SENIOR SOCIAL WORKER COMMUNITY NURSING HOME (CNH)

SENIOR SOCIAL WORKER COMMUNITY NURSING HOME (CNH)

Department: Department of Veterans Affairs

Location(s): San Antonio, Texas

Salary Range: $112783 - $146621 Per Year

Job Summary: The Community Nursing Home Social Worker serves as a program associate coordinator and assists with the administrative responsibility for the CNH program in the South Texas Healthcare System catchment area. The CNH designated Social Worker has specialized knowledge of practice typically related to a particular diagnosis or population.

Major Duties:

• Duties include but are not limited to the following: Advanced knowledge of and mastery of theories and modalities used in the specialized treatment of complex physical or mental illness. Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment of veteran patients, including making psychosocial and psychiatric diagnoses within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice. Ability to determine priority for services and provide specialized treatment services. Provide subject matter consultation to colleagues and students on the psychosocial treatment of patients treated in the specialty area, rendering professional opinions based on experience and expertise and role modeling effective social work practice skills. Ability to teach and mentor staff and students in the specialty area of practice and to provide supervision for licensure or for specialty. Develop and implement information systems to track service activities including visits, referrals, inpatient days, patient demographics, and patient satisfaction as required and needed. Implement and evaluate clinical guidelines and protocol to establish appropriate utilization in conjunction with the CNH Oversight Committee. Monitors the quality of care the veterans receive, monitors for adverse events in CNH facilities and reports to the CNH Coordinator, CNH Oversight Committee, and the ACOS for Geriatric Care significant problems and concerns. Assist the CNH Coordinator in arranging onsite CNH reviews within program specified time frames, and conducts annual reviews through assessment of various aspects of care and data. Establish functional work relationships and facilitates communication regarding CNH program issues and changes with various disciplines matrixed to the CNH program. Perform specialized treatment of complex physical or mental illness. Incumbent incorporates complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment of Veteran patients, including making psychosocial and psychiatric diagnoses within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice. Complete thorough assessments to determine the underlying causes of the presenting problem(s), the interpersonal and environmental factors impacting the problem and its effect on the patient's ability and desire to comply with the treatment recommendations by the multidisciplinary team. Develop and implement methods for measuring effectiveness of practice and services in Palliative program, utilizing outcome evaluations to improve treatment or scheduling services. Independently provide consultation services to other staff regarding the psychosocial needs of veterans and the impact of psychosocial problems on health care and adherence to treatment plan. Ability to evaluate incumbent's own practice through professional peer review, case conferences and other organizational means. Support the Service or GEC with other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00am-4:30pm. Telework: Not Available. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized. Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized. Financial Disclosure Report: Not required. Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases. 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). 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).

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. 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/. 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: Senior Social Worker GS-12 Experience/Education. The candidate must have 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. Senior social workers 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. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:(a) 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.(b) Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice.(c) 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.(d) 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.(e) 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. Advanced practice level social workers must be licensed or certified by a state at the advanced practice level which includes 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. All states except California use a series of licensure exams administered by the ASWB. Information can be found at https://www.aswb.org/. 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. Drivers License: A current, state issued driver's license is required for this position. Note: We cannot accept photographs, therefor; do not submit a copy of your license with your application package. If an interview is requested, you will be required to provide a copy of your current, valid state issued driver's license. A pre-placement examination will be required to be able to determine if the incumbent is able to safely operate a Government Vehicle. Physical Requirements: Moderate lifting, 15-44 pounds, light lifting, under 15 pounds, moderate carrying, 15-44 pounds, light carrying, under 15 pounds, reaching above shoulder, use of fingers, both hands required, walking 6 hours, standing 6 hours, repeated bending 2-4 hours, operation of crane, truck, tractor, or motor vehicle, ability for rapid mental and muscular coordination simultaneously, near vision correctable at 13' to 16" to Jaeger 1 to 4, specific visual requirement Far Vision: 20/30, ability to distinguish basic colors, hearing (aid may be permitted), emotional and mental stability, sit for extended periods, performs independently, cognitive stability.

How to Apply: All applicants are encouraged to apply online. To apply for this position, you must complete the full questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 03/16/2026 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12904750. To begin, click Apply Online to create a USAJOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USA JOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire. Click Submit My Answers to submit your application package. NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date.

Application Deadline: 2026-03-16