Social Worker (Program Coordinator) Caregiver Support - Education Debt Reduction Program Approved

US-Department-of-Veterans-Affair; Harlingen (TX); On-site; USD 85,000 - 115,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP

Job summary

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in Harlingen, TX seeks a Senior Social Worker GS-12 to provide advanced practice and program coordination for Veterans care.

Candidates must have a master's in social work, be licensed, and have at least one year of experience at GS-11; supervisory capability is expected.

The role includes policy development, staff coaching, and program administration across clinical programs such as homelessness, hospice, and suicide prevention.

Qualifications

• One year of experience equivalent to GS-11, with advanced practice skills and judgment.
• Certification or post-master's training from a recognized organization or university may be included.
• Ability to supervise multidisciplinary staff and provide training.

Responsibilities

• Provide clinical program leadership and coordination for veteran services.
• Develop policies, procedures, and practice guidelines for the program.
• Oversee daily program operations, budgeting, and reporting.
• Supervise staff, ensure compliance with standards and guidelines.
• Evaluate program data to improve quality of care and outcomes.

Skills

Program coordination

Policy writing

Staff supervision

Time management

Communication skills

Education

Master's in Social Work

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.
• 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/.
• Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Services
• English Language Proficiency. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. 7403(f)

May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria). Please see the Additional Information Section of this announcement for details.

Grade Determinations: Senior Social Worker, GS-12

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.

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.

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Knowledge of program coordination and administration which includes consultation, negotiation, and monitoring.
• Knowledge and ability to write policies, procedures, and/or practice guidelines for the program.
• Ability to supervise multidisciplinary staff assigned to the program.
• Skill in organizing work, setting priorities, meeting multiple deadlines, and evaluating assigned program area(s).
• Ability to provide training, orientation, and guidance within clinical practice.

Assignments

For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity (difficulty), and variety and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. Program coordinators at the GS-12 grade level are administratively responsible for a clinical program providing treatment to Veterans in a major specialty area, such as but not limited to: Spinal Cord Injury, Homeless Continuum Veteran Program, Hospice and Palliative Care Program, Suicide Prevention Program, Veterans Justice Outreach, Caregiver Support Program and Community Nursing Home Program. The program coordinator may be the sole practitioner in this specialty at the facility and typically provide direct patient care services in the program area. The program coordinator oversees the daily operation of the program, develop policies and procedures for program operation, and prepare reports and statistics for facility, VISN, and national use. They may be responsible for the program's budget, developing and monitoring staff compliance with practice, standards and guidelines on documentation, workload, data entry, ethical practice and service delivery. The program coordinator provides analysis and evaluation of clinical program data and computerized programs to identify system-wide trends and needs to enhance the quality of service. They may be responsible for, or contribute to, the program's resource and fiscal management, monitoring control points developing the annual budget, operating within that budget, and accounting for appropriated funds. The program coordinator is administratively responsible for the clinical programming and prepares reports and statistics for facility, VISN, and national use. They provide leadership, direction, orientation, coaching, in-service training, staff development, and continuing education programs for assigned staff. They initiate and conduct a variety of program or service audits and complete designated clinical practice audits and reports, including productivity assessments. They oversee program operations and evaluations, identifying areas for improvement, gathering relevant data, assessing the data, developing and implementing ideas for improvement and evaluating efficacy of improvement efforts.

Preferred Experience

• Two years of medical social experience including experience in working with Veterans/Families and caregivers.
• Certification in Advance Case Management or Certified Case Manager (CCM) preferred/if available.
• Must be familiar with local community agencies and resources.

Reference can be found at the VA Qualification Repository, VA Qualifications Standards - Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer (OCHCO) GS-0185, Social Worker Qualification Standard, dated 9/10/2019.

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-12.

Physical Requirements

Individuals who are required to operate a government owned or leased vehicle to successfully carry out their assigned duties must be medically cleared prior to appointment. Assessment must be made for any acute or chronic medical/physical condition or medication use which interferes with the ability operate the appropriate Government-owned or -leased vehicle safely and without undue risk to themselves or others. The following requirements must be met:

• field of vision 70 degrees,
• distant vision 20/40 in one eye with or without correction,
• ability to distinguish red, green and amber,
• whispered voice at five feet, or average hearing loss of not greater than 40 dbs. at 500, 1000 and 2,000 Hz