This position is located at one of the Fayetteville Coastal Health Care System sites of care and is under the Associate Chief, Social Work service. At the GS-12 grade, Supervisory Social Workers typically have significant personnel management responsibilities for a small to medium size professional and non-professional staff, including support staff and professional staff at the GS-11 grade level and below.
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. English Language Proficiency. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f). 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/. 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: Supervisory Social Worker, GS-12 (1) 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. (2) 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. (3) 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. (4) 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. At the GS-12 grade level, supervisory social workers typically have 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 and below. The supervisory social worker is responsible for the professional and administrative management of an area in a social work service, in a care/product line, or multiple facilities. They provide direct clinical services with or without program coordination responsibilities. Preferred Experience: The ideal candidate has experience coordinating care and case management services to meet the biological, psychological, social and environmental management needs of veteran patients. They can independently provides consultation to other social workers, medical center providers, residents, and family members on such topics as ethics, long term care, and end of life or hospice care. Provides in-service training to staff on such topics as documentation, patient safety, and issues related to long term care. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-12 to GS-12. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Services
VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU 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 The incumbent supervises a PACT Social Workers performing work at various GS levels up to their own grade and provides administrative, technical, and clinical supervision necessary for accomplishing the work of the unit. Performs the administrative and personnel management function relative to staff supervised. Incumbent will have established guidelines and performance expectations for staff, clearly communicated through the formal employee performance management system. Observes workers' performance; demonstrates and conducts work performance critiques. Provides informal feedback and periodically evaluates employee performance. Incumbent works to resolves informal complaints and grievances. Develops work improvement plans, recommending personnel actions as necessary. Provides advice and counsel to workers related to work and administrative matters. Effects disciplinary measures as appropriate to the authority delegated in this area. Reviews and approves or disapproves leave requests. Incumbent assures that subordinates are trained and fully comply with the provisions of the safety regulations. Incumbent is a professional social worker assigned to the Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT). The incumbent uses a high level of skill in assessing and treating the complicated psychosocial problems of Veterans and their families/significant others. Social Worker responsibilities include the assessment of psychosocial problems that cause distress, often impacting the health condition and creating barriers to care. These stressors can include adjustment to the current medical condition, untreated or under-treated mental health or substance abuse condition, economic instability, legal problems, and inadequate housing and transportation. Referrals typically originate from any member of the interdisciplinary team, from Veterans and/or their families who call or walk-in for assistance, and from community professionals. The incumbent must be able to complete thorough assessments to determine the underlying causes of the presenting problem, the interpersonal and environmental factors impacting the problem, and its effect on the patient's ability and desire to comply with the treatment recommendations by the multidisciplinary team. The social worker will help the patient and family to understand the contributing factors to the problem(s), will discuss with them the pros and cons of possible short-term and long-term solutions, encouraging them to make positive and lasting changes to reduce stressors. The social worker will coordinate with VA staff and community agencies to assist in problem solving as needed. Case management with members of the outpatient interdisciplinary team is provided in order to coordinate a collaborative effort to meet the agreed upon goals for a Veteran's treatment needs and include liaison with community professionals regarding needed services for Veterans and/or their families. Services include but are not limited to interventions to increase access to care, including transportation assistance and advanced directives, economic assistance, including assistance with medical bills, financial aid services and strategies to increase income (employment, vocational rehabilitation, VA benefits, disability), and/or reduce expenses, find the appropriate housing for the patient's level of need (affordable independent housing, homeless shelters, group and family care homes, Veterans Homes, assisted living, nursing homes, respite care, hospice care) and order necessary services to assist with functional decline. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00am-4:30pm 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) 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) Virtual: This is not a virtual position.