Social Work Program Manager – Chief of Mental Health

Summary The Social Worker-Program Manager serves as Chief of Mental Health Service Line (MHSL) and is responsible for administrative management and operation of Mental Health personnel and programs and achieving and maintaining facility adherence to VHA standards, as well as those of accrediting agencies such as The Joint Commission (TJC) and Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF). Recruitment and relocation incentives are authorized for this position. Responsibilities VA Careers – Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhzuaUU Major duties of this position include, but are not limited to: Plan, organize, develop, implement, control, and refine all aspects of comprehensive patient care, clinical support functions, and administrative programs. Provide technical counsel to meet clinical, procedural, legal, and administrative standards relating to care and treatment of inpatients and outpatients to achieve maximum utilization of mental health patient care resources in a cost-effective, efficient, and timely manner. Ensure services provided meet standards set by accrediting agencies which govern quality of care. Work to assure issues and deficiencies are corrected according to standards. Implement VHA Central Office Directives and regulations. Provide active leadership and decision making for organization and responsible for strategic planning and budget processes, improvement of performance coordination and implementation, and for coordinating facility wide activities pertaining to mental health. Maintain collaborative relationship with other facility mental health leaders to ensure full support and coordination among mental health programs. Full authority for physical, fiscal, and human resource allocations within Mental Health service. Continually monitor professional performance of service staff, recommend staffing levels and coordinate recruitment of qualified and competent staff. Serve on VHA, VISN and Medical Center committees and workgroups. Participate in conferences/meetings with higher-ranking managers, supervisors, and staff from other disciplines or work units, and/or, as needed, with representatives of local public interest groups, congressional district offices, and employees of State and local governments. Provide full range of psychosocial services to include psychosocial assessment, diagnostic, and evidence-based treatment services. Familiar with full range of DSM-5 clinical presentations and treat acute and long-term inpatients and outpatients within mental health setting. Consult and train professional staff regarding mental health treatment and programs, as well as suicide prevention. Work Schedule: Typical tour of duty is expected to be 7:30am to 4:00pm, Monday – Friday (Weekend and evening hours may occur when Veterans needs arise). Telework: Not available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 0000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Authorized for highly qualified candidate Permanent Change of Station (PCS): May be authorized to highly qualified candidate 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. 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. Possess and maintain BLS certification obtained through an organization as recognized by the American Heart Association. 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 Basic Requirements: United States Citizenship: Be a citizen of the United States. 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 masters 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 masters 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 masters 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). Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates. GS-15 Social Work Program Manager Experience/Education: The social work program manager at the GS-15 grade level must have at least four years of experience as a VA clinical social worker with at least one-year equivalent to the GS-14 grade level. The social work program manager must evidence possession of progressively higher supervisory and management skills. Experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills in administration, demonstrating progressively more professional competency skills and judgment. The individual may have certification or other post-masters 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: The social work manager must be licensed or certified at the advanced practice level and must be able to provide supervision for licensure. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs): In addition to the experience above, the candidate must fully meet the KSAs for the GS-14 grade level and demonstrate all the following professional KSAs for the GS-15 level: (a) Ability to manage and direct unusually large interdisciplinary programs, complex organizational units, apply effective management practices, plan, design, implement, and evaluate a program(s) that encompasses a wide range of facility/healthcare system/VISN/CO activities. (b) Ability to oversee issues related to budget projections and participate with senior leaders from the governing body, management, and staff in upholding the facility mission, vision, value, and strategic plan to include directly interacting with elected officials on VA related issues/concerns (i.e., members of Congress, Veterans Service Organizations, State and Local entities). (c) Knowledge in establishing policy, procedures and quality monitors while considering multiple priorities, funding sources, and varying resources. (d) Skill in assessing need for basic and complex services across multiple programmatic patient care venues, coordinate and expand the efforts of multiple program elements across a complex system. (e) Knowledge to complete all program evaluations and documents required by the medical center, VISN and VHA Central Office, ensuring compliance with appropriate accrediting bodies such as The Joint Commission (TJC), Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF), and Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs (AAHRPP). (f) Ability to orient, teach and serve as a consultant to other medical center staff and trainees and assists in their formulation of the clinical social work characteristics and appropriate treatment expectations regarding Veterans, family members and caregivers. (g) Skill in balancing responsibilities in a complex environment and to work with great autonomy, set priorities and delegate tasks, meet multiple deadlines; analyze complex organizational problems and develop and implement effective solutions for those problems. (h) Ability to promote and effectively manage a culturally diverse workforce which embraces the values and needs of all individuals through long-term commitment, strategic and business planning, education, experience which broadens the mindset and by fully managing human resources. Preferred Experience: Proven administrative experience is highly desirable. References: VA Handbook 5005/120, Part II, Appendix G39 Physical Requirements: Much of work occurs within typical office setting and requires time walking, sitting, and standing. May be occasional risk of physical harm, which requires special precautions and training and may be exposed to infectious diseases and medical/psychiatric emergencies. 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: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html. Additional Information 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. 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.