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Senior Social Worker (Suicide Prevention)

Veterans Health Administration

Job Location:

El Paso, TX - USA

Yearly Salary: USD 97987 - 97987

Posted: 6 October 2026 (19 days ago)

Application Deadline: 3 January 2027

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.

Duties

Requirements

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.
Must have a valid drivers license
Must pass a pre-placement examination to operate a government vehicle.
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.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position you will be required to serve a 1 or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public determining if your employment advances the public interest we may consider:

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.

Upon completion of your trial period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification in writing that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

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: You must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. 7403(f)
Education: You must possess 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. Note: A doctoral degree in Social Work may NOT be substituted for the masters degree in Social Work.
Independent License or Certification* - You must be licensed or certified by a state to independently practice social work at the masters degree level.

May 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

Advanced Practice Licensure Requirement: You 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 must be able to provide supervision for licensure.

Advanced practice levelsocial workers must be licensed or certified by a state at the advanced practice level which includes 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. All states except California use a series of licensure exams administered by the ASWB. Information can be found at Requirement: You must possess 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. Examples of specialized experience include but are not limited to: assessing and documenting identified behaviors or symptoms of abuse neglect exploitation and/or intimate partner violence; use of clinical social work skills; maintaining patient privacy and confidentiality per policies handbooks or directives; acting as an advocate with appropriate community service providers and agencies when it serves the best interest of the patient and family members/caregiver; independently assessing the psychosocial functioning and needs of patients and their family members identifying the patients strengths weaknesses coping skills and psychosocial acuity. Applicable experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills and judgment.

In addition to the experience above you must demonstrate the following Knowledge Skills and Abilities:

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.

Preferred Experience:

Experience with evidence based treatment
Experience working with veterans in crisis and conducting risk assessments
At least one year Experience with developing and implementing large scale outreach events
A minimum of 1 year experience working with a VA suicide prevention program and VHA policies and directives
Experience completing Issue Briefs At least 1 year experience writing press releases and very comfortable providing media interviews

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard please visit actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-12

Physical Requirements:
Individuals who are required to operate a government owned or leased vehicle to successfully carry out their assigned duties must be medically cleared prior to appointment. Assessment must be made for any acute or chronic medical/physical condition or medication use which interferes with the ability operate the appropriate Government-owned or -leased vehicle safely and without undue risk to themselves or others. The following requirements must be met:

distant vision 20/40 in one eye with or without correction
field of vision 70 degrees
ability to distinguish red green and amber
whispered voice at five feet or average hearing loss of not greater than 40 dbs. atand 2000 Hz.

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: must possess 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. Note: A doctoral degree in Social Work may NOT be substituted for the masters degree in Social Work.

NOTE: If your school has changed names or is no longer in existence you must provide this information in your application.
NOTE: If your school was accredited by CSWE at the time of graduation but is no longer listed on the CSWE website you must provide documentation of accreditation with your application packet.

Duties Continued:

In addition the Suicide Prevention Coordinator is an integral part of the Suicide
Prevention Team and provides the following functions:

Responds to consults from the National Suicide Prevention Hotline and coordinates the follow-up care for these veterans and families per the required timeframes delineated in VHA Directive 1503 (2) Operations of the Veterans Crisis Line Center.
Reviews all veterans whose charts have been flagged due to being at risk for suicide.
Assures that all veterans on the facility tracking list are being followed closely by the appropriate provider on a regular basis as determined by the coordinator and the provider.
Works with community resources such as VSOs and other community groups to assure that they are aware of how to recognize Veterans at risk for suicide and their options for getting these Veterans assistance.
Develops and implements an ongoing education plan for providers veterans families and members of the community on risk factors and warning signs for suicide and treatment options.
Assures that all of these veterans have a 24-hour resource number to call and ways to get assistance if an immediate crisis should occur.
Assists with the assessment and case coordination of Veterans who present for same day behavioral health services as needed or assigned. This care coordination can include and is not limited to suicide risk evaluations provision of
VA/community resources submitting consults for VA care and psychiatric hospitalization.
Provides referrals to VA medical and Behavioral health treatment and to other VA services including VA benefits as well as community-based social services or other non-VA entitlement programs.
Assesses high risk factors acuity and the need for services. The Suicide Prevention Coordinator has the ability to serve veterans who tend to have frequent and severe crises or an inadequate community support network those that frequently fail to adhere to instructions and treatment or have significant deficits in coping and require continuing professional psychosocial support.
Participates in the assignment of veterans to treatment teams and programs.
Consults with other specialists in planning treatment for veterans and with co-morbidities.
Develops working relationships with other organizations having responsibility for the same patient population. Maintains a current and productive network of referral resources.
Monitors veterans progress and maintains comprehensive documentation ensures expert diagnosis and treatment of clinical disorders and shows competent discretion in decision to adjust treatment.
Makes recommendations for and changes to treatment plans with coordination from other providers and programs.
Provides Direct Clinical Care using the full range of psychotherapy services including individual group and couples treatment interventions biopsychosocial assessments development of treatment plans and other evidence-based practices.
Provides orientation and on-going training for interdisciplinary team members and conducts staff development programs for Behavioral Health Service and takes responsibility for providing opportunities to help staff update their behavioral health professional practice skills and acquire new knowledge in contemporary treatment modalities.
Evaluates his/her practice on an on-going basis through participation in professional peer review case conference or other organized means. Is active in and accepts responsibility for the development and maintenance of professional standards of treatment.
Serves as a mentor to other Social Workers particularly those at the entry level and to Social Work graduate students.
Is viewed by Social Workers and Behavioral Health staff as a senior clinician with advanced practice skills and expertise.

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.

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.

Required Experience:

Senior IC

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