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Summary The Senior Social Worker Lead is assigned to the Behavioral Health Interdisciplinary Program (BHIP) Unit with responsibilities to provide direct social work services for adult Veterans and their families who present for services. Responsibilities The BHIP Senior Social Worker is assigned to work with highly-complex mental health problems requiring advanced practice level psychosocial interventions in a Veteran population who have experienced trauma, including expertise in Evidenced-Based Psychotherapies (EBP) for depression including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Depression (CBT-D), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Depression (ACT-D) and/or Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Depression (IPT-D). These veterans often demonstrate complex medical and mental health diagnoses (for example PTSD, Substance Use Disorder, Traumatic Brain Injury, and/or comorbid disorders) that require expert diagnostic skills, judgment and treatment. The Senior Social Worker independently provides mental health services at an independent and advanced practice level. Duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to: Supervising unlicensed and/or Social Work interns within Orlando VA HCS as a Qualified Social Work Supervisor. Conducting full bio-psychosocial assessments utilizing evidence-based diagnostic interviews of the Veteran with specific examination of current coping skills, emotion regulation, and support networks in place. Providing care for BHIP enrolled Veterans with higher acuity of need/severity of symptoms and providing 2 or more VA approved EBPs for Depression and related disorders, such as ACT-D, IPT-D, and CBT-D. Possesses the knowledge of advance interventions, as well as the ability to initiate treatment modalities in accordance with unique patient needs/treatment objectives. Will provide these EBPs for individuals and/or groups. Managing cases with higher severity than the typical BHIP referral and engaging in practice that is expected of a Senior Social Worker. Assessment and treatment of these patients includes, but is not limited to, identification of differential diagnoses and the ability to make informed treatment recommendations for Veterans who have struggled to complete formalized outpatient treatments. Routinely and frequently using specialized outcome measures beyond the mandated Measurement Based Care requirements. Additional assessment measures such as Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS) will also be utilized for more thorough assessment of trauma treatment needs if applicable. Making independent professional decisions and recommendations for agency action using a wide range of complex social work practice skills utilizing their advance practice skills, knowledge, and experience. Evaluating his/her practice on an on-going basis through participation in professional peer review, case conference, research studies, or other organized means. Being active in and accepting responsibility for the development and/or maintenance of professional standards of treatment. Serving as a representative of the BHIP program for outreach activities and/or serving as a guest speaker at community or university events. Providing consultation to students and colleagues regarding Mental Health training opportunities and procedures, approving national consultants, and arranging trainings as appropriate. Attending other Mental Health meetings as a liaison for BHIP services. Acting as a liaison and advocate for Veterans receiving care from an approved community care partner for EBP and other psychotherapy services. Coordinating with community care partners to ensure that Veterans being served in the community are receiving care that meets VA standards and that collaborative services that the VA provides are available to the Veteran receiving community care. Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Work Schedule: Tour of Duty to be determined by Supervisor of Social Work Manager. Recruitment/Relocation Incentives: Not authorized. Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): No authorized. Telework: Not available. Travel: Not required. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement # 81804F BHIP Senior Social Worker Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job. All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA. 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 trial period. 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. Must pass pre-employment physical examination. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP). 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. 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 the basic requirements stated above, the following qualification criteria must be met for each grade. The candidate's qualifications must clearly demonstrate the level of competence required for the grade. Experience: At least two years of experience post advanced practice clinical licensure and should be in a specialized area of social work practice of which, one year must be equivalent to the GS-11 grade level. Senior social workers have experience that demonstrates possession of advanced practice skills and judgment and 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. 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. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: 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. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. This position is being filled above the full performance level at GS-12. Physical Requirements: Must be in overall good health, able to sit at a desk working at a computer, engage in light to moderate physical activity including sitting, walking, bending, and carrying supplies. The Senior Social Worker must be able to perform primarily light and sedentary duties with occasionally moderate physical demands, exercise patience, and control emotions, with reasonable accommodation if necessary, without endangering the health and safety of the Senior Social Worker or others. Position requires walking throughout the clinic, standing for extended periods of time, and involves sitting at a computer and in counsel and consultation with Veterans and interdisciplinary teams. Position may require some travel in the community to meet with community agencies and partners who provide Mental Health treatment services. This position also requires close visual acuity to perform an activity such as: preparing and analyzing data and figures; transcribing; viewing a computer terminal; extensive reading; and repetitive motions of the wrists, hands, and/or fingers. 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. 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 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. 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.