Senior Social Worker-HUD/VASH

US-Department-of-Veterans-Affair; Oakland (CA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in California seeks a Senior Social Worker (GS-0185-12) with advanced practice licensure. The role focuses on providing expert psychosocial care within VA programs and supervising licensure candidates.

Applicants must hold an MSW from a CSWE-accredited school and maintain advanced licensure. Eligible participants may apply for EDRP incentives and related loan repayment within VA policy.

Qualifications

• Master's degree in social work from CSWE-accredited school.
• Licensed or certified at advanced practice level with appropriate exam.
• English language proficiency to fulfill appointment requirements.
• Must meet VA policy and health requirements per directives.
• Grandfathering provisions apply to current VA employees meeting criteria.

Responsibilities

• Provide leadership within clinical programs and develop services.
• Supervise licensure candidates and clinical staff as assigned.
• Collaborate with treatment teams to ensure equitable access and high-quality care.

Skills

Specialized interventions

Group counseling

Clinical supervision

Outcome evaluation

Policy writing

Education

MSW CSWE-accredited

Clinical licensure

Job description

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.

Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive.

Basic Requirements as Senior Social Worker, GS-0185-12 grade level:

• United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• 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.
• 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.
• English Language Proficiency: Must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).
• Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Services.
• Grandfathering Provision: May qualify based on being covered in the VA Title 38 Hybrid Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation series, 0185, with permanent appointment and meet the criteria).

Grade Determination as Senior Social Worker, GS-0185-12

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 (KSA)

In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:(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.

Assignments.

Senior social workers are licensed or certified to independently practice social work at an advanced level. Senior social workers typically practice in a major program area such as but not limited to: Polytrauma Rehabilitation Center or Polytrauma Network Site; a Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Center, or a national VHA referral center, such as a national Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or a national Transplant Center, or other program areas of equivalent scope and complexity. The senior social worker may be assigned administrative responsibility for clinical program development and is accountable for clinical program effectiveness and modification of service patterns. Assignments include clinical settings where they have limited access to onsite supervision such as CBOCs or satellite outpatient clinics. The senior social worker collaborates with the other members of the treatment team in the provision of comprehensive health care services to Veterans, ensures equity of access, service, and benefits to this population, ensures the care provided is of the highest quality. The senior social worker provides leadership, direction, orientation, coaching, in-service training, staff development, and continuing education programs for assigned social work staff. They serve on committees, work groups, and task forces at the facility, VISN and national level, or in the community as deemed appropriate by the supervisor, Social Work Executive or Chief of Social Work Services. This assignment is to be relatively few in number based on the size of the facility/service and applying sound position management. This assignment must represent substantial additional responsibility over and above that required at the full performance grade level and cannot be used as the full performance level of this occupation.

References:

See Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer (OCHCO) website for VA specific qualification standards: VA Qualifications Standards - Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer (OCHCO).