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
• 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/
• 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)
• Grade Determinations: Supervisory Social Worker, GS-0185-13 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 that includes a defined curriculum/course of study and internship, or equivalent supervised professional experience
• Licensure/Certification
• 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
• Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
• In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs
• Ability to independently organize work, set priorities, and meet multiple deadlines
• Skill in a range of supervisory duties which includes clinical supervision, consultation, negotiation with other departments and quality improvement
• Ability to ensure provision of clinical social work services by supervised social workers
• Ability to delegate authority, manage priorities, coordinate work, and follow up on pending issues to complete duties in an accurate and timely fashion
• 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
• Ability to provide staff training and development
• Preferred Experience: Advanced practice experience in acute inpatient mental health
• Demonstrated supervisory experience, including oversight of Social Work staff and high-acuity operations
• advanced competency in crisis intervention and suicide risk management
• experience coordinating Peer Review for Quality Management and professional practice monitoring
• and experience managing or coordinating a Health Professions Trainee (MSW) program, including trainee onboarding, supervision/field instruction support, evaluation, and program improvement
• Experience with writing Standard Operating Procedures and Policies
• Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/
• The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-13
• Physical Requirements: The work is primarily sedentary but requires distance driving
• It may require some occasional lifting (10-35lbs)
• Requires reaching above shoulder, twisting neck with ability to see from side to side with range of motion at least 45 degrees, and ability to coordinate all four extremities
• Position requires frequent keyboarding (4-7 hours per day), sitting (4-7 hours per day), walking up to 6 hours per day, or standing up to 8 hours a day
• Infrequent climbing/ descending of stairs and some bending
• Ability for rapid mental and muscular coordination simultaneously.