Senior Social Worker-Home Based Primary Care

US-Department-of-Veterans-Affair; Grand Junction (CO); On-site; USD 85,000 - 115,000; Full time

Job summary

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in Grand Junction, CO seeks a Senior Social Worker (GS-12) to provide advanced clinical psychosocial services in a specialty area.

The role requires licensure, CSWE-accredited MSW, English proficiency, and a valid driver's license; travel to community-based care sites is expected. The incumbent will conduct assessments, develop treatment plans, supervise licensure candidates, and contribute to program policies and evaluation.

Qualifications

• Master's degree in social work from CSWE-accredited school.
• Must be licensed or certified at the advanced practice level.
• Valid unrestricted state driver's license required.
• U.S. citizenship or specified eligibility as per VA policy.
• English language proficiency required.

Responsibilities

• Provide individual, group, or family counseling in specialty practice.
• Develop and implement outcome evaluations to measure effectiveness of social work services.
• Provide specialized consultation and role-model advanced practice skills.
• Contribute to writing policies, procedures, and practice guidelines for the service area.
• Support supervision and training for licensure and professional development.

Skills

Advanced clinical practice

Specialized interventions

Supervision for licensure

Outcome evaluation

Policy development

Education

Master's in Social Work (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.

This is an open continuous announcement until February 09, 2027. Qualified applicants will be considered and referred as vacancies become available. The initial cutoff date to review applicants will be on November 09, 2026.

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/.

Driver's License: Must possess a valid unrestricted state issued driver's license.

Grade Determinations

Senior Social Worker, GS-12

Experience/Education: 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.

Licensure/Certification: Senior social workers must be licensed or certified by a state at the advanced practice 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.

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• (a) 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.
• (b) Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice.
• (c) 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.
• (d) 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.
• (e) 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

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

Physical Requirements

Must be in overall good health, able to sit at a desk working at a computer, engage in light to moderate physical activity including sitting, walking, bending, and carrying supplies. Social Worker must be able to perform primarily light and sedentary duties with occasionally moderate physical demands, exercise patience, and control emotions, with reasonable accommodation, if necessary, without endangering the health and safety of the social worker or others.

This position requires a valid state driver's license and local travel to provide community-based care to Veterans.

The position requires significant travel in the community, through use of a government vehicle or other individual arrangements, to meet with representatives/stakeholders who provide assistance and support to Veterans in clinics, medical centers, Community Clinics, etc.

This position also requires close visual acuity to perform an activity such as: preparing and analyzing data and figures; transcribing; viewing a computer terminal; extensive reading; and repetitive motions of the wrists, hands, and/or fingers.

The incumbent will need to drive a car and have a valid state license. The position often places the incumbent in a position of stress. Frequent/daily travel is required.

The incumbent will need to demonstrate infection control practices for disease prevention (i.e. hand washing, universal/isolation procedures, including TB requirement/precautions).