Summary The Whole Health Clinical Director/Supervisory Social Worker is accountable to the Chief of Social Work and is responsible for broad program management of the Whole Health Program, the Suicide Prevention Program, and all assigned staff. Responsibilities A RELOCATION INCENTIVE MAY BE AUTHORIZED Clinical Responsibilities (51%): Conduct Complementary and Integrative Health (CIH) approaches to include biofeedback, clinical hypnosis, guided imagery, and meditation within clinical privileges or scope of practice. Provide whole health coaching to individuals or groups in outpatient and/or inpatient settings using motivational interviewing and coaching techniques to assist with SMART goal setting. Counsel Veterans to promote health and wellness in a variety of settings across the Alaska VA HCS. Serve as needed and as a backup for suicide prevention clinical duties. Supervisory & Administrative (49%):The Supervisory Social Worker has broad program management and supervisory responsibilities that include: Direct Supervisor of Whole Health and Suicide Prevention hired staff. Full responsibility to manage and supervise all phases of the Whole Health Program at the Alaska VA. Manage and supervise the Suicide Prevention Program at the Alaska VA. Establish and maintain a continuous and systematic process of curriculum development, assessment, review, revision, evaluation, and implementation of the Whole Health and Suicide Prevention programs. Plan and develop policies, procedures, and goals, and implement and educate staff on applicable Veterans Health Administration (VHA) directives, handbooks, or other policies. Measure progress toward goals and reports to the appropriate officials at a local, Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN), and National level. Serve as the professional and technical advisor in Whole Health for the facility; promote Whole Health principles to facility employees. Provide direct budgetary supervision of Whole Health programs and is accountable for resources used, directly and indirectly. Ensure inventory procedures and logistical procedures for all Whole Health supplies. Coordinate the development and implementation of the patient-centered care concept throughout the organization. Use individual and aggregate needs assessments, standards of professional practice, and strategic plans in the process of program development. Chair the Whole Health committee(s). Use knowledge, expertise, principles or models, and current research to plan, implement, and evaluate organizational progress towards accomplishing patient-centered care initiatives. Responsible for supporting the New Employee Orientation, New Patient Orientation, and will routinely communicate needs for resources as necessary. Have advanced knowledge and mastery of theories and modalities used in the specialized treatment of complex physical or mental illness. Perform specialized treatment of complex physical or mental illness. Incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment of Veteran patients, including making psychosocial and psychiatric diagnoses within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice. Demonstrate the ability to determine priority for services and provide specialized treatment services. Have advanced, expert 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 family counseling or psychotherapy and advanced level psychosocial case management interventions used in the treatment of all Veterans. Offer consultation to colleagues and students on the psychosocial treatment of patients treated in the specialty areas, rendering professional opinions based on experience and expertise and role model effective social work practice skills. Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Work Schedule: Mon - Fri, 8:00am to 4:30pm. Relocation Incentive: MAY BE AUTHORIZED. Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized. Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases. 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). 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: Ad-hoc. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 000000. Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized. 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. 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 To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement. BASIC REQUIREMENTS. The basic requirements for employment as a VHA social worker are prescribed by statute in 38 U.S.C. § 7402(b)(9), as amended by section 205 of Public Law 106-419, enacted November 1, 2000. To qualify for appointment as a social worker in VHA, all applicants must meet the following: Citizenship. Be a citizen of the United States. (Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with 38 U.S. Code). 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 http://www.cswe.org/Accreditation to verify that the 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-0185 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 by going to http://vaww.va.gov/OHRM/T38Hybrid/. English Language Proficiency. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f). GRADE DETERMINATIONS. In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates. Supervisory Social Worker, GS-13. Experience/Education. One year of experience equivalent to the GS-12 grade level. Experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills in a specialty area or in administration demonstrating progressively more professional competency and judgment. Candidate may have certification or other post-master's 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 supervisory social workers 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, candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: (a) Ability to independently organize work, set priorities, and meet multiple deadlines. (b) Skill in a range of supervisory duties which includes clinical supervision, consultation, negotiation with other departments and quality improvement. (c) Ability to ensure provision of clinical social work services by supervised social workers. (d) Ability to delegate authority, manage priorities, coordinate work, and follow up on pending issues to complete duties in an accurate and timely fashion. (e) Ability to analyze organizational and operational problems, develop and implement solutions that result in efficient operations, and use data effectively to manage workload, quality, performance, and productivity within the service. (f) Ability to provide staff training and development. Preferred Experience: Program Development, Whole Health practice experience, supervisory experience. 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-13. Physical Requirements: The physical demands of this position require light lifting (under 15 pounds); moderate carrying (15-44 pounds); use of fingers; walking (up to 2 hours); standing (up to 2 hours); near vision correctable at 13" to 16" to Jaeger 1 to 4; far vision correctable in one eye to 20/20 and to 20/40 in the other; both eyes required; hearing (aid may be permitted); and emotional and mental stability. Environmental Factors: Work may be performed outside and inside; dry atmospheric conditions; and you must be able to work alone and closely with others. Education IMPORTANT: This position has a positive education or training requirement. An unofficial copy of college transcripts showing completion of the required degree or program is required and must include the name of the school, your name, date conferred or completed, and degree or certificate @type. 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/. 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 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.
