The Chief of Social Work Service is responsible for defining the mission and vision of the service, developing the scope of practice for social workers, designing a Social Work Service Plan of Care, and ensuring implementation of quality improvement measures. Responsible for developing, planning, clarifying, administering, and managing the Social Work Service for the Jonathan M. Wainwright Memorial VA Medical Center (VAWW) and its four Community-Based Outreach Clinics (CBOCs).

Duties

Encompasses a 35 bed Mental Health Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program (MHRRTP), a robust outpatient mental health continuum of care, specialty care services, and primary care services. Oversee multiple complex programs, not limited to: Healthcare for Homeless Veterans (HCHV), Grant & Per Diem (GPD), HUD VASH, PACT Social Work, HBPC Social Work, Home and Community Based Services (HCBS), Veterans Justice Outreach, Caregiver Support Program (CSP), Intimate Partner Violence Prevention (IPV) Assistance Program, Medical Sexual Trauma (MST), and Supported Employment (SE). Responsible for the review and evaluation of social work practice. Functions Program administration Ensures the delivery of services on a routine and emergent basis Informs other disciplines of changes in program policies and procedures Deployment of staff Provide direction and/or ensures that essential functions are provided Develops procedures for the coordination of Social Work Service during disasters, drills, and emergencies Policy and procedures Assures compliance with all pertinent regulatory guidance Assesses trends in provided treatment Makes decisions regarding resolution of difficult problems Drafts service-level policies Ensures all programs meet CARF and The Joint Commission requirements Staff, education, and career development Recommends appropriate number of staff Participates in recruiting qualified SWs, RNs, employment specialists, and PSSs Oversees orientation Participates in the oversight of facility clinical privileging and scope of practice processes Works collaboratively with Human Resources to track required licensure and certification Ensures that unlicensed SWs have access to clinical supervision from a licensed SW for licensure or certification Education Assesses continuing education requirements Oversees Social Worker competency requirements Develops plans for unlicensed or training Social Workers to meet the educational requirements for licensure and clinical practice Develops opportunities for professional continuing education Creates Memoranda of Understanding with Social Work schools, VAWW Education Department, and the VA Office of Academic Affiliations (OAA) and requests trainee positions through OAA Selects Social Workers to serve as training faculty or student supervisors Ensures that Social Work graduate interns receive education and training consistent with the requirements of the affiliated schools of Social Work Supervision and consultation Provides professional supervision, clinical supervision, and administrative supervision Oversees the professional practice functions of assigned staff Develops position descriptions or functional statements, performance standards, and competency assessments Completes performance appraisals Mediates professional and service-line conflicts regarding clinical professional roles, continuity of care, and quality of care Consults with other Services, Program Managers, or Care-Line Managers Resource management Establishes and communicates productivity standards Re-deploys or participates in decisions to re-deploy Social Work staff based on patient need, productivity, and workload Plans or participates in planning for optimal staff coverage Reviews and resolves complaints Responsible for budgeting and fiscal oversight of contracts, grants, fund control points Approves Social Work Service Purchase Card transactions Plans or participates in planning for space requirements Developments quantifiable outcome measures and benchmarks Supports Social Work research Provides education and consultation Validates and consults regarding Decision Support Systems (DSS) labor mapping and Cost Distribution Reports (CDRs) Facilitates the use of technology to improve communication Technical knowledge Documentation, workload, data entry, ethical practice, service delivery, licensure and certification issues, education requirements, renewal, credentialing, license or state certification, systems and statistical analysis, management of programs, evaluation of programs, and performance improvement methods. Risk management Ensures compliance with The Joint Commission and CARF requirements Evaluates and assesses facility operations and processes Provides input to improve professional SW, RN, and PSS practice Develops and implements Social Work practice guidelines Uses established performance improvement tools. Ethics Provides leadership in identifying and addressing ethical issues Consults with other staff members Completes all duties delineated herein and all other duties as assigned Work Schedule: Monday thru Friday, 8am-4:30pm Compressed/Flexible: At agency discretion Telework: AD-HOC Virtual: This is not a virtual position Functional Statement #: 000000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement. 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: The chief social worker must be licensed or certified at the advanced practice level, and must be able to provide supervision for licensure. 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. 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 as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria). Grade Determinations: Social Worker (Service Chief), GS-14 Experience/Education: One year of experience equivalent to the GS-13 grade level. The chief social work service 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. 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 chief social worker must be licensed or certified at the advanced practice level, and must be able to provide supervision for licensure. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Skill in providing the full range of supervisory duties across multiple service divisions/sections, which would include responsibility for assignment of work to be performed, performance evaluation, selection of staff, and recommendations of awards, advancements, and when appropriate, disciplinary actions. Skill in applying legal, ethical, and professional standards to social work practice. Skill in developing, maintaining, and managing social work services in multiple divisions/sections. Ability to ensure compliance with social work practice, policy, and accreditation standards across the continuum of health care. Skill in providing consultation to facility leadership, managers, and other staff on social work qualification standards, practice, competency, productivity, and continuing education requirements. Skill in administrative oversight to ensure compliance with social work licensure requirements. Assignment: 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-14 grade level, size, scope, significance and impact are greater than the GS-13 grade level. The chief social worker responsibility includes management of large, complex, social work services within the organization. The chief social worker 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. The chief social worker provides supervision to social work service, with multiple sections or programs across the health care delivery system as well as an assistant chief and supervisors. Social work service includes staff members of different grades, as well as multiple disciplines, various treatment sites and at locations close to and distant from the medical center. The chief social worker has full responsibility for managing and supervising all aspects of social work service operations including clinical practice, program management, education, human resource management and supervision of the service. References: VA Handbook 5005/120 Part II Appendix G39 The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-14. Physical Requirements: This work requires light lifting (under 15lbs), light carrying, reaching above shoulder, use of fingers, walking, standing, repeated bending, operation of motor vehicle, and hearing (aid may be permitted).

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 Jonathan M Wainwright Memorial VA Medical Center 77 Wainwright Drive Walla Walla, WA 99362 US
• Name: Rebecca Hanson
• Phone: 509-434-7320
• Email: [email protected]