Supervisory Social Worker

Summary

The Palliative Care and End-of-Life Services Supervisory Social Worker is administratively responsible for ensuring compliance of inpatient Hospice services, outpatient Palliative Care services, and the Survivors Assistance and Memorial Support (SAMS) Program at the Tennessee Valley Health Care System. Ensures Veterans living with advanced progressive illness, and their families and caregivers, receive specialized psychosocial support and interdisciplinary care planning.

Learn more about this agency

Duties

Help

VA Careers - Social Work :

VA Careers - Licensed Clinical Social Worker :

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

Supervisory Responsibilities

Supervises Social Workers across inpatient Hospice, outpatient Palliative Care, and the SAMS Program, performing work at various GS levels up to their own grade, and provides administrative, technical, and clinical supervision necessary for accomplishing the work of these programs. The incumbent works independently, providing clinical supervision to staff delivering psychosocial treatment and case management services to eligible Veterans and their families.

• Performs administrative and personnel management functions relative to staff supervised, establishing guidelines and performance expectations clearly communicated through the formal employee performance management system.
• Observes each employee's work performance, conducting work performance critiques, providing informal feedback, and periodically evaluating employee performance; working to resolve informal complaints and grievances.

Administrative and Program Management

The incumbent manages and coordinates the daily operations of the SAMS, Palliative Care, and Hospice programs, and provides consultation and education to interdisciplinary staff, medical residents, and colleagues on VA social work practice and policies and procedures across all three program areas.

• Distributes survivor benefits material created by VA, local, state, and national organizations, and assists with general inquiries regarding SAMS.
• Shares educational material, implements training focused on specific survivors, caregivers, and patient needs, and provides education and in-service training to VAMC employees, Veterans, families, caregivers, and survivors.
• Implements information systems to track service activities, including visits, referrals, demographics, and outcomes.

Clinical and Direct Service (SAMS)

The incumbent personally performs the direct clinical and administrative functions of the SAMS Program. The incumbent provides consultation on the administrative and clinical considerations of the Decedent Affairs/SAMS Program, as referenced in VHA Directive 1601B.04 and other relevant policy, and uses a high level of skill in assessing and treating the complicated biopsychosocial concerns of Veterans and their families/NOK. The incumbent demonstrates skill in communication and develops positive, effective relationships with all stakeholders, including Veterans, survivors, local, state, and federal agencies, and non-governmental organizations, serving as a consultant for navigating the complex processes survivors and families encounter when interacting with government and community agencies, and functioning as a liaison between community institutions, non-VA providers, and the VA medical facility.

• Advises Veterans and their NOK of burial benefits and helps Veterans and NOK prearrange burial, interment, or cremation, as desired by the Veteran.
• Advises surviving relatives about burial benefits and other potential benefits provided by VA; reviews eligibility and entitlement of burial and death allowances; and advises on the process for applying for those benefits, referring specific benefit inquiries to a VBA point of contact.

Work Schedule : 8:00am - 4:30pm, Monday - Friday

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 : Ad-Hoc

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Functional Statement # :71836-F

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Requirements

Help

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements ( Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Must pass pre-employment physical evaluation/examination.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met.

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

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 : GS-12

Education and Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level. Experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills in a specialty area or in administration demonstrating progressively more professional competency and judgment. Candidate may have certification or other post-master's degree training from a nationally recognized professional organization or university that includes a defined curriculum/course of study and internship, or equivalent supervised professional experience.

Licensure/Certification. Individuals assigned as Supervisory Social Workers must be licensed or certified at the advanced practice level, and must be able to provide supervision for licensure.

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:

• Ability to independently organize work, set priorities, and meet multiple deadlines.
• Knowledge of supervisory duties which includes clinical supervision, consultation, negotiation with other departments and quality improvement.
• Ability to ensure provision of clinical social work services.
• Ability to provide staff training and development.
• Skill in interpersonal relationships in dealing with employees, team leaders, and managers.

Assignment. 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. At the GS-12 grade level, supervisory social workers typically have significant personnel management responsibilities for a small to moderate sized professional and non-professional staff, including support staff and professional staff at the GS-12 grade level and below. The supervisory social worker is responsible for the professional and administrative management of an area in a social work service, in a care/product line, or multiple facilities. They provide direct clinical services with or without program coordination responsibilities.]

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12.

Physical Requirements: Work is generally performed in a clinical setting that exposes the incumbent to the communicable diseases common of the client population. The incumbent may be required to work an irregular tour and/or weekends as the need arises.

Education

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit:

Additional information

Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.

During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status.

VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority.

If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.

Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

Help

A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

Review our benefits

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.