The Social Worker practices in the Center of Innovation (COIN) for Veteran Centered and Value Driven Care. The Incumbent is responsible for leading components of research and quality improvement projects related to the care of veterans through research.
To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 05/05/2025. BASIC REQUIREMENTS. The basic requirements for employment as a VHA social worker are prescribed by statute in 38 U.S.C. § 7402(b)(9), as amended by section 205 of Public Law 106-419, enacted November 1, 2000. To qualify for appointment as a social worker in VHA, all applicants must meet the following: 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). 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/. Grandfathering Provision. The following is the standard grandfathering policy for all title 38 hybrid qualification standards. Please carefully review the qualification standard to determine the specific education and/or licensure/certification/registration requirements that apply to this occupation. (1) All persons employed in VHA in this occupation on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series and grade held, including positive education and licensure or certification that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation. For employees who do not meet all of the basic requirements in this standard, but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it, the following provisions apply: (2) Such employees in an occupation that requires a licensure or certification, may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance (journey) level, or changed to lower grade within the occupation, but may not be promoted beyond the journey level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions. (3) Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed, on a temporary or permanent basis, until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard. (4) Employees initially grandfathered into this occupation, who subsequently obtain additional education and/or licensure/certification/registration that meet all of the basic requirements of this qualification standard must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation. (5) If an employee who was retained in an occupation listed in 38 U.S.C. § 7401(3) under this provision leaves that occupation, the employee loses protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry to the occupation. NOTE: If social workers covered under the grandfathering provision of the 1991 Federal law regarding licensure or certification of VHA social workers leave the GS0185 social work series, they lose the grandfathering protection. If they choose to return at a later date to the GS-0185 series, they must be licensed or certified to qualify for employment as a social worker. English Language Proficiency. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f). AND Selective Placement Factor: This position includes a skill, knowledge, ability or other worker characteristic basic to -and essential for- satisfactory performance of the job. Selective Placement Factors are a prerequisite to appointment and represent minimum requirements for a position. Applicants who do not meet it are ineligible for further consideration. Evidence of the Selective Placement Factor must be reflected in your resume. The Selective Placement Factor for this position is: Do you have experience leading functions related to health services research initiatives that support grant-funded research and meet Institutional Review Board (IRB) research requirements? AND You may qualify based on your experience as described below. GS-12 Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-11) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills in administration, demonstrating progressively more professional competency skills and judgment. The candidate may have a 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. Specialized experience is defined as participating in research and quality improvement projects related to the care of veterans through research; performing social work-related research and management information activities; participating in research related tasks such as recruiting potential study participants and administrating study measures or interventions; and assisting in the development of quantitative and qualitative research protocols to investigate research hypothesis, quality improvement, implementation, and program assessment. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: In addition to the experience/education listed above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Ability to implement social work research methodology, health services research, and the peer review process in the preparation of study proposals meeting the guidelines of various funding agencies. Ability to formulate a research study, from conceptualization of the research problem through the implementation, analysis, interpretation, and reporting phases. Skill in the use of computer input and analysis of social science data including the use of statistical packages. Knowledge of the principles of scientific reporting for publications in peer reviewed journals and for presentation at scientific and professional meetings. Ability to develop realistic goals and objectives, translate management needs, and concerns into operational terms that can be subjected to empirical study and analysis, and communicate the results in both verbal and written form. Knowledge of current and standard literature in disciplinary field and literature sources, including VA reporting requirements, recurring and non-recurring statistical reports, as well as computer files, forms, and procedures created to support them. Skill in the critical review and synthesizing of large amounts of information into cogent presentations, translating management needs and concerns into operational terms that can be subjected to empirical study and analysis. Knowledge in preparing research project budgets, using VA guidelines in the management of funds, monitoring and evaluating the appropriateness of research funding requests in coordination with Fiscal Service and the R&D Administrative Officer.
This is a bargaining unit position. NOTE: This is a TEMPORARY appointment not to exceed 1 year. The appointment to a Temporary position does not confer eligibility for promotion or reassignment to other positions or the ability to be non-competitively converted to permanent employment. Area of Consideration - Eligible applications will be reviewed and referred in the following order: 1. Current permanent VA employees of the facility. 2. All other VA employees. 3. All other applicants. VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package: VA Total Rewards Work Schedule: Part-Time Compressed/Flexible Schedule: Not Available Telework: Not Available Duty Location Status: Will work from a VA owned or leased space. Position Description Title/PD#: Social Worker - Research/ PD55376-O Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required Physical Demands: The work is sedentary. Typically, the employee sits comfortably while working. However, there may be some light exertion required when walking, standing, bending, or climbing stairs, carrying of light items such as papers, books, small objects. No special physical demands are required to perform the work. Ability to complete a Basic Life Support (BLS) course is a position requirement. Major Duties: Responsible for social work-related research and management information activities. Identifies, initiates, develops, conducts, and tests hypotheses related to the operational efficiency and effectiveness of social work at the facility level. Serve as an expert consultant to health services researchers throughout the facility in their disciplinary area of expertise.