Social Worker (Program Coordinator)

Social Worker serves as the Program Coordinator for the Primary Care Mental Health Integration (PCMHI) Section within the Mental Health Service (MHS) at the VA Augusta Health Care System. The incumbent provides advanced program management, clinical leadership, and strategic oversight for PCMHI, ensuring the delivery of timely, evidence-based, integrated mental health services to Veterans served in Primary Care (PACT). 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/ . RESPONSIBILITIES:

Duties include, however, not limited to:

Overseeing daily operations, ensuring all Office of Mental Health and facility performance metrics, access expectations, and national PCMHI directives are met.

Conducting needs assessments, identifying gaps in service delivery, and initiating program improvements.

Developing, updating, and implementing PCMHI policies, procedures, workflows, and clinical pathways.

Allocating and monitoring resources to ensure optimal staffing, productivity, and workload balance.

Facilitating collaboration between PCMHI, PACT, Outpatient Mental Health, and other interdisciplinary stakeholders.

Participating in organizational strategic planning, providing expert guidance on PCMHI integration, Suicide Prevention initiatives, Whole Health alignment, and mental health access expansion.

Monitoring quality outcomes through data-driven evaluation and ensuring timely completion of reports, audits, NEPEC submissions, and other required documentation.

Serving as the PCMHI liaison to Primary Care leaders, attending interdisciplinary leadership meetings, contributing to PACT strategic planning, and resolving operational challenges collaboratively.

Participating in required facility committee including, but not limited to, Mental Health ICC and Primary Care ICC

Work Schedule : 8AM to 4:30PM, Monday - Friday

Telework : Not Available

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Functional Statement # : 63140F

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives : Not Authorized

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

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: 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)

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. NOTE: You must submit transcripts (unofficial is sufficient) AND a license with your application.

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.

English Language Proficiency. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).

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 : Social Worker ( Program Coordinator), GS-13 In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates.

Experience/Education. One year of experience equivalent to the GS-12 grade level. Experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills and judgment, demonstrating progressively more professional competency. Candidates 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.

(a) Skill in coordinating and implementing one or more specialty program(s), across the facility.

(b) Skill in local policy and practice development, procedures, and/or practice guidelines for the program as prescribed by the program handbook or national directive.

(c) Skill in organizing work, setting priorities, meeting multiple deadlines, and evaluating assigned program area(s).

(d) Ability to collaborate with internal and external partners to further program goals and enhance patient centered care.

(e) Ability to provide the full range of supervisory duties including assignment of work to be performed; performance evaluations; and selection of staff, training, and recommendation of awards, advancements, and when appropriate, disciplinary action.

(f) Ability to oversee the fiscal matters of the functions supervised (including fund controls, contracts, and equipment expenditures), forecast resource and equipment needs, and administer the allocated budget.

(g) Knowledge of organizational structure and impact on program operations.

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 this grade level, social worker program coordinators oversee the administrative and clinical aspects of a major specialty treatment program, such as, but not limited to: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Substance Abuse Treatment Program, Home-Based Primary Care, Mental Health Intensive Case Management, Caregiver Support Program or Transition and Care Management Program, or a combination of programs located at one facility or multiple divisions of a facility. They are responsible for coordinating interdisciplinary staffing, work assignments, budget, treatment services provided, and admission criteria for the program. The program coordinator may or may not have supervisory responsibilities. They have full responsibility for all phases of service delivery for a major specialty program. The program coordinator is responsible for the program's resource and fiscal management, monitoring control points developing the annual budget, operating within that budget, and accounting for appropriated funds. They are administratively responsible for the programming and operations of the program assigned, develop policies and procedures for program operation, and prepare reports and statistics for facility, VISN, and national use. Program coordinators provide leadership, direction, orientation, coaching, in-service training, staff development, and continuing education programs for assigned staff. They initiate and conduct program or service audits and complete designated clinical practice audits and reports, including productivity. Program coordinators oversee program operations and evaluations, identifying areas for improvement, gathering relevant data, assessing the data, developing and implementing ideas for improvement, and evaluating efficacy of improvement efforts.

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-13. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is a GS-13.

Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019. SALARY: QuantitativeValue EMPLOYMENT TYPE: Other