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. 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.

Duties

Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm Telework: Available - Ad-hoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 03445F Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized EDRP Authorized: Contact [email protected], the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required The incumbent assumes the supervisory responsibility for the management of the assigned social workers and support staff who function within various programs in the VA Hospital with administrative responsibilities to the service. As the supervisor, the incumbent assists in implementing policies and procedures; developing individual or group goals and objectives as well as monitoring, operating, evaluating, coordinating, and overseeing the Social Work staff of the assigned program. The incumbent will assure the Social Workers and support staff whom they supervise are aware of, adhere to all current directives of VHA, and meet current Joint Commission standards, State licensure standards, and VA-OIG expectations. The incumbent will conduct ongoing reviews and appraisals to ensure the accomplishment of objectives and adherence to standards set by governing bodies. Duties of the position include, but are not limited to: Employs, establishes, and maintains effective therapeutic relationships with veterans and/or their families who are experiencing medical, psychiatric, emotional, behavioral, and psychosocial problems. Completes thorough psychosocial assessments, including psychosocial diagnosis and high ­risk assessments, to determine the psychosocial functioning and needs of veterans and/or their families. Actively participates as a member of the interdisciplinary treatment team and actively participates through collaboration with veterans and family as well as interdisciplinary treatment team members in the development and implementation of treatment goals, interventions, and discharge plans. Uses a working knowledge and experience in use of medical diagnoses, disabilities, and treatment procedures, including acute, chronic and traumatic illnesses, common medications and their effects/side effects, and medical terminology. Uses a variety of psychotherapeutic approaches based on the diagnostic assessment to minimize the anxiety of both the patient and/or significant others during their transition to other levels of care. Facilitates action for community placements through collaboration with veterans and their families as well as interdisciplinary treatment team members to ensure that appropriate community placements are completed in a timely manner. Community placements can involve but are not limited to referrals to contract nursing homes, Community Living Centers, residential care homes, inpatient and outpatient hospice services. Represents the program in contacts with other agencies and the public. Serves as a liaison between veterans and/or their families and VA and community resources to ensure thorough delivery of services. Coordinates orientation plans for medical social workers. Provides clinical supervision, consultation, and training to less experienced social workers. Provides training and consultation to other sections/services on the missions and function of SWS. Reviews the work of subordinates' provision of service, coordinates workload assignments and solves problems related to the work. Coordinates staffing and work assignments for social workers including the review and approval or disapproval of leave. Assures that subordinates are trained and fully comply with the provisions of the safety regulations. Explains and gains the support of employees for implementing and managing policies and establishing goals, in addition to working to achieve the objectives of government-wide personnel programs and policies. Ensures that all subordinate staff work cooperatively with physicians, nurses, and other staff members in matters related to community relations, total program planning and individual patient treatment. Responsible for evaluating professional and technical competency of staff assigned to the programs. Other duties as assigned by management.

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). 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). GRADE DETERMINATIONS. In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates. Supervisory 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 in a specialty area or in administration demonstrating progressively more professional competency and judgment. 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 Supervisory Social Workers 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, candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Ability to independently organize work, set priorities, and meet multiple deadlines. Knowledge of supervisory duties which includes clinical supervision, consultation, negotiation with other departments and quality improvement. Ability to ensure provision of clinical social work services. Ability to provide staff training and development. Skill in interpersonal relationships in dealing with employees, team leaders, and managers. 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. At the GS-12 grade level, supervisory social workers typically have significant personnel management responsibilities for a small to moderate sized professional and non-professional staff, including support staff and professional staff at the GS-12 grade level and below. The supervisory social worker is responsible for the professional and administrative management of an area in a social work service, in a care/product line, or multiple facilities. They provide direct clinical services with or without program coordination responsibilities.] References: VA Handbook 5005/120 Part II Appendix G39, Dated September 10, 2019. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12. Physical Requirements: Work is primarily sedentary. May require prolonged standing, moderate walking, and manual dexterity. Requires carrying light items such as books, files, or laptop computer. This position requires visual acuity, keen hearing, clear distinctive speech, and manual dexterity. This position requires potentially long periods of continued walking, standing, stooping, sitting, bending, pulling, and pushing. The incumbent may be exposed to infected patients and contaminated materials and may be required to don protective clothing in isolation situations, operative/invasive procedures, or home settings. The incumbent may occasionally be exposed to patients who are combative secondary to delirium, dementia, or psychiatric disorders. The incumbent must be a mature, flexible, sensible individual capable of working effectively in stressful situations, able to shift priorities based on patient needs.

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 Northern California Health Care System 10535 Hospital Way Mather, CA 95655 US
• Name: Roger Brown
• Phone: (415)221-4810 X24484
• Email: [email protected]