Social Worker (Program Coordinator)

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.

NOTE: If social workers covered under the grandfathering provision of the 1991 Federal law regarding licensure or certification of VHA social workers leave the GS0185 social work series, they lose the grandfathering protection. If they choose to return at a later date to the GS-0185 series, they must be licensed or certified to qualify for employment as a social worker.

English Language Proficiency: Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).

Education: 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 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 GS-0185 series in VHA must be licensed or certified by a state to independently practice social work at the master's degree level. Current state requirements may be found by going to http://vaww.va.gov/OHRM/T38Hybrid/.

• Loss of Licensure or Certification: Once licensed or certified, social workers must maintain a full, valid, and unrestricted independent license or certification to remain qualified for employment. Loss of licensure or certification will result in removal from the GS-0185 social worker series and may result in termination of employment.

Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates.

Experience: One year of experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level. Experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills and judgment, demonstrating progressively more professional competency. Candidate 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.

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:

• Knowledge of program coordination and administration which includes consultation, negotiation, and monitoring.
• Knowledge and ability to write policies, procedures, and/or practice guidelines for the program
• Ability to supervise multidisciplinary staff assigned to the program.
• Skill in organizing work, setting priorities, meeting multiple deadlines, and evaluating assigned program area(s).
• Ability to provide training, orientation, and guidance within clinical practice.

Licensure/Certification: Individuals assigned as social worker program coordinator must be licensed or certified 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.

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-12.

References: VA Handbook 5005/120 Part II Appendix G39.

Physical Requirements: The work is sometimes sedentary. Typically, the employee will sit to perform administrative work. However, other position duties include but are not limited to, long periods of walking; standing; bending; crouching, reaching, and lifting of a variety of moderately heavy items, carrying of light items such as papers, books, small parts; or driving an automobile, etc. No special physical demands are required to perform the work.