Senior Social Worker

This Senior Social Worker position is located in the Mental Health Service Line Mental Health Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program (MH-RRTP) as a mental health provider with expertise in the treatment of substance use disorders and mental health conditions.

This position reports administratively and clinically to the Chief of MH-RRTP/SUDP NWI Health Care System. The incumbent plays an active role on MH-RRTP team which meets daily to review and discuss clinical and administrative issues within the residential program. The health care and psychosocial needs of this population are highly complex and require a significant degree of independence case management clinical oversight and creative problem solving. The incumbent is accountable for clinical program effectiveness and modification of service patterns in close collaboration with the Chief of MH-RRTP.

The incumbent closely collaborates with the MH-RRTP staff including mental health clinical nurses and advanced practice registered nurses nursing managers social workers licensed professional counselors pharmacists psychiatrists psychologists and medical support assistants to coordinate patient care. The incumbent is the point of contact for MH-RRTP admission screening and coordination.

Major duties include but are not limited to the following:

• Provides services to Veterans with substance use and other mental health conditions needing specialized services through the provision of psychotherapy using the most appropriate evidence-based modalities.
• Exercises mature and professional judgment and flexible use of a wide range of clinical skills and actively participates in program planning in the identification of program needs and utilizing outcome evaluations to improve treatment services and to design system changes. The incumbent directly contributes to stronger treatment engagement and improved Veteran experience.
• Facilitates Veterans timely referral to specialty mental health or substance abuse treatment as appropriate. Improves coordination across all phases of care to enhance outcomes in MH-RRTP by ensuring timely communication among disciplines reducing delays from screening to admission supporting solid discharge planning and ensuring seamless transitions throughout the care continuum. The incumbent is the point of contact for MH-RRTP admission consults and participate all necessary local and VISN-level meetings to perform admission consultation tasks in a timely and efficient manner.
  • Provides clinical and administrative duties in support of MH-RRTP service including:
  • Scheduling of Veterans and related issues
  • Assisting with timely and efficient Veterans admission and discharge
  • Initiating and returning Veterans phone calls
  • Being responsible for timely completion of all clinical charting and documentation required by the medical center or healthcare system as appropriate.
  • Involvement in program evaluation and quality assurance activities.
  • Providing other clinical and administrative support in MH-RRTP as needed.

• 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.

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: Social workers must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005 Part II chapter 3 section A paragraph 3j this part.
• 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: 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 Determinations:Senior Social Worker GS-12:
  • Experience and 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.
    • Applicants must meet the requirements for providing supervision in the state where they are licensed at the advanced practice level and should list these qualifications within the assessment narrative and their resume. Documentation is required if part of your states requirements for providing supervision for licensure is beyond your licensure only (example: certification of continuing education credits).
  • Demonstrated Knowledge Skills and Abilities: In addition to the experience above the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs (submission of a document with written demonstration of KSAs is highly recommended with application).
    • 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.
  All qualifying experience you possess must be clearly described in your application package. We will not make assumptions when reviewing applications. Failure to demonstrate your experience in your resume may result in disqualification. It is strongly recommended that you write to each KSA in your application package.
  
  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.
  
  Reference: For more information on this qualification standard please visit Requirements: You will be asked to participate in a pre-employment examination or evaluation as part of the pre-employment process for this position. Questions about physical demands or environmental factors may be addressed at the time of evaluation or examination
  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.
  
  The VA Midwest Health Care Network advocates for a Whole Health System of care in each of the Medical Centers. This is an approach to healthcare that empowers and equips people to take charge of their health and well-being and live their lives to the fullest. As an employee operating in a Whole Health System of care you will operate in a model with three core elements seeking to create a personalized health plan for each Veteran. This is done in the context of healing relationships and healing environments and a connection back to the Veterans community. This aligns with the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Mission Statement to Honor Americas Veterans by providing exceptional health care that improves their health and well-being.

  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.

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  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.