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 $200,000) 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. Responsibilities Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Major duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to: Screening/Assessment - Develops an assessment of the Veteran in collaboration with the interdisciplinary treatment team, the Veteran, family members and significant others. Make Psychosocial /Psychiatric Diagnoses - Independently evaluates the Veteran's presenting problems, including their reaction and ability to manage them, and arrives at a reasoned conclusion. Treatment Planning/Goal Setting - Responsible for developing the treatment plan and setting achievable treatment goals with the Veteran/family. Referral to service providers - Throughout the course of treatment the social worker is the subject matter expert on VA and/or community resources; Collaborates with other service providers in reassessing the veteran's needs. Resource Usage/Development - Responsible for using the current social work resource file of VA and community social service programs and enhancing the content to the benefit of veterans; Refers the veteran to needed services. Advocacy - Understands the intimidation of bureaucracy and will act as an advocate when it serves the best interest of the veteran/family. When appropriate and feasible, social worker will educate and encourage the veteran/family to advocate on own behalf, thus fostering a sense of independence and empowerment. Crisis Intervention - Experienced in making rapid assessments and developing crisis management plans for admission to mental health inpatient programs. Social worker has access to multiple resource directories in addition to previously developed resources to meet the demands of a crisis. Education/Health promotion and prevention - Provides education related to VA and community resources, entitlements, Advance Directives/Living Will and will refer Veterans/families to the appropriate interdisciplinary team member for identified health education needs. Coordination of non-institutional and institutional services - Educates the Veteran, their families, and the team of all the options available to them and will collaborate with the Veteran and family on the preferred option. Supportive counseling - Provides supportive counseling, as needed, to Veterans and their caregivers who the purpose of such counseling is to deal with the psychosocial impact of coping with chronic/disabling illness(es). Individual, and group therapy - Individual psychotherapy-anger management, sexual abuse in childhood and adulthood, within and outside the military; personality disorders; PTSD; Schizophrenia and mood disorders using various therapeutic venues including cognitive behavior therapy, psychodynamic therapies, systems, reality therapies, narrative techniques, and structural techniques. Group Therapy-dynamic, reality, systems dealing with anger management, personality disorders, SUD, and PTSD. Administrative responsibilities - Enters all Veteran/family contacts in the electronic record using appropriate formats and templates. Work Schedule: Full-time; Monday - Friday; 07:30am-4:00pm Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact Hannah.Neilson@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more EDRP Assignment code: B3 Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade). Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year) Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior [work experience] or military service experience. Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child. Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment, full time employees with a total family income below $144,000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66. Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement) Telework: Not authorized Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 000000 Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required 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. Subject to background/security investigation. May be subject to satisfactory completion of our credentialing process. Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification 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 interest. In 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 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. Education: Have a master's 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 master's degree in social work. Verification of the degree can be made by going to the CSWE website to verify if that social work degree meets the accreditation standards for a Master of Social Work. Licensure: Persons hired or reassigned to social worker positions in the GS-185 series in VHA must be licensed or certified by a state to independently practice social work at the master's degree level. Current state requirements may be found on the OHRM website. Exception. VHA may waive the licensure or certification requirement for persons who are otherwise qualified, pending completion of state prerequisites for licensure/certification examinations. This exception only applies at the GS-9 grade level. For the GS-11 grade level and above, the candidate must be licensed or certified. At the time of appointment, the supervisor, chief social work, or social work executive will provide the unlicensed/uncertified social worker with the written requirements for licensure or certification, including the time by which the license or certification must be obtained and the consequences for not becoming licensed or certified by the deadline. English Language Proficiency: Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f). See education for additional Information. 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: GS-09 Social Worker - Knowledge, Skills and Abilities: In addition to meeting the basic requirements, to qualify for the GS-09, you must demonstrate the following Knowledge, Skills and Abilities: Ability to utilize counseling skills when working with Veterans and family members. Ability to assess the psychosocial functioning and needs of Veterans and their family members, and to formulate and implement a treatment plan, identifying the Veterans problems, strengths, weaknesses, coping skills, and assistance needed. Ability to implement treatment modalities in working with individuals, families, and groups to achieve treatment goals. This requires judgment and skill in utilizing supportive, problem solving, or crisis intervention techniques. Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships and communicate with clients, staff, and representatives of community agencies. Fundamental knowledge of medical and mental health diagnoses, disabilities, and treatment procedures. This includes acute, chronic, and traumatic illnesses/injuries; common medications and their effects/side effects; and medical terminology. GS-11 Social Worker Licensure Requirement: You must be licensed or certified by a state to independently practice social work at the master's degree level. Experience or Education Requirement: In addition to meeting the basic requirements, to qualify for the GS-11, you must possess a minimum of one year of post-MSW experience equivalent to the GS-9 grade level in the field of health care or other social work-related settings, (VA or non- VA experience) and licensure or certification in a state at the independent practice level. Examples of specialized experience include but are not limited to: Working under close supervision in program areas that do not require specialized knowledge or experience. Identifying behaviors or symptoms of abuse, neglect or exploitation; providing education on advance directives and advanced care planning; providing social work case management; acting as an patient/family member/caregiver advocate with community service providers/agencies; assessing the psychosocial functioning and needs of patients and their family members. In collaboration with the patient, family, and interdisciplinary treatment teams, identifying strengths, weaknesses, coping skills and psychosocial acuity. Maintaining a current network of internal and external resources to educate the patient and/or family members/caregivers and assist with appropriate referrals. OR a doctoral degree in social work from a school of social work may be substituted for the required one year of professional social work experience in a clinical setting. AND In addition to the experience above, you must demonstrate the following Knowledge, Skills and Abilities: Knowledge of community resources, how to make appropriate referrals to community and other governmental agencies for services, and ability to coordinate services Skill in independently conducting psychosocial assessments and treatment interventions to a wide variety of individuals from various socio-economic, educational, and other backgrounds. Knowledge of medical and mental health diagnoses, disabilities and treatment procedures (i.e. acute, chronic and traumatic illnesses/injuries, common medications and their effects/side effects, and medical terminology) to formulate a treatment plan. Skill in independently implementing different treatment modalities in working with individuals, families, and groups who are experiencing a variety of psychiatric, medical, and social problems to achieve treatment goals. Ability to provide consultation services to new social workers, social work graduate students, and other staff about the psychosocial needs of patients and the impact of psychosocial problems on health care and compliance with treatment. Preferred Experience: 1) History of providing evidence based therapy to adults with mood disorders, history of trauma, substance abuse and interpersonal struggles. 2) Experience providing time-limited treatment. 3) Experience working with interdisciplinary team of practitioners. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-11. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-9 to GS-11. Physical Requirements and Work Environment: No special physical qualifications are required to perform the work. The work requires the ability to move around the office and facility. The work is performed in offices and meeting rooms: Education A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on 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: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. 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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/. Grandfathering Provision: The following is the standard grandfathering policy for all title 38 hybrid qualification standards. Please carefully review the qualification standard to determine the specific education and/or licensure/certification/registration requirements that apply to this occupation. All persons employed in VHA in this occupation on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series and grade held, including positive education and licensure or certification that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation. For employees who do not meet all of the basic requirements in this standard, but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it, the following provisions apply: Such employees in an occupation that requires a licensure or certification, may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance (journey) level, or changed to lower grade within the occupation, but may not be promoted beyond the journey level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions. Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed, on a temporary or permanent basis, until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard. Employees initially grandfathered into this occupation, who subsequently obtain additional education and/or licensure/certification/registration that meet all of the basic requirements of this qualification standard must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation. If an employee who was retained in an occupation listed in 38 U.S.C. § 7401(3) under this provision leaves that occupation, the employee loses protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry to the occupation. NOTIFICATIONS: Due to a critical staffing shortage, 38 U.S.C. § 7412 waives the requirement to apply Veterans' preference for this job announcement. This position is covered by a special rate or locality pay. Travel and relocation expenses are not authorized. This position is not a Bargaining Unit position. This position is in the Excepted Service. May be required to attend conference at other facilities or other VA sites on occasion. Selectee may be required to work at any VA Maine Healthcare System campus, as needed. The incumbent may be required to travel to other VA campuses and CBOC's. Narrative responses to the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) will be required from the selectee in order to proceed with the appointment. Current and former Federal employees must submit copies of their most recent SF-50, (Notice of Personnel Action). The SF-50 must identify the position title, series, grade, step, tenure, and @type of service (Competitive or Excepted). In some cases, more than one SF-50 may be required to show a higher grade previously held. Veterans' preference does not apply for other current permanent Federal agency employees. Additional Information This is an open continuous announcement until January 30, 2026. Qualified applicants will be considered and referred as vacancies become available Receiving Service Credit or 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 applicant's 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.
