Senior Social Worker

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

The Senior Social Worker (SSW) maintains a clinical caseload and provides individual group and family counseling within their scope of practice. The candidate participates in preventive services interdisciplinary treatment planning and outreach activities. The SSW is responsible for coordinating appropriate care for Veterans entering treatment and managing ongoing caseload responsibilities.

Duties include but are limited to:

• Provides comprehensive clinical assessments diagnostic impressions within licensure scope and evaluation of complex mental health presentations including co-occurring substance use medical and psychiatric conditions.
• Provides education to Veterans families and significant others on mental health conditions and treatment options.
• Provides individual family conjoint and group counseling within LPMHC scope of practice.
• Delivers evidence-based recovery-oriented interventions appropriate to licensure and privileging.
• Provides crisis intervention risk assessment safety planning stabilization and follow-up.
• Provides consultation to AVAHCS staff and community providers based on clinical assessment and treatment planning.
• Develops implements and documents person-centered individualized treatment plans.
• Exercises independent clinical judgment regarding treatment decisions and documentation.
• Adheres to operational policies clinical practice guidelines and interdisciplinary team procedures.
• Coordinates care with other VA programs and external agencies as clinically appropriate

• 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 identification 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.

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: Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. 7403(f).
• Education: 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 that the social work degree meets the 3 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 masters degree level. Current state requirements may be found by going to qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria).
  
  Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for employment the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates: (KSAs must be clearly reflected in resume under description of duties in order to be found qualified for this position/grade level).
  
  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.
  Demonstrated Knowledge Skills and Abilities: In addition to the experience above candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:
  (1) 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.
  (2) Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice.
  (3) 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.
  (4) 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.
  (5) 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.
  
  Preferred Experience:
  • Treatment of Veterans and/or VA experience
  • 2-years experience providing psychotherapy and service related to alcohol and/or substance use
  • Experience with couples and family therapy
  Reference: For more information on this qualification standard please visit full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12.
  
  Physical Requirements: Physical aspects associated with work required of this assignment are typical for the occupation see Duties section for essential job duties of the position. May require standing lifting carrying sitting stooping bending puling and pushing. May be required to wear personal protective equipment and undergo annual TB screening or testing as conditions of employment.
  
  Work Environment: Work is performed in an office/clinic setting with minimal risks that requires normal safety precautions; the area is adequately lighted heated and ventilated. However the work environment requires someone with the ability to handle several tasks at once in sometimes stressful situations.
  Additional information

  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.

  Review our 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.