Social Worker Associate

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

The Successful Applicant

To qualify for this position applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement 03/04/2022. TimeInGrade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet timeingrade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS06. The grade may have been in any occupation but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF50 that shows your timeingrade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF50 has an effective date within the past year it may not clearly demonstrate you possess oneyear timeingrade as required by the announcement. In this instance you must provide an additional SF50 that clearly demonstrates oneyear timeingrade. Note: TimeInGrade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education s described below: Minimum Requirement: The following are minimum requirements for appointment as a Social Work Associate in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) which all applicants must met. Specialized Experience: You must have one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower (GS06) level in the normal line of progression. Specialized experience is experience in a program of direct social welfare services that required the application of program policy and operations knowledge in providing social welfare services and/or assisting social workers. (This experience must be supported by your resume to be creditable.) OR Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have one full academic year of graduate study in social sciences. NOTE: One year of fulltime graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent 1 year of fulltime study. If that information cannot be obtained from the school 18 semester hours should be considered as satisfying the 1 year of fulltime study requirement. Parttime graduate education is creditable in accordance with its relationship to a year of fulltime study at the school attended. (UNOFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED: If you do not submit your transcript your application will not be reviewed.) OR Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level . You must have a combination of specialized experience and education beyond 6 months of graduate study in social sciences. (UNOFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED: If you do not submit your transcript your application will not be reviewed.) AND ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY: In accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7402(d) No person shall serve in direct patient care positions unless they are proficient in basic written and spoken English. You must be proficient in basic written and spoken English in order to meet the requirements of this position. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Communication: Expresses information (for example ideas or facts) to individuals or groups effectively taking into account the audience and nature of the information (for example technical sensitive controversial) makes clear and convincing presentations listens to others attends to nonverbal cues and responds appropriately. Interpersonal Effectiveness: Demonstrates mastery of interpersonal interaction encourages diversity develops collaborative relationships and contributes to a culture of civility and trust. Partnering: Develops networks and builds alliances collaborates across boundaries to build strategic relationships and achieve common goals. Veteran and Customer Focus: Understands the VAs mission and uses this knowledge to guide actions provides outstanding customer service and represents the organization effectively. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g. Peace Corps AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g. professional philanthropic religions spiritual community student social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies knowledge and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience including volunteer experience. 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. Physical Requirements: The work is primarily sedentary and nonstrenuous and is carried out within the confines of the office/work space provided in the community or in VAMC /CBOCS. Some walking climbing stairs standing and handling and carrying of light objects is required. No special physical demands are required to perform the work. A significant amount of walking throughout the Medical Center and in the community is required for facetoface contact with patients family members and medical center staff and community agency staff.For more information on these qualification standards please visit the United States Office of Personnel Managements website at https://www.opm.gov/policydataoversight/classificationqualifications/generalschedulequalificationstandards/.

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.