Senior Social Worker

VA Careers - Social Work: Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

The Community Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC) GS-12 Senior Social Worker is the sole social worker and mental health provider at a remote satellite clinic. At this clinic location the social worker functions without access to on-site supervision or consultation. The Senior Social Worker will utilize advanced knowledge and mastery of psychotherapy and case management to provide mental health services to the rural Veteran population enrolled and treated at the satellite clinic. Clinical services include provision of high-quality individual and group psychotherapy psychosocial assessment advocacy and coordination of linkages to other appropriate VA or community service providers/agencies as needed by the Veteran. This is accomplished in collaboration with other members of the Mental Health Division or other interdisciplinary treatment teams as appropriate. Additionally telemental health (TMH) and the use of clinical video teleconferencing (CVT) approaches may be used to provide clinical care.

Specific duties of this position include but are not limited to:

• Screening/Assessment - The Senior Social Worker will use advanced knowledge and mastery of theories of mental illness and specialized treatment to independently develop a diagnosis and treatment plan. The goal of the diagnosis and treatment plan is to highlight the Veterans strengths limitations and internal/external supports and service needs in order to optimize the Veterans functional status.
• Treatment Planning/Goal Setting - Utilizing advanced knowledge and mastery the Senior Social Worker will develop or contribute to the development of the mental health treatment plan setting achievable treatment goals with the Veteran/family and with the interdisciplinary treatment team.
• Referral to Service Providers - Throughout the course of treatment the Senior Social Worker is the specialist on VA and/or community resources. The Senior Social Worker will collaborate with other service providers in reassessing the Veterans needs.
• Resource Usage/Development - The Senior Social Worker is responsible for using current social work resources and community social service programs and enhancing the content to the benefit of Veterans.
• Advocacy - The Senior Social Worker understands the challenges of bureaucracy and will act as an advocate when it serves the best interest of the Veteran/family.
• Crisis Intervention - The Senior Social Worker is experienced in making rapid assessments and developing crisis management plans for various types of crisis including housing and financial emergencies psychiatric relapse potential suicide and other high-risk behaviors/situations. The Senior Social Worker will assess for suicide and self-harm and provide appropriate intervention including but not limited to safety planning.
• Coordination of Care - The Senior Social Worker will review the progress notes from the other providers to accurately determine the strengths limitations and needs of each Veteran being referred for mental health services.
• Case Management - The Senior Social Worker will provide comprehensive advanced level case management services.

• 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.
• Must pass pre-employment physical evaluation/examination.
• 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. In accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7402(d) no person shall serve in direct patient care positions unless they are proficient in basic written and spoken English.
• 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. Verification of the degree can be made by going to to verify that the social work degree meets the accreditation standards for a Master of Social Work.
• Licensed or certified by a state to independently practice social work 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.

• 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:
  • 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