Senior Social Worker

Veterans Health Administration • Hinesville, GA

11h • Onsite

About The Position

The Senior Social Worker is a professional social worker assigned to the Primary Care Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) panels in Charleston, South Carolina, or a designated Community-Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC). The position assesses and treats complex psychosocial problems affecting Veterans and their families or significant others, including challenges that cause distress, affect health, or create barriers to care, such as adjusting to medical problems and inadequate housing or transportation. Referrals may come from interdisciplinary team members, Veterans and their families, or community professionals.

The incumbent conducts advanced psychosocial assessments to identify underlying causes, interpersonal and environmental factors, and effects on patients’ ability and willingness to follow treatment recommendations. The social worker establishes therapeutic relationships, assesses functional acuity, and provides interventions that help Veterans make the fullest practicable use of treatment and achieve the highest possible level of independence. Work may involve ongoing visits and complex medical, psychiatric, emotional, behavioral, financial, legal, and psychosocial concerns. The incumbent collaborates with Veterans, families, and the interdisciplinary treatment team to develop and implement treatment goals and interventions, and may serve as the primary contact at a designated CBOC at the direction of the PACT supervisor or Social Work Chief.

The position requires knowledge of the PACT team approach and the roles of its health and allied health care members, as well as the social worker’s role within that model. It is a GS-12 position requiring advanced practice social work experience, an advanced-practice state license or certification, and demonstrated specialized clinical skills. The schedule is Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; hours may change based on agency needs. The position is not eligible for telework and is not virtual.

The position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), subject to individual eligibility and application requirements. Approval, award amount (up to $200,000), and eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the program office. A recruitment incentive and relocation assistance are not authorized.

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 GS-12 grade: at least two years of post-advanced-practice clinical licensure experience in a specialized area of social work practice, including one year equivalent to GS-11.
• Advanced-practice state licensure or certification, including an advanced generalist or clinical examination, unless covered by the stated state grandfathering exception; must be able to provide supervision for licensure.
• Demonstrated skill in specialized interventions and treatment modalities, including individual, group, and/or family counseling or psychotherapy and advanced psychosocial or case management.
• 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, and design system changes.
• Ability to provide specialized consultation to colleagues and students and role-model effective social work practice.
• Ability to expand clinical knowledge and write policies, procedures, or practice guidelines pertaining to the service delivery area.
• U.S. citizenship, subject to the stated exception for non-citizen appointments when qualified citizens cannot be recruited.
• Proficiency in written and spoken English.
• Meet the stated pre-employment requirements, including background/security investigation, required identification, and physical evaluation; selected applicants in testing-designated positions are subject to pre-appointment urinalysis.
• Complete the online onboarding process and required application documentation.
• Participate in the seasonal influenza vaccination program.
• Serve a one- or two-year trial period.
• Maintain a full, valid, unrestricted independent license or certification; failure to obtain or maintain required credentials may result in removal from the social worker series and possible termination.

Nice To Haves

• Experience or certification in evidence-based psychotherapies, or the skills and ability to learn advanced evidence-based psychotherapies such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Cognitive Processing Therapy, Prolonged Exposure Therapy, Couples/Family Therapy, and Group Therapy.
• 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 in a specialty.

Responsibilities

• Assess psychosocial problems that cause distress, affect health conditions, or create barriers to care.
• Conduct thorough advanced psychosocial assessments to identify underlying causes, interpersonal and environmental factors, psychosocial functioning and needs, and effects on patients’ ability and willingness to follow treatment recommendations.
• Establish and maintain effective therapeutic relationships with Veterans and their families in primary care clinics.
• Independently provide appropriate interventions for Veterans and families experiencing complex medical, psychiatric, emotional, behavioral, financial, legal, and psychosocial problems.
• Assess patients’ functional acuity and facilitate their maximum use of treatment to attain the highest practicable level of independence.
• Collaborate with Veterans, families, and interdisciplinary treatment team members to develop and implement treatment goals and interventions.
• Participate actively as a member of the interdisciplinary treatment team.
• Apply knowledge of the PACT approach and the roles of health and allied health care team members and the social worker within the PACT model.
• At the direction of the PACT supervisor or Social Work Chief, serve as the primary point of contact at a designated CBOC.
• Develop and implement methods to measure the effectiveness of social work practice and services, use outcome evaluations to improve services, and design system changes.
• Provide specialized consultation to colleagues and students and model effective social work practice.
• Expand clinical knowledge and write policies, procedures, or practice guidelines for the service delivery area.

Benefits

• Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), subject to eligibility and approval, with an award of up to $200,000 and an eligibility period of one to five years.
• Competitive salary and regular salary increases; a higher step rate may be considered based on higher or unique qualifications or VA needs.
• 37–50 days of annual paid time off per year, consisting of 13–26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, and 11 paid Federal holidays.
• Selected applicants may qualify for 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.
• Eligible full-time employees may qualify for a childcare subsidy after 60 days of employment, subject to family income and other eligibility requirements.
• Traditional federal pension with five-year vesting and federal 401(k) with up to 5% in VA contributions.
• 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