Social Services Assistant

We're Looking for a skilled Social Services Assistant in the Veterans Health Administration based in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Read through the job description to see if it matches your current experience.

The Successful Applicant

To qualify for this position facility applicants must meet all requirements within 15 days of the closing date of the announcement. Nonfacility applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement 01/11/2022. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Basic Individual Occupational Requirement: Specialized Experience Positions at the GS4 grade level and above: Examples of qualifying specialized experience include:A. Group leader in community or residential recreation or training programs.B. Counselor in a youth summer camp.C. Instructor in a training program for the development of job skills.D. Work that demonstrated the ability to be responsible for and to lead and train members of a job crew.E. Group activities leader in the Armed Services.F. Unit leadermonitorproctor for a dormitory group in a boarding school or other residential facility.G. Aid or assistant to professional or specialist staff in such fields as personnel (private or government) employment guidance in a vocational or academic institution social service or manpower development.H. Aid or assist to professional or associate staff engaged in work of a social services nature in private public welfare government program or community organizations or in voluntary activities.I. Aid or assistant to professional or specialist staff working with individuals who are addicted to or abuse alcohol and/or drugs. OR Education GS4 grade level: Successful completion of 2 years of study that (a) included at least 12 semester hours of subjects directly related to the work of the position or (b) was supplemented by experience in activities that afforded the opportunity to acquire and demonstrate the skills required by the position. The supplementary experience may have been gained for example in parttime or summer employment in volunteer social welfare or recreation programs or in community organizations. Transcripts Required. In addition to the basic requirement as stated above the following is the experience or education requirement to qualify for this position at the GS5 grade level. Specialized Experience GS5: One (1) full year of specialized experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge skill and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the Social Services Assistant position and that is in or related to the work of the position to be filled. To be creditable this experience must have been equivalent to at least the GS4 level in federal service to qualify at the GS5 grade level. Specialized experience for this position would consist of: experience in positions which required operating a computers and security systems working knowledge of fire safety security alarms work order requests keys and locks and machine repair ability to interact and relate with people of varied educational and professional backgrounds of many cultural and racial groups and of many socioeconomic levels experience in positions that required customer service skills such as a receptionist receiving telephone calls routing calls to appropriate staff greeting the customers etc. and skill in oral and written communication and interpersonal relations to appropriately and courteously relate to internal and external customers. OR Substitute of Education for Experience GS5 grade level: Successful completion of a full 4year course of study leading to a bachelors degree that (a) included at least 24 semester hours in any combination of subjects directly related to the work of the position (b) included a major in social behavior human behavior or health care or (c) was supplemented by special experience as described above for GS4 education. Transcripts Required. Proficiency Requirement: In addition to meeting experience and/or education requirements applicants for this position must show possession of the following skill. Ability to type 40 words per minute. Applicants may meet this requirement by passing the appropriate performance test presenting a certificate of proficiency from a school or other organization authorized to issue such certificates by the Office of Personnel Management local office or by selfcertifying their proficiency. Performance test results and certificates of proficiency are acceptable for 3 years. Agencies may verify proficiency skills of selfcertified applicants by administering the appropriate performance test. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:CommunicationsComputer SkillsCustomer ServicePersonnel Security and Safety 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 in an office environment although some slight physical effort may be required. The incumbent must engage in walking possibly climbing stairs bending lifting and assisting Veterans and visitors. Work Environment: The work is performed in a temperature and humiditycontrolled environment work areas are adequately lighted heated and ventilated. Incumbent may be required to interface with community local law enforcement paramedics etc. The incumbent will be expected to assume an irregular tour of duty which may include oncall coverage evenings weekends and holiday hours. 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.