Senior Social Worker

We're Looking for a skilled Senior Social Worker in the Veterans Health Administration based in Coatesville, Pennsylvania. Read through the job description to see if it matches your current experience.

The Successful Applicant

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: Noncitizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. Education. Have a masters 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 masters degree in social work. Verification of the degree can be made by going to http://www.cswe.org/Accreditation 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 GS0185 series in VHA must be licensed or certified by a state to independently practice social work at the masters degree level. Current state requirements may be found on the OHRM website. English Language Proficiency. Social workers must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005 Part II chapter 3 section A paragraph 3j this part Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for employment the following criteria must be met. Grade Requirements: You may qualify based on your experience or education as described below: GS12 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 GS11 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 postmasters 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. Example experience: The duties of a GS11 include but are not limited to assessing and documenting identified behaviors or symptoms of abuse neglect exploitation and/or intimate partner violence use of clinical social work skills and knowledge to maintain Veteran privacy and confidentiality per policies handbooks or directives and acts as an advocate with appropriate VA and community service providers and agencies when it serves the best interest of the Veteran and family members/caregiver. Incumbent independently assesses the psychosocial functioning and needs of Veterans and their family members identifying the Veterans strengths weaknesses coping skills and psychosocial acuity. 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:(a) 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.(b) Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice.(c) 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.(d) 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.(e) 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. Additionally you will be rated on the following Knowledge Skills and Abilities: Please make sure that each is addressed in your application package. 1. Knowledge of program coordination and administration which includes consultation negotiation and monitoring. 2. Knowledge and ability to write policies procedures and/or practice guidelines for the program. 3. Ability to supervise multidisciplinary staff assigned to the program. 4. Skill in organizing work setting priorities meeting multiple deadlines and evaluating assigned program area(s). 5. Ability to provide training orientation and guidance within clinical practice. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 3540 hours of work per week. Parttime experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. Reference: VA Regulations specifically VA Handbook 5005 Part II Appendix 39 Social Worker Job Qualification Standard. Physical Requirements: The position is a combination of activity and sitting with movement in between. Bending walking and stooping are required. The position requires the employee to work at the Health Care Clinic or other facility building. The position requires the ability to read printed material and distinguish colors such as reading and computer screens the ability to accurately perceive depth so as to move around work space safely to appropriately make contact with patients and staff and the ability to meet visual requirements to work up close to a computer screen and talk on the telephone. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS12. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS12 to GS12.

What’s on Offer

The role offers excellent opportunities for top performers to further develop their competencies as a social worker and improving the lives of people.