Senior Social Worker (Inpatient Psychiatry)

This position is a Senior Social Worker for the Inpatient Psychiatric Unit (7West) within the Acute Care Section of the Mental Health Service line at VA Puget Sound Health Care System located in Seattle, Washington. VA Puget Sound Health Care System (VAPSHCS) is a Complexity Level 1a Facility and provides extensive primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary care in outpatient, inpatient, residential, and community settings. To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement. 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 to verify that the social work degree meets the 4 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 English Language Proficiency. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f). 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). Grade Determinations Senior Social Worker, GS-12 Experience/Education . 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. Licensure/Certification. 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 (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. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities . In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: 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. Preferred Experience Strong background working with adults with severe and persistent mental illness in an acute inpatient psychiatric, psychiatric emergency, or similarly high-acuity behavioral health setting. Experience providing comprehensive psychosocial assessment, clinical case management, complex discharge planning, individual and group interventions, and coordination of care for patients with significant psychiatric, substance use, medical, housing, and psychosocial needs. Experience with involuntary psychiatric treatment, including familiarity with Washington State Involuntary Treatment Act requirements, collaboration with Designated Crisis Responders and the court system, and, ideally, experience providing clinical testimony or serving in a court evaluator role. Experience functioning independently within a multidisciplinary treatment team, supervising or teaching social work trainees and staff, and contributing to program development, quality improvement, and evidence-based clinical programming. Reference For more information on this qualification standard, please visit The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12. Physical Requirements There are no physical requirements for this occupation per OCHCO Communications email to VA Handbook 5019, updated on 4/17/2026. #J-18808-Ljbffr US-Department-of-Veterans-Affair