Senior Social Worker

Major Duties of the Outpatient Mental Health Senior Social Worker include but are not limited to:

Clinical Responsibilities

• Provides a full range of psychodiagnostics services and uses the most appropriate evidenced-based psychotherapeutic crisis intervention and suicide risk assessment techniques in providing quality care
• Independently conducts psychosocial assessment and develops treatment plans in collaboration with Veteran and the interdisciplinary treatment team.
• Measures outcomes to treatment interventions and monitors treatments offered for efficacy.
• Independently identifies high-risk patients and provides case management services crisis intervention services family conferences and interdisciplinary or BHIP team meetings.
• Maintains complete accurate timely and confidential medical record documentation of patient information.
• Participates on local VISN and/or National councils committees and work groups as designated.
• Routinely consults with multidisciplinary team members and other partnered staff about plan of care for patients.
• Conducts effective brief consultations.
• Routinely provides feedback (verbal and/or written) to administration team members and collaborating staff in response to patient care questions or same day concerns.
• Provides education and informal training to peers and collaborating staff on MH and related issues as well as consultation on tips for successful care management and patient facilitation.
• Networks with a variety of programs both within the health care system and the community (homeless coalition nonprofit agencies addiction treatment organizations housing authority etc.) to facilitate patient care.

• Supervises discipline interns or practicum students in accord with training program policies and accrediting agency requirements.
• Provides staff and student didactic training and consultation as requested in content area of scholarly and/or clinical expertise.
• May supervise or train allied health providers in accord with facility and regulatory standards regarding such training.

• Participates in program evaluation and/or research activities.
• Reviews program analysis provides appropriate assessments of outcomes and make recommendations as needed or upon administrative request.
• Assists in the development and implementation of follow-up systems to track completed tasks or other issues and concerns relating to MH and related program functions.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

• 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 accreditation standards for a masters of social work.
• Licensure: 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. 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:
  
  Senior Social Worker GS-12 Experience/Education: The candidate must have at least two years of experience one 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:
  • (a) 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.
  • (b) Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice.
  • (c) 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.
  • (d) 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.
  • (e) 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: Three or more years post degree work in a clinical mental health setting; specialty trainings in evidenced-based interventions experience working with veteran population
  
  
  Reference: For more information on this qualification standard please visit full performance level of this vacancy is GS 12
  
  Physical Requirements: The physical and mental status of the Senior Social Worker should enable them to perform all their duties under normal and emergent conditions. The evaluation of an individuals ability to perform efficiently and without hazard to self or others will encompass a composite consideration of physical mental and emotional ability as related to realistic requirements for the duties and responsibilities to be assumed.
  Education

  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

  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.