Job Information
Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration Social Worker (Assistant Program Coordinator) in Chesapeake County, Virginia
Summary The Social Worker (Assistant Program Coordinator) position is located at North Battlefield VA Outpatient Clinic within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans Health Administration (VHA), VA Mid-Atlantic Health Care Network (VISN 6), Hampton Veterans Affairs Medical Center (HVAMC), under the Mental Health and Behavioral Sciences Service Line (MHBS). This position is aligned with the Suicide Prevention Program. Responsibilities Total-Rewards-of-an-Allied-Health-VA-Career-Brochure.pdf Social Work: vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Total-Rewards-of-a-Social-Worker-Career-Flyer.pdf The Program Coordinator assists the Program Manager with facilitating implementation of suicide prevention strategies within the Medical Center to help ensure that all appropriate measures are being taken to prevent suicide in our Veteran population. This position assists the Suicide Prevention Program Manager in planning, establishing, and implementing policies and procedures, developing individual or group goals and objectives, as well as monitoring, evaluating, and coordinating the Suicide Prevention Program. This position will have supervisory responsibility for the Suicide Prevention Program. The Suicide Prevention Program is one that has a singular focus on those Veterans with suicidal ideations and behaviors (Self-directed violence) and are general considered high risk. The Program Coordinator must be licensed at the advanced practice level and must be able to provide clinical supervision for licensure. They must be able to provide consultation and oversight in serious and complicated cases for providers throughout the medical facility. The work of this position is highly complex, involving a combination of mental health administrative, consultative services, and intensive clinical services which require the exercise of mature professional judgement and the flexible use of a wide range of professional abilities. Duties Include, but not limited to: Oversight of the practice of the social workers and administrative support personnel in the Suicide Prevention Program detailed below to ensure the highest quality of service delivery provided to Veterans throughout the Hampton system of care. Supervisory responsibilities include ongoing evaluation of staffing needs and personnel assignments, periodic updating of position descriptions and functional statements, coordination of competency evaluations, completing performance appraisals, and professional and administrative supervision as appropriate and necessary. Establish performance and outcome standards for the facility Suicide Prevention Program that promote quality and efficiency of services in coordination with the overall goals of the medical center and those of the VISN and VA Central Office. Provides leadership in identifying and addressing ethical issues impacting Veterans and staff, and initiates and participates in ethical consultations as appropriate. Maintains Veteran confidentiality, analyzes ethical care issues, applies appropriate theoretical principles, and ensures application of institutional policy. Serves as a resource for the protection of Veteran and family rights. Provides considerate care, respecting Veteran and family value and belief systems. Identifies high-risk patients and assures that the appropriate level of intervention is implemented. This may include psychotherapy and/or case management services for Veterans diagnosed with mental health disorders, in collaboration with the multidisciplinary team. Assists with tracking and reporting all suicide attempts and completions at the facility. Performs other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm Compressed/Flexible: Available Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized. Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases 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) 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 #: 000000 Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job. All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959. Must be proficient in written and spoken English. You may be required to serve a probationary period. Subject to background/security investigation. Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Must pass pre-employment physical examination. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP). Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details. Qualifications Citizenship - You must be a citizen of the United States English Language Proficiency - You must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. 7403(f) Education and/or Experience Combination - You must possess 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. Note: A doctoral degree in Social Work may NOT be substituted for the master's degree in Social Work. License or Certification - You must be licensed or certified by a state to independently practice social work at the master's degree level. Grandfather Provision. A Social Worker employed in VHA on the effective date of the qualification standard (9/10/2019) who did not meet all the basic requirements in this standard, but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed, the following provisions apply: 1. Employees may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance (journey) level or changed to lower grade within the occupation but may not be promoted beyond the journeyman level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions. 2. Employees in an occupation that requires a licensure/certification/ registration only at higher grade levels must meet the licensure/ certification/registration requirement before they can be promoted to those higher grade levels. 3. Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed on a temporary or permanent basis until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard. 4. Employees who are converted to title 38 hybrid status under this provision and subsequently leave the occupation lose protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of re-entry to the occupation. 5. Employees initially grandfathered into this occupation who subsequently obtain additional education and/or licensure/certification/registration that meet all the basic requirements of this qualification standard must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation. Grade Determinations: Social Worker (Program Coordinator) GS-0185-13 Licensure Requirement: You must be licensed or certified at the advanced practice level, and must be able to provide supervision for licensure. Experience Requirement: You must possess one year of experience equivalent to the GS-12 grade level. Examples of specialized experience include, but are not limited to: Serving as the sole practitioner in a specialty program and typically provide direct patient care services in the program area; oversees the daily operation of the program, develop policies and procedures for program operation, and prepare reports and statistics; may be responsible for the program's budget, developing and monitoring staff compliance with practice, standards and guidelines on documentation, workload, data entry, ethical practice and service delivery; provides analysis and evaluation of clinical program data and computerized programs to identify system-wide trends and needs to enhance the quality of service. Experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills and judgment, demonstrating progressively more professional competency. In addition to the experience above, you must demonstrate the following Knowledge, Skills and Abilities: Skill in coordinating and implementing one or more specialty program(s), across the facility. Skill in local policy and practice development, procedures, and/or practice guidelines for the program as prescribed by the program handbook or national directive. Skill in organizing work, setting priorities, meeting multiple deadlines, and evaluating assigned program area(s). Ability to collaborate with internal and external partners to further program goals and enhance patient centered care. Ability to provide the full range of supervisory duties including assignment of work to be performed; performance evaluations; and selection of staff, training, and recommendation of awards, advancements, and when appropriate, disciplinary action. Ability to oversee the fiscal matters of the functions supervised (including fund controls, contracts, and equipment expenditures), forecast resource and equipment needs, and administer the allocated budget. Knowledge of organizational structure and impact on program operations Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-13. Physical Requirements: The physical demands of the work are generally minor. The work is primarily sedentary in nature and usually occurs within climate controlled clinical and administrative settings. Use of fingers may be required to operate computers. There may be occasional light lifting/carrying (15 pounds or less) requirements to relocate boxed materials from one area to another, equipment and room set-up, and ambulation related to physical inspections of the facilities. Education IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on 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: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. 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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/. Additional Information Receiving Service Credit or 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. Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process. 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.