Senior Social Worker

Veterans Health Administration • Mechanicsburg, PA

6d • Onsite

About The Position

The Senior Social Worker practices as a licensed clinical social worker in Behavioral Health clinical settings, providing mental health services and specialized treatment and care coordination for Veterans with complex physical and mental illnesses. The position combines mental health administrative work with intensive clinical services and requires independent practice, advanced clinical skills, professional judgment, and flexible use of a broad range of social work abilities. Services may be provided in Behavioral Health clinical settings, VA Community Based Outpatient Clinics, and/or Lebanon VA Medical Center.

The incumbent provides psychosocial assessment, case management, psychotherapy, diagnostic evaluation, treatment planning, and care coordination within the approved scope of practice. Services include individual, group, and family psychotherapy; crisis and walk-in services; and advanced case management for Veterans with serious medical and psychiatric disorders. The position also serves as Mental Health Treatment Coordinator 2.0, connecting Veterans with resources and supports through shared decision-making, monitoring needs over time, facilitating follow-up and outreach, and supporting continuity of care.

The social worker contributes to program planning and development, advises the supervisor about changing care coordination trends and caseload needs, and recommends program or policy changes. The incumbent consults with colleagues and students, provides professional opinions and role modeling, and participates in the facility's rotating on-call system. Work is primarily outpatient during normal business hours, though extended evening or weekend hours and duties across various Behavioral Health and Social Services programs may be required. The tour, work location, and responsibilities may change to meet Medical Center needs.

The position is full-time, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with on-call coverage as necessary. It is not a virtual position; ad hoc telework is noted. Relocation assistance and a sign-on bonus are not authorized. The role is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program, subject to individual eligibility and application requirements; approval, award amount, and eligibility period are determined by the program office.

Requirements

• Master's degree in social work from a school fully accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE); a doctoral degree cannot substitute for the master's degree.
• State licensure or certification to independently practice social work at the master's degree level; for the Senior Social Worker grade, advanced-practice-level licensure or certification is required, including an advanced generalist or clinical examination, subject to stated grandfathering provisions.
• At least two years of experience after advanced-practice clinical licensure, including one year equivalent to the GS-11 grade level, in a specialized area of social work practice.
• Demonstrated advanced practice skills and judgment in a specialized area of social work.
• Ability to provide supervision for licensure.
• Skill in specialized interventions and treatment modalities, including individual, group, and/or family counseling or psychotherapy and advanced psychosocial or case-management services.
• Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation into differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice.
• Knowledge of developing and implementing methods to measure the effectiveness of social work practice and services, use outcome evaluations to improve treatment, and design system changes.
• Ability to provide specialized consultation to colleagues and students and to role-model effective social work practice.
• Ability to expand clinical knowledge and write policies, procedures, and/or practice guidelines for the service delivery area.
• Proficiency in spoken and written English.
• U.S. citizenship, subject to the stated exception for non-citizen appointments when qualified citizens cannot be recruited under VA policy.
• Must meet applicable pre-employment requirements, including background/security investigation, physical evaluation or examination, onboarding, and seasonal influenza vaccination requirements.
• Male applicants born after December 31, 1959 must be registered with Selective Service.
• Must complete the application requirements detailed in the announcement's Required Documents section.
• Must serve a one- or two-year trial period and receive written certification for continued employment after the period.

Nice To Haves

• Preferred: LCSW with 3–5 years of training or work experience in DSM-5 diagnosing, care or case management, and psychotherapy for patients requiring mental health care.
• Specialty certification or post-master's training from a nationally recognized professional organization or university, including a defined curriculum or course of study and internship or equivalent supervised professional experience.

Responsibilities

• Provide specialized treatment and care coordination for Veterans with complex physical and mental illnesses in Behavioral Health settings, VA Community Based Outpatient Clinics, and/or Lebanon VA Medical Center.
• Independently conduct psychosocial assessments, diagnostic evaluations, treatment planning, case management, and psychotherapy within approved scope of practice.
• Provide individual, group, and family psychotherapy and advanced case management interventions for Veterans with serious medical and psychiatric disorders.
• Perform triage, walk-in and crisis services, biopsychosocial assessments, and care coordination as needed.
• Serve as Mental Health Treatment Coordinator 2.0, determine and monitor Veteran needs, connect Veterans with resources and supports through shared decision-making, and facilitate follow-up, outreach, and continuity of care.
• Participate in program planning and development; advise the supervisor about changing care coordination needs and caseload trends; and recommend procedural or policy changes.
• Consult with colleagues and students on psychosocial treatment, render professional opinions, and role-model effective social work practice.
• Participate in the facility's rotating on-call system.
• Perform additional duties as assigned.

Benefits

• Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), subject to eligibility and approval, with a potential award of up to $200,000 over an eligibility period of one to five years.
• Competitive salary and regular salary increases; a higher step rate may be considered for higher or unique qualifications or VA special needs.
• 37–50 days of annual paid time off per year, including 13–26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, and 11 paid federal holidays.
• Potential credit toward annual leave accrual based on prior work or military service, subject to request and approval.
• Up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave after 12 months of employment, in connection with birth, adoption, or foster care placement.
• Potential childcare subsidy after 60 days for eligible full-time employees with total family income below $144,000, up to 25% of eligible childcare costs and a monthly maximum of $416.66.
• Traditional federal pension with five-year vesting and federal 401(k) with up to 5% in contributions by VA.
• Federal health, vision, dental, term life, and long-term care insurance; many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement.

What This Job Offers

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