Summary

The Cincinnati VA Medical Center is looking for a Supervisory Social Worker who has personnel management responsibilities for professional staff up to the GS-12 grade level and below. The Supervisor is primarily responsible for the professional and administrative management of inpatient social workers assigned to acute medical - surgical - and critical care - Emergency Department (ED) areas. The catchment area of the Cincinnati VAMC covers 17 counties in three states - including six CBOC's.

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
• 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 chapter 3 - section A - paragraph 3g this part)
• 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/
• Failure to Obtain License or Certification
• In all cases - social workers must actively pursue meeting state prerequisites for licensure or certification starting from the date of their appointment
• Failure to become licensed or certified within the prescribed amount of time will result in removal from the GS-0185 social worker series and may result in termination of employment
• 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: Supervisory Social Worker - GS-12 (1) 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
• (2) 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
• (3) Demonstrated Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities
• In addition to the experience above - the candidate 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
• (4) Assignment
• For all assignments above the full performance level - the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope - complexity (difficulty) - and variety and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time
• At the GS-12 grade level - supervisory social workers typically have significant personnel management responsibilities for a small to moderate sized professional and non-professional staff - including support staff and professional staff at the GS-12 grade level and below
• The supervisory social worker is responsible for the professional and administrative management of an area in a social work service - in a care/product line - or multiple facilities
• They provide direct clinical services with or without program coordination responsibilities
• Preferred Experience: Preferred Experience: Preferred but not required - experience includes prior work in acute care settings such as inpatient units or the emergency department - with exposure to crisis intervention - complex discharge planning and frequent interdisciplinary collaboration
• Experience managing high-acuity cases - coordinating with multiple services and community resources - and working in fast-paced environments is preferred
• The ability to navigate barriers to discharge (e.g. - housing - placement - limited support) and support staff through challenging cases is also preferred
• Previous supervisory or leadership experience and familiarity with regulatory standards and documentation practices are considered strong assets
• Reference: For more information on this qualification standard - please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/
• The full performance level of this vacancy is 12
• Physical Requirements: Work - divided between office and clinical settings - is primarily sedentary
• May require prolonged standing - moderate walking - and manual dexterity
• Requires carrying light items - such as books - files - or laptop computer.

Duties

• The Cincinnati VA Medical Center (CVAMC) is a two-division campus located in Cincinnati - OH and Fort Thomas - KY serving 15 counties in Southwest OH - Northern Kentucky - and Southeast Indiana with 6 Community Based Outpatient Clinics located in Bellevue - KY
• Florence - KY
• Lawrenceburg - IN
• Hamilton - OH
• Clermont County - OH - and Georgetown - OH
• The CVAMC also supports two off main campus locations in the Cincinnati area via an Eye Center and Mental Health Outreach Community Division
• Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Duties: Assists in planning - establishing - and implementing policies and procedures
• developing individual and/or group goals and objectives
• and monitoring - evaluating - coordinating - and overseeing the professional staff of the assigned program
• Ensures staff are aware of and adhere to all current VHA directives - Joint Commission standards - state licensure standards - VA-OIG expectations - and related regulatory statutes and professional requirements
• Conducts ongoing reviews and appraisals to ensure the accomplishment of objectives and adherence to standards set by governing and oversight bodies
• Possesses advanced knowledge and skill in supervision - organization - and leadership qualities to lead employees and in accomplishing assigned tasks
• Exercises supervisory responsibility primarily for social workers assigned to inpatient acute medical - surgical - critical care and ED
• Develops and monitors standards of clinical practice and standards of care for social work - including development of care guidelines - manuals - and guides for professional practice
• Develops consistent standard operating procedures required to accomplish clinical care interventions and ensure standards and procedures are followed
• Develops training plans in-line with employees' needs and assists in addressing these needs
• Balances and distributes workload and tasks among employees in accordance with established workflow or job specialization - assuring timely accomplishment of the assigned tasks - and assuring that each employee has an integral role in developing the final product
• Follows the status and progress of work and adjusts in accordance with established priorities by recommending solutions and obtaining assistance from Inpatient & Ambulatory Care Program Manager - Social Work Service
• Maintains a current knowledge to answer questions from team members on procedures - policies - directives and to obtain needed information on decisions from the supervisor on major problems and issues
• Checks on work in progress and reviews completed work to see that instructions on work sequences - procedures - methods - and deadlines have been met
• Provides clinical supervision as a field instructor or preceptor - and supervises social work graduate students - and unlicensed social workers
• Supervises employees to accomplish the work of the organizational work group and the department
• Provides guidelines and performance expectations for staff - clearly communicated through the formal employee performance management system
• completes initial and annual competencies
• observes staff performance
• provides formal and informal feedback
• evaluates employee performance
• and completes annual and mid-year performance appraisals
• Work Schedule: Monday - Friday - 7:30am-4:00pm Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized
• Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized
• 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 Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Functional Statement #: 92510-0 Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized.