The Social Science Technician works in the Behavioral Health Care Line, Health Care for Homeless Veterans Housing for Urban-Development-Veterans Affairs Supported Housing (HUD-VASH) program located at the VA Medical Center in Buffalo, New York. The purpose of the work is to assist clinical staff with care of patients and to provide clerical support as needed.

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 include, but are not limited to, the following: Screens, advises, and assists patients. Works cooperatively and collaboratively as a member of a treatment team with program staff and professionals, para-professionals, volunteers, etc. Assists with patient activities such as group co-facilitation and daily monitoring of various therapeutic activities. Participates in services training, continued education, staff meeting and consultation. Recognizes and responds promptly to emergency situations implementing appropriate procedures to access assistance to reduce risk of harm to patients and others. Supports patients and/or family members in the integration of the patient care plan toward achievement of discharge objectives. Documents patient teaching and patients' response to teaching. Organizes and maintains filing systems for administrative, resource and training information. Compiles and prepares required reports and summaries or submits pertinent data for inclusion. Assists in accumulating, collating and integrating data for special projects, technical reports and research. Monitors and makes recommendations for procuring materials and services. Receives and screens incoming mail, telephone calls and visitors. Utilizes vehicles to transport Veterans to and from program and/or to and from appointments at the VA or in the community. Performs other related duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 02/14/2024. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-05 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-04. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. Driver's License: A current and valid state-issued Driver's License is required for this position. NOTE: We cannot accept photographs, therefore; please do not submit a copy of your license with your application package. If an interview is requested, you will be required to provide a copy of your current and valid state-issued Driver's License at that time. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-04 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: performing administrative support duties (reception, filing, data entry, etc.). NOTE: Experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hours worked per week. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed four (4) years of education above the high school level in any field for which high school graduation or the equivalent is the normal prerequisite. NOTE: Transcripts (unofficial or official) must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and ?successfully completed post-high school education (beyond the second year) and specialized experience, as described above, which meet the total experience requirements for this grade level. NOTE: Transcripts (unofficial or official) must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: ClericalCommunicationsCustomer Service (Clerical/Technical)Interpersonal Skills 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; religions; 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. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. 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. Physical Requirements: ???????The work involves driving in the Western New York community to transport Veterans, interacting with Veterans, and their families/significant others, and agencies. The work may be sedentary at times, with the employee seated at a desk. However, there may be some walking, standing, bending, carrying of light items such as papers, books, etc. No special physical demands are required to perform the work 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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Contacts

• Address VA Western New York Healthcare System 3495 Bailey Avenue Buffalo, NY 14215 US
• Name: Crystal Collier
• Email: [email protected]