Senior Social Worker

US-Department-of-Veterans-Affair; Boston (MA); On-site; USD 80,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs invites applications for a Senior Social Worker (GS-12) within the VHA. This position emphasizes advanced practice and supervisory potential, delivering specialized psychosocial care to Veterans.

Applicants must hold a CSWE-accredited MSW, be eligible for licensure, and meet citizenship and English proficiency requirements. The role supports Veterans facing homelessness and housing challenges with access to resources and programs, including EDRP benefits.

Qualifications

• Skill in selecting and applying specialized treatment modalities in social work.
• Ability to measure and use outcomes to improve practice and services.
• Provide specialized consultation to colleagues and students.

Responsibilities

• Deliver advanced psychosocial interventions and counseling.
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Skills

Specialized interventions

Advanced differential diagnosis

Outcome measurement

Clinical consultation

Policy development

Education

MSW (CSWE-accredited)

Job description

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.

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: In accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), no person shall serve in direct patient care positions unless they are proficient in basic written and spoken English.
• 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. Note: 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/Certification: 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, which included an advanced generalist or clinical examination, unless they are grandfathered by the state in which they are licensed to practice at the advanced practice level (except for licenses issued in California, which administers its own clinical examination for advanced practice) and they must be able to provide supervision for licensure. Current state requirements may be found by going to http://vaww.va.gov/OHRM/T38Hybrid/.

Grade Determinations

Senior Social Worker, GS-12: In addition to the basic requirements stated above, the following qualification criteria must be met for each grade. The candidate's qualifications must clearly demonstrate the level of competence required for the grade.

Experience: The candidate must have at least two years of experience post advanced practice clinical licensure and should be in a specialized area of social work practice of which, one year must be equivalent to the GS-11 grade level. Senior social workers have experience that demonstrates possession of advanced practice skills and judgment. Senior social workers are experts in their specialized area of practice. Senior social workers may have certification or other post-masters training from a nationally recognized professional organization or university that includes a defined curriculum/course of study and internship or equivalent supervised professional experience in a specialty.

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Skill in a range of specialized interventions and treatment modalities used in specialty treatment programs or with special patient populations. This includes individual, group, and/or family counseling or psychotherapy and advanced level psychosocial and/or case management.
• Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice.
• Knowledge in developing and implementing methods for measuring effectiveness of social work practice and services in the specialty area, utilizing outcome evaluations to improve treatment services and to design system changes.
• Ability to provide specialized consultation to colleagues and students on the psychosocial treatment of patients in the service delivery area, as well as role modeling effective social work practice skills.
• Ability to expand clinical knowledge in the social work profession, and to write policies, procedures, and/or practice guidelines pertaining to the service delivery area.

Preferred Experience

Experience with working with individuals experiencing homelessness; strong knowledge of housing subsidies and community-based resources; and demonstrated expertise in supporting individuals with co-occurring disorders and complex psychiatric needs.

Reference

For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

Physical Requirements

Must be able to meet the physical requirements outlined in VA Directive and Handbook 5019. 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.