Senior Social Worker - Caregiver Support Program

Summary

Primarily located on site at Gainesville, the Senior Social Worker develops, implements, evaluates and maintains the Caregiver Support Program and ensures compliance and collaboration with local facility, VISN and VA Central Office Caregiver Support Program initiatives in accordance with VA policy and guidelines, OIG reviews, Joint Commission requirements, and others, as appropriate.

Duties

• The Senior Social Worker works in the day-to-day operations of the Caregiver Support Program and ensures compliance and collaboration with local facility and VA Central Office Caregiver Support Program initiatives. The incumbent collaborates with the other members of the CSP team to ensure the care provided is of the highest quality. The incumbent provides leadership, direction, orientation, coaching, in-service training, staff development, and continuing education programs as assigned. The Senior Social Worker is responsible for monitoring and facilitating the implementation of assigned specialty program and tracking program growth. Responsible for attending Local, VISN and National specialty program calls and trainings to stay current on program implementation, trends and use knowledge gained to evaluation NF/SGVHS program efficiency and effectiveness. Major duties include but are not limited to: Completes screening and assessment of the Veteran/caregiver in collaboration with the interdisciplinary treatment team. Identifies psychosocial, medical and mental health needs and formulate a plan to meet those needs. Demonstrates an understanding of the range of treatment interventions and skills required to implement. Treatment may include specific evidence-based interventions related to positive outcomes for psychosocial and mental health care for assigned specialty care population. Interventions are conducted in individual, family and group settings. Responsible for receiving, processing and tracking applications to the program from receipt to determination, and following all processes and procedures outlined in guidance provided by VACO, VISN and local facility. The Senior Social Worker administers information and analytical systems to evaluate and enhance the quality of Veteran/caregiver contacts. Utilizes various telehealth modalities to conduct/facilitate group visits across NF/SGVHS. Develops, implements, evaluates and maintains a variety of ways to meet clinical contact requirements through face to face, telephone, Clinical Video Technology (CVT) and ensures compliance and collaboration with local facility VISN telework policies and procedures, as well as, VA Central Office Caregiver Support Program initiatives and guidelines with respect to required program visits/contacts. Participates in direct caregiver and Veteran contacts to meeting clinical contact requirements and to identify and assess caregiver stress/burden and the development and application of directed clinical treatment interventions. Facilitates caregiver support groups (face-to-face or VVC) and educational programs. Creates educational tools, distributes, develops educational and outreach programs and implements training focused on specific caregiver needs/issues. Provides education and in-service training to VAMC employees, Veterans, families and caregivers on various methods of clinical contact. Required to drive and/or travel up to three hours using personal vehicle or government vehicle to other sites of care within the NF/SGVHS, as necessary to accomplish work assigned. It is required 50% of the work week. Preferred experience: Experience providing medical and/or mental health case management in a direct patient care setting. Work includes application management, clinical case management, and completes screening and assessment of the Veteran/caregiver in collaboration with the interdisciplinary treatment team Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm Telework: Not available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: Senior Social Worker / #55626F Financial Disclosure Report: Not required Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not available Travel: You may be expected to travel up to 50% of the time - Valid Driver's License required EDRP Authorized: Not authorized Additional Benefits 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) 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. Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

Qualifications

Applicants must meet the requirements by the closing date of this announcement. 09/30/2026 Basic Requirements: United States Citizenship: Must be US Citizen. 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 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 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 master's degree level. Current state requirements may be found by going to http://vaww.va.gov/OHRM/T38Hybrid/. Grade Determinations: In addition to meeting the basic requirements stated above, the following qualifications criteria must be met in determining the appropriate grade assignment of candidates. GS-12 Senior Social Worker candidates must have the following: Experience/Education: Must have at least two (2) years of experience POST advanced practice clinical licensure and should be in a specialized area of social work practice of which, one (1) 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. AND 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. Advanced License must be submitted with application. While we no longer require essay-style responses to our Knowledge's Skills, Abilities, and Other Characteristics (KSAOs), you must be able to demonstrate that you possess the (below) competencies which are necessary to perform the work of the position. Please ensure your resume/CV/application contains sufficient information to support the level of experience/education/training; otherwise, we will not be able to award you credit for the experience/education/training you claim. If selected, you may be required to submit narrative responses then. These are the KSA's for this position and grade level: 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. References: VA Regulations, specifically VA Handbook 5005/120, Part II, Appendix G39, Senior Social Worker Qualification Standard, dated 9/10/19. For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. Physical Requirements: The physical demands of the work requires use of fingers; moderate walking and standing; near vision correctable at 13" to 16" to Jaeger 1 to 4; far vision correctable in on eye to 20/20 and to 20/40 in the other; hearing aid permitted; clear speech; emotional stability; moderate duty. Incumbent must have a valid driver's license and pass Occupational Health screening as position will require driving a government vehicle. Incumbent must be able to climb stairs and walk short distances. Incumbent must be able to lift 25 pounds.

Requirements

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 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. 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.

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 masters of social work. IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application. 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/.

How to apply

This is an open continuous announcement and will remain open until Sept 30, 2026. It can be extended if needed. The first cut-off date for referral of eligible applications will be 8 calendar days from opening of announcement. Eligible applications received after that date will be referred as qualified applicants apply or as additional vacancies occur on an as-needed basis until positions are filled. Posting could be removed earlier than close date if all vacancies are filled. Your application will only be sent and referred to hiring manager once. All applicants are encouraged to apply online. To apply for this position, you must complete the full questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 09/30/2026 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13053447. To begin, click Apply Online to create a USAJOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USA JOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire. Click Submit My Answers to submit your application package. NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date.