Social Worker (Program Coordinator)

Clinical Functions

• Posses an advanced level of skill and expertise to establish and maintain an effective therapeutic relationship with Veterans and/or their families caregiver or survivors.
• Works independently with Veterans and their families who are experiencing a wide range of complicated medical psychiatric emotional behavioral and psychosocial problems using his/her education training clinical experience VA policies and accreditation standards in administering direct services.
• Demonstrate use of advanced skills and sophisticated knowledge of Veteran treatment and disposition in accordance with criteria for care planning across the Veteran care continuum and in a variety of clinical settings and levels of care.
• Demonstrate an ability to complete thorough assessments to determine the psychosocial functioning and needs of Veterans and/or their families caregivers or survivors.
• Experience in making rapid assessments and developing crisis management plans for deferral of or admission or to mental health inpatient programs.
• Provides mentorship and clinical supervision to enrich social work knowledge and skills to competently provide quality care and improved clinical outcomes.

• Attend all appropriate staff meetings.
• Collaborate in performance improvement processes and comply with performance measures as required by the VA for their specific population and/or program.
• Participate in the monthly Peer Review process.
• Perform 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.
• Must pass pre-employment physical evaluation.
• 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: 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: 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: Social Worker (Program Coordinator) GS-12
  
  Experience and Education: One year of experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level. Experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills and judgment demonstrating progressively more professional competency. Candidate may have certification or other post-masters degree training from a nationally recognized professional organization or university that includes a defined curriculum/course of study and internship or equivalent supervised professional experience.
  
  Licensure/Certification: Individuals assigned as social worker program coordinator must be licensed or certified at the advanced practice level and must be able to provide supervision for licensure.
  
  Demonstrated Knowledge Skills and Abilities: In addition to the experience above the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:
  (a) Knowledge of program coordination and administration which includes consultation negotiation and monitoring.
  (b) Knowledge and ability to write policies procedures and/or practice guidelines for the program.
  (c) Ability to supervise multidisciplinary staff assigned to the program.
  (d) Skill in organizing work setting priorities meeting multiple deadlines and evaluating assigned program area(s).
  (e) Ability to provide training orientation and guidance within clinical practice.
  
  
  Preferred Experience: Demonstrate understanding of military culture and the unique needs of service members and Veterans.
  
  Reference: For more information on this qualification standard please visit full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the GS-12.
  
  Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019 Employee Occupational Health Services.
  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

  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.