Senior Social Worker Counselor
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Job Location:
Kansas City, KS - USA
Yearly Salary:
$ 111521 - 144981
Posted on:
4 days ago
Vacancies:
1 Vacancy
Job Summary
Summary
This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP) a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific individual eligibility requirements in accordance with VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Program Approval award amount (up to $200000) and eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after complete review of the EDRP application.
Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Direct Service Provision: Independently implement professional clinical practice applications in the provision of readjustment counseling to individuals couples families and groups. Risk Assessment and Crisis Intervention: Provides consultation and associated support for staff developing crisis intervention strategies which includes assessment safety planning and complex treatment planning using independent clinical judgment using family systems theory/therapy. Care Coordination: Communicates routinely with inter-professional team members and leadership to communicate about program and patient issues for in-depth problem solving while consistently modeling ethical and professional behaviors and standards to include multicultural awareness. Serves on committees work groups and task forces at the facility Medical Center and Zone District or national level or in the community as deemed appropriate by the Vet Center Director. Outreach: Acts as clinical consultant to the Vet Center outreach workers to improve their sensitivity to clinical indicators and basic interviewing questions to expedite the transition of prospective clients contacted on outreach to actual Vet Center readjustment counseling clients. Actively Coordinates with Vet Center Outreach Specialists to ensure seamless referral of individuals engaged in the community at outreach events. Documentation/Administrative Responsibilities/Consultation: Actively participate in one-to-one clinical and administrative oversight during administrative and clinical staff meetings as directed by the Vet Center Director. Documents clinical interactions and services delivered as required by policy. Screening and Assessment: Works directly with eligible individuals to establish a therapeutic relationship sufficient for completing all required readjustment counseling intake procedures to include an assessment of risk for self-harm and psychosocial stressors. Counseling Planning/Goal Setting: Based on the outcome of the intake will develop and periodically update an individualized readjustment counseling service plan that reflects a course of therapeutic and psychosocial interventions inclusive of outcome measurements. Clinical Supervision Consultation Training Review and Evaluation: Provides clinical consultation services to other staff members with clinical service responsibilities under the supervision of the Vet Center Director. The scope of clinical consultation services will include all aspects of direct readjustment counseling service such as advising on the clinical assessment service planning and case coordination with community providers when the individuals needs are beyond the scope of services available at a Vet Center. Will provide clinical consultation and supervision to meet the requirements for independent licensure with special attention to providing to unlicensed staff/trainees systematic clinical supervision towards licensure. Will provide clinical oversight (chart auditing etc) as outlined by policy. Team cohesion and coordination: Actively participate in staff meetings designed to promote team building and staff development. Other Duties: May perform other duties as assigned as appropriate for the grade and assignment and which are within the scope of practice
Duties include but are not limited to:
Work Schedule: Monday-Friday; 8:00a-4:30p; Some nights and weekends required bases on the needs of the Vet center.
Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not authorized.
Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not authorized.
EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more
Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave 13 days of sick leave 11 paid Federal holidays per year)
Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual based on prior work experience or military service experience.
Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth adoption or foster care placement of a child.
Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment full time employees with a total family income below $144000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66.
Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA.
Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement).
Telework: Not available.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 86327-A
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized.
Conditions of employment
- You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
- Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
- Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
- Subject to background/security investigation.
- Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements ( Effective May 7 2025 drivers licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
- Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
- Complete all application requirements detailed in the Required Documents section of this announcement.
- your performance and conduct;
- the needs and interests of the agency;
- whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
- whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.
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.
- English Language Proficiency: Must be proficient in both spoken and written English in accordance with VA policy.
- Education: Must 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 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 masters degree level.Current state requirements may be found on the OHRM website.
Senior Social Worker GS-12
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 GS-11 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 post-masters 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.
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.
ASWB Examination: Must have passed the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) advanced generalist or clinical examination unless your advanced practice license was granted prior to the state administering the ASWB or your licensure was obtained in the state of California and you have a CA advanced practice licensure
Demonstrated Knowledge Skills and Abilities. In addition to the experience above candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:
- 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.
- Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
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. A pre-placement exam is not required.
NOTE: This position is multi-disciplinary and can be filled by: Senior Social Worker & License Professional Mental Health Counselor. Each discipline is announced separately and applicants must apply to the announcement for which they are qualified.
Education
IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application.
Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges universities schools or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information visit:
Additional information
Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.
During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.
This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.
This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status.
VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38 and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority.
If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.
Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicants criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations Security and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.
Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government passionate about the ideals of our American republic and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
Required Experience:
Senior IC
Key Skills
- Motivational Interviewing
- Acute Care
- Crisis Intervention
- Behavioral Health
- Intake Experience
- Hospice Care
- Case Management
- Home Care
- Child Welfare
- Experience with Children
- Social Work
- Addiction Counseling
