The Social Service Representative will serve as a Social Work Assistant and Housing Support Specialist for the Housing and Urban Development/VA Supported Housing (HUDVASH) program, a section of the Health Care for Homeless Veterans (HCHV) Service at the Jonathan M. Wainwright Memorial VA Medical Center (VAMC) located in La Grande, OR.

Duties

***THIS IS NOT A VIRTUAL POSITION, YOU MUST LIVE WITHIN OR BE WILLING TO RELOCATE WITHIN A COMMUTABLE DISTANCE OF THE DUTY LOCATION*** The major duties include but are not limited to: Create processes to expedite inspections, such as pre-inspections and/or rapid re-inspections. Serve as main Point of Contact (POC) for the PHA to ensure housing packets are complete and processed and voucher are process and issued in a timely manner. Create and establish systems to track each Veteran's progress through the paperwork requirements and process from entry into HUD/VASH until housed. Serve as main Point of Contact (POC) for landlords to ensure applications to lease are complete, W9s submitted to the housing authority, and voucher is submitted to landlord. Educate landlords on homeless programs and HUDVASH operations and to navigate HUD and the VA homeless programs. Duties included in incumbents paraprofessional case management duties meet the standards required to code visits with Veterans as T1016 case management encounters in medical records: With supervisor oversight, interview and review the facts, financial and other implications of the Veteran's situation (this includes eviction and rental history, family size, income, legal history, employment, homeless status, disabilities, and mental status) directly with the Veteran. Work with the Veteran and the HUDVASH case manager to assess the Veteran's preferences, financial capabilities and liabilities, barriers, and physical accommodations, and use this information to locate housing, in competitive housing markets, that best meet Veteran's criteria. Assist HCHV Outreach Social Worker by conducting and attending outreach events in the community to identify and refer Veterans to HUDVASH and support the National Homeless Program Office and HUD mission critical focus on voucher utilization. Provide HCHV addresses and phone numbers to Veterans and refer to Outreach Tracker for follow-up. Assist HUDVASH social workers and nurse case mangers by addressing landlord complaints, immediate housing concerns and alert HUDVASH case workers to Veteran behaviors including Veteran noncompliance with HAP and lease requirements, disruptive behaviors, and use of illicit substances. Performs other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Full Time, Monday - Friday 8:00am - 4:30pm Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not approved

Requirements

Qualifications

English Language Proficiency: In accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), No person shall serve in direct patient care positions unless they are proficient in basic written and spoken English. You must be proficient in basic written and spoken English in order to meet the requirements of this position. AND In addition to meeting the English Language requirement you must also meet one of the following to qualify for this position at the GS-7 grade level: SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Applicants must have at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-6) in the Federal service that has given you the particular knowledge, skills and abilities required to successfully perform the duties of a Social Services Representative. Specialized experience is experience in mental health in a program of direct social welfare services that require the application of program policy and operations knowledge in providing social welfare services and/or assisting social workers. (This experience must be documented in the resume) OR EDUCATION SUBSTITUTION: Successfully completed one (1) full academic year of graduate level education with a major study in social sciences. This education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university. NOTE: Transcripts (unofficial or official) must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation. OR COMBINATION OF SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION: Equivalent combinations of successfully completed graduated education and specialized experience as described above that may be used to meet total qualification requirements. 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 as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position: Customer Service (Clerical/Technical)Information ManagementInterpersonal SkillsManages and Organizes InformationTransportation IMPORTANT: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. All experience listed on your resume must include the month and year start/end dates. 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. 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; religious; 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. Physical Requirements: The work is often sedentary. Typically, the employee sits comfortably to do the work. However, there is walking, standing, bending, carrying of light items such as papers and books, and driving an automobile. No special physical demands are required to perform the work. The incumbent may be required to travel to another division if needed. 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: Recognition of Foreign Qualifications | International Affairs Office (ed.gov).

Contacts

• Address Jonathan M Wainwright Memorial VA Medical Center 77 Wainwright Drive Walla Walla, WA 99362 US
• Name: VHA National Recruitment Center
• Phone: (844)456-5208
• Email: [email protected]