Social Worker (Program Coordinator)

National Cardio-Vet Network is seeking a Social Worker (Program Coordinator) to join our team. This unique position offers the opportunity to support the growth of the National CARDIO-VET Network in expanding access to high quality cardiology care to Veterans residing in rural areas. This Social Worker (Program Coordinator) is responsible for the development, implementation, oversight, and evaluation of national systems that support Veteran travel to and from Cardio-Vet procedural hubs.

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:

• 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).
• 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 4 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/.

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).

Grandfathering Provision. The following is the standard grandfathering policy for all title 38 hybrid qualification standards. Please carefully review the qualification standard to determine the specific education and/or licensure/certification/registration requirements that apply to this occupation.

1. All persons employed in VHA in this occupation on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series and grade held, including positive education and licensure or certification that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation. For employees who do not meet all of the basic requirements in this standard, but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it, the following provisions apply:
2. Such employees in an occupation that requires a licensure or certification, may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance (journey) level, or changed to lower grade within the occupation, but may not be promoted beyond the journey level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions.
3. Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed, on a temporary or permanent basis, until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard.
4. Employees initially grandfathered into this occupation, who subsequently obtain additional education and/or licensure/certification/registration that meet all of the basic requirements of this qualification standard must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation.
5. If an employee who was retained in an occupation listed in 38 U.S.C. § 7401(3) under this provision leaves that occupation, the employee loses protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry to the occupation.

NOTE: If social workers covered under the grandfathering provision of the 1991 Federal law regarding licensure or certification of VHA social workers leave the GS-0185 social work series, they lose the grandfathering protection. If they choose to return at a later date to the GS-0185 series, they must be licensed or certified to qualify for employment as a social worker.

Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates.

Social Worker (Program Coordinator), GS-12
Experience and Education: One year of experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level. Experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills and judgment, demonstrating progressively more professional competency. 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 social worker program coordinator 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, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:

1. Knowledge of program coordination and administration which includes consultation, negotiation, and monitoring.
2. Knowledge and ability to write policies, procedures, and/or practice guidelines for the program.
3. Ability to supervise multidisciplinary staff assigned to the program.
4. Skill in organizing work, setting priorities, meeting multiple deadlines, and evaluating assigned program area(s).
5. Ability to provide training, orientation, and guidance within clinical practice.

Preferred Experience: None

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12.

Physical Requirements: The work is sometimes sedentary. Typically, the employee will sit to perform administrative work. However, other position duties include physical requirements which include but not limited to, long periods of walking; standing; bending; crouching, reaching, and lifting of a variety of moderately heavy items, carrying of light items such as papers, books, small part. The employee is required to drive a government vehicle and may be required to travel off station to complete required functions of the job.

Responsibilities:

VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU
Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

1. Transportation & Lodging System Development

• Designs, implements, and oversees processes for transportation and lodging that support Veterans traveling to Cardio-Vet procedural hubs.
• Establishes lodging partnerships (VA, community, contracted) and transportation pathways (VA travel, community transport, medical transport) to ensure safe and timely access.
• Develops national policies, guidance documents, and workflows that standardize lodging and travel support across VISNs and facilities.
• Ensures systems align with federal law, VA regulations, and VHA directives governing travel, benefits, coordination, and patient safety.

2. Oversight of Cardio-Vet Health Care Navigators

• Navigators performing Veteran outreach, travel coordination, and procedural scheduling preparation around Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) elements that serve as barriers to care.
• Develops national training, competency standards, scripts, documentation guidelines, and quality-assurance processes.
• Monitors Navigator workload, case complexity, and performance measures; recommends staffing models and resource needs at the national level.
• Provides indirect supervision, including coaching, mentoring, and consultation, ensuring alignment with Cardio-Vet program goals.

3. Program Management & Evaluation

• Leads national tracking and reporting of transportation and lodging utilization, gaps, barriers, and outcomes.
• Develop dashboards, tracking tools, and audit systems to monitor program efficiency, cost effectiveness, and Veteran experience.
• Coordinates with the National Evaluation Team to integrate transportation-related data into overall Cardio-Vet performance metrics.
• Identifies trends, formulates improvement plans, and leads national implementation of improvements.

4. Interdisciplinary & Interagency Collaboration

• Serves as the primary liaison between Cardio-Vet, Beneficiary Travel, Social Work, Nursing, Surgery, Veterans Transportation Services, and community transport vendors.
• Collaborates with VHA Program Offices, VISNs, facility leadership, logistics teams, and patient experience offices to ensure integrated service delivery.
• Prepares briefing papers, issue analyses, and responses for leadership, oversight bodies, congressional inquiries, and high-visibility programs.

5. Policy Development & Compliance Monitoring

• Interprets national policy and integrates transportation/lodging requirements into Cardio-Vet operational standards.
• Conducts compliance reviews, chart audits, site visits, and program evaluations across VISNs to ensure accuracy, timeliness, and adherence to national guidelines.
• Monitors appropriated funds, lodging/transportation expenditures, and supports accurate budget forecasting related to program needs.

6. Strategic Planning for National Expansion

• Contributes to Cardio-Vet expansion strategy by conducting gap analyses, resource planning, and modeling transportation/lodging needs for new procedural hubs.
• Advises leadership on system scalability, impact of travel/lodging barriers on access, and strategies to reduce inequities.
• Leads national initiatives for reducing the travel burden on rural, medically complex, and high-risk populations.

Work Schedule: 08:00 am - 4:30 pm
Compressed/Flexible:May be authorized
Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases.
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 #: 91810-0

Salary : $417