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
• Education: Must 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 the CSWE website to verify if that social work degree meets the accreditation standards for a Master of Social Work
• Licensure: Persons hired or reassigned to social worker positions in the GS-185 series in VHA must be licensed or certified by a state to independently practice social work at the master's degree level
• 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
• English Language Proficiency
• Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. 7403(f)
• Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates
• Supervisory Social Worker, GS-13 Experience and Education
• One year of experience equivalent to the GS-12 grade level
• Experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills and judgment, demonstrating progressively more professional competency
• Candidates 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 social worker program coordinator 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, candidates must demonstrate all of the following Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs): (a) Ability to independently organize work, set priorities, and meet multiple deadlines
• (b) Skill in a range of supervisory duties which includes clinical supervision, consultation, negotiation with other departments and quality improvement.(c) Ability to ensure provision of clinical social work services by supervised social workers
• (d) Ability to delegate authority, manage priorities, coordinate work, and follow up on pending issues to complete duties in an accurate and timely fashion
• (e) Ability to analyze organizational and operational problems, develop and implement solutions that result in efficient operations, and use data effectively to manage workload, quality, performance, and productivity within the service
• (f) Ability to provide staff training and development
• Reference: Former Appendix G39, Social Worker Qualification Standard
• The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-13
• Physical Requirements: The work does not inherently include physical requirements essential for successful job performance that could not otherwise be performed with a workplace accommodation.