These positions are located within the Social Work Service at the VA Puget Sound Healthcare System in Seattle, WA. The Social Service Assistant's purpose is to provide administrative support to staff members, assess Veterans' needs, provide direct intervention with Veterans and families who have psychosocial needs, maintain networks with other services and community providers and provide outreach and education in the community regarding VA homeless Veteran services.

Duties

***THIS IS NOT A VIRTUAL POSITION, YOU MUST LIVE WITHIN OR BE WILLING TO RELOCATE WITHIN A COMMUTABLE DISTANCE OF THE DUTY LOCATION*** Duties may include, but are not limited to the following: Makes an assessment of the Veteran's needs, identify problems, inform them of the VA services or benefits available. Provides supportive counseling, refers them to appropriate programs and resources, and when needed, assist them in linking up with a Social Worker or housing program that can be of most assistance. Listens to clients who are often angry and frustrated. Assesses seriousness of disability or crisis, and when appropriate, will report the situation to the appropriate supervisor. Seeks help with clinically complex cases, particularly those involving life-threatening situations, and often helps to de-escalate situations with Veterans and/or family members. Follows all legal and ethical standards of service delivery, e.g., ensures that confidentiality of the Veteran is maintained. Provides information about VA services, listens to clients who are often angry and frustrated, assesses seriousness of disability or crisis, judges the probable extent of lethal behavior and helps clients to view the situation more rationally. Triages incoming calls and provides referrals and linkages to homeless program services. Screens all Veterans coming into the office to determine who needs such items and makes appropriate referrals for these. Provides administrative support to the Social Services programs. Participates with administrative support and active participation in preparation for any regulatory agency visits. Participates in program planning and development, making recommendations for program policies and procedures. Demonstrates the ability be innovative and creative within program parameters. Performs other related duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00am-4:30pm Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Telework: VA supports the use of telework as a way to help attract and retain talented individuals in public service, increase worker productivity, and better prepare the agency to operate during emergencies. This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required

Requirements

Qualifications

DRIVER'S LICENSE REQUIREMENT: This position requires a current, valid state driver's license. Please do not upload a copy of your license at this time. If an interview is requested, you may be required to provide a copy of your current, valid, and unrestricted state driver's license. ~AND~ TO QUALIFY FOR THIS POSITION AT THE GS-07 LEVEL YOU MUST MEET THE FOLLOWING CRITERIA: SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Have at least one (1) year of specialized experience, equivalent to the GS-6 level in the Federal service, that equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA's) needed to successfully perform the duties of the position and that is typically in or related to this Social Services Assistant position to be filled. Qualifying specialized experience includes serving as a group leader in community or residential recreation or training programs; serving as a counselor in a youth summer camp; serving as an instructor in a training program for the development of job skills; performing work that demonstrated the ability to be responsible for and to lead and train members of a job crew; serving as a group activities leader in the Armed Services; serving as a unit leader-monitor-proctor for a dormitory group in a boarding school or other residential facility; serving as an 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; serving as an 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; serving as an aid or assistant to professional or specialist staff working with individuals who are addicted to or abuse alcohol and/or drugs. Additional specialized experience includes assessing client needs and identifying problems; providing supportive counseling and resources for clients; informing patients of services or benefits available; and providing administrative support to the service. (This experience must be supported by your resume to be creditable.) -OR- EDUCATION: Have successfully completed one year (18 semester hours) of graduate level education in subjects directly related to the position. This education must have been obtained in an accredited business or technical school, junior college, college or university for which high school graduation or the equivalent is the normal prerequisite. One year of full-time graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent 1 year of full-time study. If that information cannot be obtained from the school, 18 semester hours should be considered as satisfying the 1 year of full-time study requirement. Part-time graduate education is creditable in accordance with its relationship to a year of full-time study at the school attended. Education cannot be credited without documentation. (Copy of transcripts are required at time of application) -OR- COMBINATION: Have equivalent combinations of successfully completed post-high school education and specialized experience, as described above, to meet total qualification requirements at the GS-7 level. (This experience must be supported by your resume to be creditable and copy of transcripts are required at time of application) You will be rated on the following Competencies as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position: Administration and ManagementComplianceOral Communication IMPORTANT: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. All experience listed on your resume must include the month and year start/end dates. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Physical Requirements: The work is mainly sedentary with occasional carrying of items such as papers and files, boxes of paper, driving government vehicles. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

Education

IMPORTANT: 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 VA Puget Sound Health Care System 1660 South Columbian Way Seattle, WA 98108 US
• Name: VHA National Recruitment Center
• Phone: (844)456-5208
• Email: [email protected]