventilated. The incumbent must also work outdoors in all types of weather. There may be occasional exposure to moderate risks or discomforts in storage areas or hazardous waste sites. The work is primarily sedentary, although some physical effort may be required ,e.g, walking, standing, climbing ladders, stooping, kneeling, and carrying light items such as manuals or briefcases, or driving or traveling by motor vehicle.
Education
IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on 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/.
Benefits
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Review our benefits
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
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.
Required Documents
To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes:
The following documents are accepted, and may be required if applicable to your eligibility and/or qualifications for this position. Please use this
checklist to 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
- Resume
- SF-15
- SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
- Transcript
If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:
Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from
schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
How to Apply
All applicants are encouraged to apply online. To apply for this position, you must complete the full questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 11/26/2024 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12586079.
- To begin, click Apply Online to create a USAJOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USA JOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire.
- Click Submit My Answers to submit your application package.
NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date.
To verify your application is complete, log into your USA JOBS account,
https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login, select the Application Status link and then select the more information link for this position. The Details page will display the status of your application, the documentation received and processed, and any correspondence the agency has sent related to this application. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process. To return to an incomplete application, log into your USA JOBS account and click Update Application in the vacancy announcement. You must re-select your resume and/or other documents from your USA JOBS account or your application will be incomplete.
Next steps
Once your online application is submitted you will receive a confirmation notification by email. After we receive application packages (including all required documents) and the vacancy announcement closes, we will review applications to ensure qualification and eligibility requirements are met. After the review is complete, a referral certificate(s) is issued and applicants will be notified of their status by email. Referred applicants will be notified as such and may be contacted directly by the hiring office for an interview. All referred applicants receive a final notification once a selection decision has been made.
You may check the status of your application at any time by logging into your USA Jobs account and clicking on Applications. Information regarding your application status can be found in the USAJobs Help Center.
NOTE: Participation in the seasonal influenza program is a condition of employment and a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP). It is a requirement that all HCP to receive annual seasonal influenza vaccination or obtain an exemption for medical or religious reasons. Wearing a face mask is required when an exemption to the influenza vaccination has been granted. HCP in violation of this directive may face disciplinary action up to and including removal from federal service. HCP are individuals who, during the influenza season, work in VHA locations or who come into contact with VA patients or other HCP as part of their duties. VHA locations include, but are not limited to, VA hospitals and associated clinics, community living centers (CLCs), community-based outpatient clinics (CBOCs), domiciliary units, Vet centers and VA-leased medical facilities. HCP include all VA licensed and unlicensed, clinical and administrative, remote and onsite, paid and without compensation, full- and part-time employees, intermittent employees, fee basis employees, VA contractors, researchers, volunteers and health professions trainees (HPTs) who are expected to perform any or all of their work at these facilities. HPTs may be paid or unpaid and include residents, interns, fellows and students. HCP also includes VHA personnel providing home-based care to Veterans and drivers and other personnel whose duties put them in contact with patients outside VA medical facilities.