Senior Social Worker (Women's Health) - Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration

Summary The facility Women Health Senior Social Worker (WHSW) is a social worker qualified by education, experience and specialized expertise to function as the facility contact for the Women Veterans Health Program. The WHSW position leads the overall delivery of care and services for the growing population of Women Veterans. Responsibilities Major duties include, but are not limited to: Serves as an advocate on behalf of Women Veterans across Veterans Health Administration (VHA) by working closely with the Veteran Experience Office (Patient Advocate Office) to facilitate problem resolution and Women Veterans satisfaction. Improves care access and continuity. Works closely with the WVPM and WHMD to form the foundation of the Women's health team at the facility level. Provides expertise and guidance specific to Women Veterans for facility-wide strategic goals and objectives and executes comprehensive planning for women's health that improves the overall quality of care provided to Women Veterans and achieves program goals and outcomes. Assesses and actively facilitates for preventive care and health promotion. Promotes a safe and welcoming environment. Uses data sources to assess and evaluate the VAMC Women's program. Collaborates with fiscal, WVPM and facility leadership to advocate for resources to support programs to meet the needs of Women Veterans. Participates in the review of the physical environment including identifying deficiencies and opportunities for improvement and work with facility leadership, facility planner and other staff to ensure that new construction and renovations are appropriate to meet the needs of Women Veterans. Partners with special population coordinators and program managers to ensure the needs of Women Veterans are addressed across the health care system. Collaborates with various services to ensure the needs of Women Veterans are met in a comprehensive manner consistent with national policies to ensure that emergent and urgent care needs of Women Veterans are met in a comprehensive manner consistent with national policies; Medicine/Primary Care leadership and women's health primary care providers to provide programmatic consultation, mental health services and other specialty care services. Deals effectively with individuals or groups representing widely divergent backgrounds interests and point of view. Establishes and monitors production and performance priorities and standards for Women's health. Analyzes organizational and operational problems and develops and implements solutions that results in sound operations of the program. Provides direct patient care. Collaborates with facility leadership on cultural transformation to create a safe, secure and respectful environment for Women Veterans to receive care. Serves as a consultant for facility leadership across service lines. Participates on any required or appropriate Medical Center committee, task force, or executive body required by the position or requested by top management to promote the highest quality of health care delivery to Women Veterans. Maintains knowledge of VHA, network and facility's strategic goals related to the health of Women Veterans. Collaborates with WVPM and internal and external partners to ensure that timely access to necessary care in the community is provided. Collaborates with WVPM to ensure that high quality and gender-specific diagnostic services for women are available in a timely manner at all points of care and ensures processes are in place for timely patient notification and coordination of care as indicated. Translates management goals and objectives into well-coordinated and controlled work operations. Supports, develops and conducts a minimal of three outreach activities for each fiscal year. Enhances outreach and in-reach activities within VA and non-VA communities. Conducts outreach activities at the local level to increase awareness of Women Veterans' health services offered in VHA. Collaborates with facility and community stakeholders to develop a comprehensive outreach plan that includes increasing public awareness of services available for Women Veterans; networking to enhance community engagement with non-VA stakeholders and increasing market penetration. Develops and conducts education programs for Women Health providers and staff. Collaborates with the Education Department and/or Designated Learning Officer to identify and address training needs for facility staff specific to Women Veterans and promotes national and local educational programs for women's health providers and other staff Work Schedule: 8:00am-4:30pm, Monday-Friday Compressed/Flexible: Not authorized Telework: Ad-Hoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 58275F Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized 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. You may be required to serve a probationary period. Subject to background/security investigation. Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP). Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details. 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. 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. 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. Note: 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. Licensed or certified: 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/. 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). Does not apply to promotions above the full performance level (GS-11). Grade Determinations: GS 12 Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates Education and Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the GS-11 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) Knowledge 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. (d) Ability to provide staff training and development. (e) Skill in interpersonal relationships in dealing with employees, team leaders, and managers. References: VA Regulations, specifically VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Appendix G-39 Social Worker Qualification Standard. This can be found in the local Human Resources Office. Preferred Experience: Masters prepared; Women's health experience. Physical Requirements: See handbook 5019. Education IMPORTANT: 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/. Additional Information 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. Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process. 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.