Social Worker (Program Coordinator)

Veterans Health Administration • Omaha, NE

6d • Onsite

About The Position

The Social Worker (Program Coordinator) serves as the NWI HCS Mental Health Service Line acute unit program coordinator, overseeing daily operations of a 16-bed inpatient mental health unit at the Omaha VA Medical Center. The position works with the Nursing supervisor to support unit safety and operations and is an integral member of the interdisciplinary treatment team. In addition to coordinating the program, the incumbent provides social work services and supervises the unit’s social work case manager.

The role combines administrative and clinical responsibilities. Administrative work includes program operations, policy and procedure development, compliance monitoring, data analysis, audits, reporting, staff supervision and training, and possible resource and fiscal management. Clinical work includes admission activities, discharge planning, case management, suicide-prevention screening and evaluation, therapy and group services as needed, family services, clinical documentation, and support for safe transitions to outpatient care.

The position is scheduled Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. It is not virtual; ad-hoc telework is indicated. The position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program, subject to eligibility and approval. The full performance level and selection grade are GS-12.

Requirements

• Master’s degree in social work from a school fully accredited by the Council on Social Work Education; a doctoral degree cannot substitute for the master’s degree.
• Licensed or certified by a state to independently practice social work at the master’s degree level.
• For program coordinator assignment, licensed or certified at the advanced practice level and qualified to provide supervision for licensure in the state of licensure.
• One year of experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level, demonstrating advanced practice skills, judgment, and progressively greater professional competency.
• Proficiency in spoken and written English.
• Knowledge of program coordination and administration, including consultation, negotiation, and monitoring.
• Knowledge and ability to write program policies, procedures, and practice guidelines.
• Ability to supervise multidisciplinary staff assigned to the program.
• Ability to organize work, set priorities, meet multiple deadlines, and evaluate assigned program areas.
• Ability to provide training, orientation, and guidance within clinical practice.
• U.S. citizenship is required, subject to the stated exception for non-citizens when qualified citizens cannot be recruited under VA policy.
• Must satisfy applicable employment conditions, including background/security investigation, onboarding requirements, and seasonal influenza vaccination requirements.
• A transcript must be submitted with the application; foreign education used to meet requirements must be accompanied by a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency.

Nice To Haves

• Certification or other post-master’s training from a nationally recognized professional organization or university with a defined curriculum or course of study and internship, or equivalent supervised professional experience.
• Written demonstration of the required knowledge, skills, and abilities in the application package is strongly recommended.

Responsibilities

• Oversee daily operations of the Mental Health Acute Unit program in accordance with VHA directives and accreditation requirements.
• Develop policies, procedures, and practice guidelines for the acute unit program.
• Prepare reports and statistics for facility, VISN, and national use.
• Monitor staff compliance with documentation, workload, data entry, ethical practice, standards, guidelines, and service delivery requirements.
• Analyze and evaluate clinical program data and computerized programs to identify trends and service needs and improve quality.
• Contribute to program resource and fiscal management, including monitoring control points, developing and operating within the annual budget, and accounting for appropriated funds, as assigned.
• Provide leadership, direction, orientation, coaching, in-service training, staff development, and continuing education for assigned staff.
• Conduct program and service audits, clinical practice audits, productivity assessments, and related reports.
• Evaluate program operations, identify improvement opportunities, gather and assess data, implement improvement ideas, and evaluate their effectiveness.
• Coordinate the program through consultation, negotiation, and monitoring.
• Provide clinical and administrative supervision to program staff, currently one social work case manager, and provide training, orientation, and guidance to acute-unit staff within clinical practice.
• Provide social work clinical services, including admission activities, discharge planning, and ongoing case management.
• Comply with suicide-prevention requirements, including screening and evaluation services as needed.
• Provide individual or group psychotherapy and other groups to support unit programming as needed.
• Provide social work services to family members of treated Veterans, as appropriate.
• Document social work interventions and activities in patient clinical records in accordance with NWI and VHA policy.
• Support post-discharge contact efforts to promote a safe and supported transition to outpatient care.
• Work with the Nursing supervisor to support appropriate unit safety and operations as part of the interdisciplinary treatment team.

Benefits

• Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), with potential award amounts up to $200,000 and an eligibility period of one to five years, subject to application review and approval.
• Competitive salary and regular salary increases.
• 37–50 days of annual paid time off per year, including annual leave, sick leave, and 11 paid federal holidays.
• Up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave after 12 months of employment, in connection with birth, adoption, or foster-care placement of a child.
• Eligible full-time employees may qualify for a childcare subsidy after 60 days of employment, subject to income and other eligibility limits.
• 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 may be carried into retirement.
• Potential annual leave accrual credit based on prior federal service or military service, subject to request and approval before appointment.

What This Job Offers

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