This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific individual eligibility requirements in accordance with VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Program Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) and eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after complete review of the EDRP application.
***This is an open continuous announcement until June 30, 2025. Qualified applicants will be considered and referred as vacancies become available.*** 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 4 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/. Grade Determinations: Social Worker (Program Coordinator), GS-12 (1) Experience and Education One year of experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level. Experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills and judgment, demonstrating progressively more professional competency. 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 social worker program coordinator 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) Knowledge of program coordination and administration which includes consultation, negotiation, and monitoring.(b) Knowledge and ability to write policies, procedures, and/or practice guidelines for the program.(c) Ability to supervise multidisciplinary staff assigned to the program.(d) Skill in organizing work, setting priorities, meeting multiple deadlines, and evaluating assigned program area(s).(e) Ability to provide training, orientation, and guidance within clinical practice. Preferred Experience: Familiarity with Suicide Prevention and Crisis Mental Health Care; Experience in working with PTSD, Substance Use Disorders, Co­-occurring mental health disorders; Specialty Training in Evidence Based Psychotherapies (EBP) Responsible, comfortable, and talented in engaging local communities to bolster awareness for suicide prevention. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. Physical Requirements: This position provides direct services to patients and their families through casework. Incumbents must be physically and mentally able to efficiently perform the essential functions of the position without hazard to themselves or others. Normal work of the position requires visual acuity (with the ability to read typewritten characters without strain, corrective lenses are permitted), keen hearing (aid permitted), clear distinctive speech, and manual dexterity. This position requires potentially moderate levels of lifting and carrying (15-44 pounds). The incumbent may occasionally be exposed to patients who are combative secondary to delirium, dementia, or psychiatric disorders. The incumbent must be a mature, flexible, sensible individual capable of working effectively in stressful situations, able to shift priorities based on patient needs. Must complete annual Employee Health requirements, such as annual TB screening or testing, as a condition of employment.
Serves community capacity development for suicide prevention by serving in a leadership role in communicating with, organizing, and managing community partner interactions and in helping to build coalitions to implement suicide prevention programs aimed at reducing Veteran suicide in the catchment area. Serves as a seasoned content and subject matter expert for suicide prevention and public health and facilitates integration of suicide prevention education throughout the community. Analyzes current community capacity and organization with a responsibility to help manage the intersection of community and facility resources. Develops, facilitates, and strengthens Community-Based Interventions for Suicide Prevention (SP) by connecting VA programs and stakeholders, including, but not limited to: Veterans, Veteran Service Organizations, congressional staff, media, community business partners, and community members throughout the health care system and VISN catchment areas. Conducts community-based interventions and provide outreach and education on suicide prevention related topics and services. Tracks and assesses the response of all parties so that potential problem areas can be identified, avoided, and/or corrected. Provides leadership for coalition management; leads alignment of community coalition goals with VA goals, collaborates with non-VA coalition leaders. Conducts and/or supports coalition evaluation activities such as survey distribution, data collection, key informant interviews, etc. Establishes and maintains strong relationships between the VA suicide prevention team and community-based veteran organizations and leadership. Develops and maintains content expertise in suicide prevention through, networking, internet access, published literature, national conference calls, and educational offerings and professional meetings. Oversees outreach to educate community partners, the media, VA, and other government stakeholders to enhance the development of suicide prevention coalitions. Identifies the specific needs and interests of each group, determines the strategy for providing information, and tailors the communications to be effective to each group. Develops and delivers education and outreach services that encompasses underserved veteran populations and expands SP coalition building in communities in the Facility's geographical catchment area and may include regional or state events. Provides a variety of suicide prevention trainings including but not limited to a focus on training in Lethal Means Safety, Mental Health Apps. Serves as a subject matter expert in public health and suicide prevention and implements VHA Community-Based Interventions for Suicide Prevention including collaborating with community, Veteran, and state partners. Facilitates planning, direction, and timely execution of policy, training, education, research, and evaluation, and/or data and surveillance projects/programs. Oversees the revision of long-range plans, goals and objectives for the suicide prevention communication. May provide clinical supervision to various disciplines and levels of training, including trainees seeking licensure. Serves as a consultant to other medical center staff and trainees and assists in their formulation of the psychological characteristics and appropriate. Position is remote within the area and may be located at any CBOC associated with the SVAHCS, but not in Sheridan Proper. This position will require community outreach and travel throughout the state. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday; 8:00 am - 4:30 pm Relocation Incentive: May Be Authorized Permanent Change of Station: Not Authorized EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact Linda.Orchard@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more Telework: Ad-hoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 51172-A