Senior Social Worker

Veterans Health Administration • Leeds, MA

1d • Onsite

About The Position

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. Program 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.

The Senior Social Worker is responsible for the independent management, coordination and provision of social work services to Veterans and their families in the Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Clinic at VA Central Western Massachusetts Healthcare System (VA CWM). This position plays a critical role in advancing the SUD Clinic mission by supporting Veterans in achieving individualized goals related to substance use, mental health and emotional well being. The Senior Social Worker expected to demonstrate advanced clinical expertise in the assessment and treatment of complex psychosocial issues affecting Veterans experiencing severe crises. The Senior Social Worker is an integral member of the interdisciplinary treatment team.

Requirements

• Must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process.
• Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements ( https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents ).
• Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Must pass pre-employment physical evaluation.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.
• As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest.
• 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. 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.
• 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.
• Note: 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.
• Licensed or certified by a state to independently practice social work 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.
• 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
• 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.
• 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
• 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).

Nice To Haves

• Experience working with patients diagnosed with Substance Use Disorders, Evidence Based Practices and providing group Psychotherapies.

Responsibilities

• Conduct screenings, intake assessments and recovery planning.
• Provide case management services; individual, couples and group psychotherapy.
• Perform crisis intervention and coordinating referrals for community resources and benefits.
• Exercise mature professional judgement and the flexible use of a broad range of advanced social work practice skills beyond those typically required in routine clinical interventions.
• Apply comprehensive differential diagnostic and treatment approaches that address complex, multi-factorial causes of substance use and mental health conditions.
• Deliver Evidence-Based interventions and treatment modalities appropriate for this specialized population to include individual, group and family psychotherapy.
• Implement an Episode of Care model utilizing strategic goal setting, outcome measures and Measurement Based Care.
• Develop and implement methods for measuring effectiveness of Social Work practice and services within the SUD Clinic.
• Coordinate the delivery of specialized psychosocial services and programs.
• Independently identify high-risk patients and provide comprehensive case management services.
• Teach and mentor staff and students within the SUD Clinic and related programs.

Benefits

• Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP)
• Competitive salary and regular salary increases
• 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year)
• Up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave
• Child Care Subsidy
• Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting)
• Federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA
• Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement)

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior