The position is in the 15-bed Substance Abuse Residential Rehabilitation and Treatment Program facility at the Hershel "Woody" Williams VAMC. The Social Service Assistants provide 7-day/week, 24-hour/day coverage of the facility on a rotational basis. The incumbent works all shifts including days, evenings, nights, weekends and holidays under the supervision of the Registered Nurse in charge.

Duties

Assists with the admission process for Veterans entering SARRTP establishing therapeutic relations with each Veteran. Interviews each resident to assess skills associated activities of daily living, leisure and work interests, personal hygiene, interpersonal communication, etc. This includes an orientation to the program, an explanation of the structure, rules and goals of SARRTP program to assure that Veterans are informed and can benefit from program involvement and assistance with any needs the Veteran may have. Contributes to treatment team decisions concerning the therapeutic progress of Veterans. Responsible for reinforcing, setting limits, or educating Veterans in accordance with the established treatment plan and program guidelines. Advocates for Veteran's personal recovery needs/goals/plan as outlined in Veteran's Recovery plan; partners with Veterans in their early recovery efforts in understanding the value of recovery planning/goal setting/treatment participation. Explores aspects of this planning process with Veteran individually and in group settings. Assists Veteran in exploring core elements of recovery; its impact on mental, physical, social, legal and spiritual health and how to incorporate their strengths, supports and resources needed to achieve recovery in recovery planning. Veteran is responsible for Recovery planning, but benefits from navigational/facilitation skills of position. Utilizing strong relational skills, the position may act as a point of contact in exploration of these areas. Provides crisis intervention in situations of a medical, psychiatric and/or behavioral nature. Utilizing high degree of independent judgement, promptly assesses the situation and initiates appropriate action to secure medical care or police assistance. Utilizes appropriate precautions in cases of injury, potential suicide or infectious diseases. Position Description/PD#: PD21005A Work Schedule: M-F 8-430PM Compressed/Flexible Schedule: Not Authorized Telework schedules: Not authorized Virtual work schedules: Not authorized FLSA: Non Exempt BU Status: BU Recruitment Incentives: NOT authorized Relocation Expenses: NOT authorized Financial Disclosure Report: NOT required Permanent Change of Duty Station (PCS) Expenses: will not be paid PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not authorized Pay: Competitive salary, annual performance bonus, regular salary increases. Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years' vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA. Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement). For More Information on Benefits: https://www.vacareers.va.gov/Benefits/EmploymentBenefits Competitive Federal benefits: Job security- Stability Career advancement and priority in hiring as a Federal employee Federal Retirement Survivor Benefits Military buy back toward retirement Leave Benefits: AL (13-26 days), SL (13 days), Paid Federal Holidays (11 days) , Paid Parental Leave 12 wks. FEHB lowest cost FEGLI low cost Flexible Spending accounts Pre-taxed Federal Long Term Care Insurance TSP matching 5% and Pre-tax contributions Child Care subsidy And more

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 08/07/2023. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-6 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-5. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. This Social Services Aid and Assistant Series, 0186, has individual occupational requirements, as described below: Individual Occupational Requirements Specialized Experience (for positions at GS-4 and above) Examples of qualifying specialized experience include: Group leader in community or residential recreation or training programs. Counselor in a youth summer camp. Instructor in a training program for the development of job skills. Work that demonstrated the ability to be responsible for and to lead and train members of a job crew. Group activities leader in the Armed Services. Unit leader-monitor-proctor for a dormitory group in a boarding school or other residential facility. Aid or assistant to professional or specialist staff in such fields as personnel (private or government), employment guidance in a vocational or academic institution, social service, or manpower development. Aid or assistant to professional or associate staff engaged in work of a social services nature in private, public welfare, government program, or community organizations, or in voluntary activities. Aid or assistant to professional or specialist staff working with individuals who are addicted to or abuse alcohol and/or drugs. OR Education and Training For GS-5: Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree that (a) included at least 24 semester hours in any combination of subjects directly related to the work of the position; (b) included a major in social behavior, human behavior, or health care or; (c) was supplemented by specialized experience as described above for GS-4. In addition to the Individual Occupational Requirements you must also qualify based on the below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: knowledge of available health and well-being programs or resources for Veterans; knowledge of eligibility, enrollment, income assessment, and insurance for Veterans' medical care; knowledge of VA inpatient and outpatient programs and operations; telehealth; patient services; effective oral and written communication OR Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed at least one-half year of graduate level education (9 semester hours above a Bachelor's degree) or an internship in course matter that must include courses directly related to the work of the Social Services Assistant position. This education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university. NOTE: Transcripts (unofficial or official) must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation. OR Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have equivalent combinations of successfully completed graduate level education and specialized experience, as described above, which meet the total experience requirements for this grade level. The education portion must include graduate courses directly related to the work of the Social Services Assistant position. This education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university. NOTE: Transcripts (unofficial or official) must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019. The position involves work that is mainly sedentary but requires some bending, walking, standing and lifting/carrying (under 15lb) of supplies, patient records, staff and patient mail. Some assignments may involve more frequent walking, but these assignments may involve more frequent walking, but these assignments require no unusual physical demands to perform work. The incumbent will need to have the ability to verbally communicate and hear (aid permitted) using a telephone and must be able to type and operate computer equipment as an essential part of their position. The incumbent must be able to work closely with internal and external customers in a face to face setting. Work Environment: Work is performed primarily in a Office setting; adequately lighted, temperature controlled, and ventilated. Office temperatures fluctuate periodically; involves everyday risks or discomforts which require normal safety precautions typical of such places as clinics, offices, meeting and training rooms or libraries; exposure to noise and dust on occasion.The incumbent may occasionally be exposed to patients who are combative secondary to delirium, dementia, or psychiatric disorders; Emotional and Mental Stability: The incumbent must be a mature, flexible, sensible individual capable of working effectively in stressful situations, able to shift priorities based on patient needs. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at http://://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

Education

A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

Contacts

• Address Huntington VA Medical Center 1540 Spring Valley Drive Huntington, WV 25704 US
• Name: Rhia Marshall
• Phone: 4106057000
• Email: [email protected]