Senior Social Worker

Senior Social Worker Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration Posted: 28-Mar-26 Location: Seattle, Washington Categories: Mental Health/Social Services Internal Number: 862963700 Summary NOTE: THE 2-PAGE RESUME REQUIREMENT DOES NOT APPLY TO THIS OCCUPATIONAL SERIES. FOR MORE INFORMATION - REFER TO REQUIRED DOCUMENTS BELOW. Assigned to Clinical Care Programs with responsibility to provide direct services for Veterans - their families and caregivers. Performs specialized treatment of complex physical or mental illness with increased care needs and requiring specialized treatment to a variety of Rehabilitation Care Services programs. Qualifications NOTE: THE 2-PAGE RESUME REQUIREMENT DOES NOT APPLY TO THIS OCCUPATIONAL SERIES. FOR MORE INFORMATION - REFER TO REQUIRED DOCUMENTS BELOW. 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 English Language Proficiency: Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. 7403(f) 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 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 Loss of Licensure or Certification: Once licensed or certified - social workers must maintain a full - valid - and unrestricted independent license or certification to remain qualified for employment Loss of licensure or certification will result in removal from the GS-0185 social worker series and may result in termination of employment Grade Determinations: Senior Social Worker - GS-12 Experience and Education: The candidate must have at least two years of experience post advanced practice 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 In addition to the experience above - the candidate 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 Assignments: For all assignments above the full performance level - the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope - complexity (difficulty) - and variety and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time Senior social workers are licensed or certified to independently practice social work at an advanced level Senior social workers typically practice in a major program area such as but not limited to: Polytrauma Rehabilitation Center or Polytrauma Network Site a Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Center - or a national VHA referral center - such as a national Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or a national Transplant Center - or other program areas of equivalent scope and complexity The senior social worker may be assigned administrative responsibility for clinical program development and is accountable for clinical program effectiveness and modification of service patterns Assignments include clinical settings where they have limited access to onsite supervision such as CBOCs or satellite outpatient clinics The senior social worker collaborates with the other members of the treatment team in the provision of comprehensive health care services to Veterans - ensures equity of access - service - and benefits to this population - ensures the care provided is of the highest quality The senior social worker provides leadership - direction - orientation - coaching - in-service training - staff development - and continuing education programs for assigned social work staff They serve on committees - work groups - and task forces at the facility - VISN and national level - or in the community as deemed appropriate by the supervisor - Social Work Executive or Chief of Social Work Services This assignment is to be relatively few in number based on the size of the facility/service and applying sound position management This assignment must represent substantial additional responsibility over and above that required at the full performance grade level and cannot be used as the full performance level of this occupation Reference: For more information on this qualification standard - please visit The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-12 Physical Requirements: This work requires moderate lifting (15-44lbs) - pushing - walking - and hearing (aid may be permitted) Environmental factors include working closely with others - working alone - and may work in close proximity to others and shared office space with regular noise associated with office environments. Duties Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Duties will include - but are not limited to: Functions Provides direct care to Veterans and their caregivers within Social Work Specialty Care programs with a focus on working with Veterans with ALS as well as a consultative service to other areas Serves on a multidisciplinary teams Completes biopsychosocial assessments - develops treatment plans and carries out treatment accordingly - provides case management and lead coordinator responsibilities to Veterans Incorporates complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment of Veteran patients Subject matter expert on VA and/or community resources Responsible for using current social work resource information Act as an advocate when it serves the best interest of the veteran/family Experienced in making rapid assessments and developing crisis management plans Access to multiple resource directories In the event of a medical or psychiatric emergency - staff will follow the protocol of the mental health programs Provides education related to VA and community resources Also provides education and guidance specific to the specialized area of practice Provide the veterans and their caregivers with ongoing supportive counseling Specific tasks may include: Consult with inpatient/outpatient medical staff to coordinate care Assess the patient's understanding of his/her diagnosis and proposed treatments Help Veteran cope with end of life or complex chronic illness diagnoses Educate/instruct regarding resources and coping strategies Assess treatment options Collaborate within agencies when Veteran's care involves multiple entities Provide education related to benefits and services Provide referrals and linkage to community agencies with specialized benefits Counsel individuals - couples - and families and/or refer to specialized mental health providers Provide or link to appropriate support groups and educational programs Facilitate communication between the treatment team - Veteran - family and others Facilitate family discussions about illness - healthcare - and life changes End of life planning/preference of care Assist with placements into residential care facilities - sub-acute skilled nursing facilities - and adult day healthcare programs Address the impact of end of life and/or chronic illness on life issues Provide education on or referrals for needs Apply knowledge around safety Referral to and coordination of care services Advocate for services such as home health or hospice care Serve as trainer on geriatric related topics Develop and co-facilitate educational - support and other related groups Provide individual - group - and family psychotherapy and advanced level case management interventions Assist Veterans access services involving the continuum of care Share and apply specialized knowledge of issues Provide services on an outpatient basis and consult with inpatients and/or inpatient staff Assist with discharge processes Develop and implement methods for measuring effectiveness of social work practice and services Offer consultation to colleagues and students Teach and mentor staff and students on the special area of practice Train students - residents - interns and fellows in social work and from other disciplines and conduct formal workshops and classes for staff Work Schedule: Monday-Friday - 8am-4:30pm Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not authorized Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases When setting pay - a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade) Paid Time Off: 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) Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual - based on prior work experience or military service experience Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment - up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth - adoption - or foster care placement of a child Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment - full time employees with a total family income below $144 -000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66 Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement) Telework: Not available Virtual: This is not a virtual position Functional Statement #: 000000 Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized About Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is the largest integrated health care system in the United States, providing care at 1,321 health care facilities, including 172 VA Medical Centers and 1,138 outpatient sites of care of varying complexity (VHA outpatient clinics) to over 9 million Veterans enrolled in the VA health care program. VHA Medical Centers provide a wide range of services including traditional hospital-based services such as surgery, critical care, mental health, orthopedics, pharmacy, radiology and physical therapy. In addition, most of our medical centers offer additional medical and surgical specialty services including audiology & speech pathology, dermatology, dental, geriatrics, neurology, oncology, podiatry, prosthetics, urology, and vision care. Some medical centers also offer advanced services such as organ transplants and plastic surgery. #J-18808-Ljbffr