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
• English Language Proficiency: Must be proficient in written or spoken English
• 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/
• 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
• May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria)
• Grade Determinations: GS-13: Experience/Education
• One year of experience equivalent to the GS-12 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 Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
• In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: (a) Ability to independently organize work, set priorities, and meet multiple deadlines
• (b) Skill in a range of supervisory duties which includes clinical supervision, consultation, negotiation with other departments and quality improvement
• (c) Ability to ensure provision of clinical social work services by supervised social workers
• (d) Ability to delegate authority, manage priorities, coordinate work, and follow up on pending issues to complete duties in an accurate and timely fashion
• (e) Ability to analyze organizational and operational problems, develop and implement solutions that result in efficient operations, and use data effectively to manage workload, quality, performance, and productivity within the service
• (f) Ability to provide staff training and development
• 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
• Supervisory social workers at the GS-13 grade level typically supervise professional and non-professional staff
• They are responsible for the professional and administrative management of an area in a social work service, in a care/product line, or across multiple sites, (e.g., multi-division facilities and CBOCs)
• Incumbent may also provide direct clinical services.] Reference can be found at the VA Qualification Repository, VA Qualifications Standards - Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer (OCHCO) GS-0185, Social Worker Qualification Standard, dated 9/10/2019
• The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-13
• Preferred Experience: Two (2 ) years' experience as a Social Worker Supervisor
• Two (2) years of medical Social Worker/Case Management experience including experience working with Veterans, their families and caregivers
• Two (2) years' experience as a VA Social Worker Supervisor
• Physical Requirements: The work is sedentary
• Some work may require movement between offices, hospitals, warehouses, and similar areas for meetings and to conduct work
• Work may also require walking/standing, in conjunctions with travel to and attendance at meetings and/or conferences away from the work site
• Incumbent may carry and lift light items weighing less than 15 pounds.