This Vital Senior Social Worker position is in Social Work services at the Bedford Healthcare Systems in the Bedford, Massachusetts location. This position is full-time at 40 hours per week. The VITAL (Veterans Integration To Academic Leadership) Senior Social Worker practices independently providing program leadership to this interdisciplinary community-based program.

Duties

The incumbent supports the program management of VITAL, which is an interdisciplinary program designed to support the needs of Veterans enrolled at local colleges and universities who have a need for support or information, and who may have needs for mental health treatment. Duties include but are not limited to : Assists with the development and implementation of outreach strategies and activities at local colleges and universities in collaboration with the VA Bedford HCS Outreach Team; Collaborates with other service providers in reassessing a Veteran's needs for non-institutional, institutional services / programs and entitlements; Refers Veterans to appropriate disciplines for identified health education needs; Acts as an advocate to ensure that the best interest of the Veteran is served when navigating the complexities of the educational and VA system; Conducts psychosocial assessments and provide psychosocial treatment to a wide variety of individuals from various socio-economic, cultural, ethnic, educational and other diversified backgrounds; Organizes community services on behalf of beneficiaries, developing and coordinating procedures for use of these services by related staff; Performs insightful assessment of serious and complicated cases involving psychiatric illness, catastrophic medical conditions, dementia and other high-risk diagnoses; and Assumes other related duties as assigned. VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU 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. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday; 7:30am-4:00pm. Telework: (Ad hoc) telework - An employee who is scheduled to work at an alternative worksite with supervisory approval on an occasional, non-routine basis. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #:518-F06519 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized EDRP Authorized: Authorized: Contact Karen Chapman, the EDRP Coordinator, for questions/assistance, at: [email protected] Learn more Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required Notifications: This position is in the Excepted Service. Due to a critical staffing shortage, 38 U.S.C. ? 7412 waives the requirement to apply Veterans' preference for this job announcement. This position is not a Bargaining Unit position. This position is covered by locality-based comparability pay. Narrative responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) may be required from the selectee in order to proceed with the appointment. Current and former Federal employees must submit copies of their most recent SF-50, (Notice of Personnel Action). The SF-50 must identify the position title, series, grade, step, tenure and type of service (Competitive or Excepted). In some cases, more than one SF-50 may be required to show a higher grade previously held. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Requirements

Qualifications

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met. 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. English Language Proficiency: Licensed practical or vocational nurses appointed to direct patient care positions must be proficient in [both] spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), and 7407(d). 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 Master 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/. 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:GS-12 Senior Social Worker Experience/Education. The candidate must have at least two years of experience post advanced practice clinical licensure and should be in a specialized area of social work practice of which, one year must be equivalent to the GS-11 grade level. Senior social workers have experience that demonstrates possession of advanced practice skills and judgment. Senior social workers are experts in their specialized area of practice. Senior social workers may have certification or other post-masters training from a nationally recognized professional organization or university that includes a defined curriculum/course of study and internship or equivalent supervised professional experience in a specialty. Licensure/Certification. Senior social workers must be licensed or certified by a state at the advanced practice level which included an advanced generalist or clinical examination, unless they are grandfathered by the state in which they are licensed to practice at the advanced practice level (except for licenses issued in California, which administers its own clinical examination for advanced practice) and they 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: Skill in a range of specialized interventions and treatment modalities used in specialty treatment programs or with special patient populations. This includes individual, group, and/or family counseling or psychotherapy and advanced level psychosocial and/or case management. Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice. Knowledge in developing and implementing methods for measuring effectiveness of social work practice and services in the specialty area, utilizing outcome evaluations to improve treatment services and to design system changes. Ability to provide specialized consultation to colleagues and students on the psychosocial treatment of patients in the service delivery area, as well as role modeling effective social work practice skills. Ability to expand clinical knowledge in the social work profession, and to write policies, procedures, and/or practice guidelines pertaining to the service delivery area. References: Meets the qualification standard for the GS 12 Senior Social Worker as defined in See VA Handbook 5005, Part II Appendix G39, Social Worker Qualification Standard GS-185 Veterans Health Administration. Physical Requirements: Traveling throughout the medical center and the community is required, as is performing activities involving sitting, walking, and standing, bending and carrying such items as books, papers, and files. In carrying out responsibilities it may be necessary for the incumbent to travel into the community where he/she conducts interviews with the veterans, their families, representatives of community health and welfare agencies and law enforcement agencies.

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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Contacts

• Address VA Bedford Healthcare System 200 Springs Road Bedford, MA 01730 US
• Name: Jessenia Plaza
• Phone: (781) 473-6094
• Email: [email protected]