The GS-14 Social Work Executive is responsible for oversight of the professional practice of all social workers and limited oversight to Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselors. The social workers are assigned to service lines throughout the facilities (two primary medical centers, major CBOC in Rapid City, and rural CBOCs Pierre, South Dakota; Scottsbluff, Nebraska; and various outreach social workers that regularly travel to even more rural areas).

Duties

Serves as the Social Work professional practice consultant and as the contact point for the VHA Care Management and Social Work Service at VA Central Office. Develops, maintains, and manages oversight of social work programs in all settings. This includes identifying needs for social work assessment, evaluation, and treatment; determining priority needs for social work services; and recommending adjustments to staffing levels accordingly. The Social Work Executive will have working knowledge of Human Resource functions and labor/management relations. He/she will be able to pull data for social work practice including workload data, deficiencies in documentation of social workers and examples of best practices for social work documentation and workload productivity. The Social Work Executive is the liaison with other Services or care lines, other facilities, Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) offices, and VA Central Office. Participates in the development and coordination of medical center plan for patient care and is involved as a consultant in decisions where Social Work practice is impacted. Recruits qualified social workers, to include participating in interviewing, selection, and orientation. Service Line leaders are aware that the Social Work Executive or his/her designee will participate in the interview process of prospective social work staff members in all social work vacancy situations. Tracks, in collaboration with Human Resources or other offices responsible for credentialing, required licensure and/or certification for all social workers, including continuing education requirements, license renewal, and other requirements social workers must meet to deliver appropriate care. Assists with credentialing and primary source verification of degree and license or state certification. Reviewing and monitoring of all social work competencies and appropriate scopes of practice. Provides supervision for social work licensure and practice supervision for facility social workers. Provides clinical supervision toward advanced licensure to as many as licensure permits. Ensures all entry level licensed social workers are supervised by a licensed clinician and assists in obtaining independent level license within condition of employment requirements. Provides supervisory responsibilities for the facility as needed. Assumes supervisory and administrative responsibility for the management of the assigned social workers or other employees who function within various programs in the VA Hospital. Assists in planning, establishing, and implementing policies and procedures; developing individual or group goals and objectives as well as monitoring, operating, evaluating, coordinating, and overseeing staff of the assigned program. The staff whom they supervise are aware of, adhere to all current directives of VHA, and met current JCAHO standards, state licensure standards, and VA-OIG expectations. They will conduct ongoing intensive review and appraisals to Ensures the accomplishment of objectives and adherence to standards set by governing bodies. Serves as a vital professional influence and resource to Local Leadership in their compliance with standards defined by accrediting organizations, such as The Joint Commission (TJC) and the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) standards applicable to Social Work. Maintains academic affiliations for social work practice, which may include arranging and coordinating Social Work Field Practice placements at the Medical Center. The incumbent Social Work Executive will be able to maintain a positive working relationship graduate programs for Master's in Social Work (MSW) to have continuance of an internship program. He/she will be able to complete all required affiliation agreement paperwork to maintain these relationships. Consults with other Services, program managers, or care line managers on issues pertaining to Social Work ethics, ethical dilemmas in the delivery of care, ethical issues within the larger organization and organizational processes that may impact social work practice and customer satisfaction related to social work services provided. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 0730-1600 Telework: Ad-hoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 00000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

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). 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/. Loss of Licensure or Certification. Once licensed or certified, social workers must maintain a full, valid, and unrestricted independent license or certification to remain qualified for employment. Loss of licensure or certification will result in removal from the GS-0185 social worker series and may result in termination of employment. 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). Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates. Social Work Executive, GS-14 Experience/Education. One year of experience equivalent to the GS-13 grade level. Social work executive positions are only established at facilities that do not have a chief social work service. In facilities with care/product lines, the social work executive is the highest level professional position at the facility with responsibility for the professional practice of all facility social workers and provision of social work services. Social work executive must evidence possession of supervisory and management skills. Experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills in administration, demonstrating progressively more professional competency skills and judgment. Individual 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. The social work executive must be licensed or certified at the advanced practice level, and must be able to provide supervision for licensure. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Skill in providing technical social work guidance in order to complete job assignments in multiple divisions/sections. Skill in applying legal, ethical, and professional standards to social work practice. Knowledge of social work practice, policy, and accreditation standards across the continuum of health care. Skill in providing consultation to facility leadership, care/product line managers, and other staff on social work qualification standards, practice, competency, productivity, and continuing education requirements. Skill in developing, implementing, and maintaining clinical social work practice standards in multiple divisions/sections. Skill in administrative oversight to ensure compliance with social work licensure requirements. Physical Requirements: You will be asked to participate in a pre-employment examination as part of the pre-employment process for this position. Questions about physical demands or environmental factors may be addressed at the time of examination. References: VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Appendix G39 The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-14.

Education

IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application.

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 Black Hills Health Care System 113 Comanche Road Fort Meade, SD 57741 US
• Name: Breeze Hennes
• Phone: (320) 252-1670 X5222
• Email: [email protected]