Clarification from the agency

NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below. This job is open to current permanent Department of Veteran Affairs employees, current permanent Federal employees of other agencies and all US Citizens. This is an open continuous announcement - see below under How to Apply for more details.

This position will be located at Jacksonville, The Villages or Gainesville. Applicants can select their location of interest.
The Mental Health Clinical Social Worker conducts psychosocial/mental health assessments of Veterans independently and/or in collaboration with interdisciplinary treatment team, the Veteran, family members, caregivers, and/or significant others. The Social Worker is knowledgeable of a range of treatment modalities and has the skills required to provide the appropriate level of care/treatment through psychosocial treatment and evidence-based clinical/psychosocial therapeutic interventions.

At the GS-09 level, under supervision for clinical licensure, the Social Worker conducts psychosocial/mental health assessments of Veterans in collaboration with the interdisciplinary treatment team, the Veterans family members, caregivers, and/or significant others.

At the GS-11 level, the licensed clinical Social Worker conducts psychosocial/mental health assessments of Veterans independently and/or in collaboration with the interdisciplinary treatment team, the Veteran, family members, caregivers, and/or significant others.Major Duties include but are not limited to:

• Conducts psychosocial/mental health assessments to identify needs and formulate a patient centered treatment plan with the Veteran to meet needs and goals.
• Responsible for the development of patient centered treatment plans and developing achievable treatment goals with the Veteran and other significant others.
• Provides crisis intervention services, seeking to address the cause as well as the presenting complaint, coordinates family conferences and serves as liaison to family members.
• Provides individual, group, and family evidence based psychotherapies and treatment (i.e. PST, MI, MET, CPT, PE, CBT, Seeking Safety, etc.) appropriate to level of licensure to Veterans and their families/caregivers. Evidence based therapeutic interventions are reviewed regularly during clinical supervision.
• Responsible for planning and organizing work, coordinating with clinical interdisciplinary team members, other professional and clinical staff, and management personnel.
• Responsible for providing, reviewing and coordinating all phases of continuing care for Veterans in the Mental Health Clinic
• Provides patient education to Veterans and family members on the available services and assists them in establishing the appropriate referrals based on the Veteran's preference or other decision maker
• Responsible for developing, updating and using current social worker resources within VA and community social service programs to ensure that Veterans are receiving education, information and referrals to current and viable resources to meet their needs.
• Develops and executes crisis management treatment plans in a timely, effective and efficient manner.
• Responsible for educating the Veteran and family members/caregivers on the available services and assisting them in establishing the appropriate referrals based on the Veteran's preference or that of his surrogate decision maker.

Preferred experience: Working on a multi-discipline team with experience using evidence based treatment modalities


Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional


Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00AM to 4:30PM
Telework: Not Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 55606F / 50626F
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
EDRP Authorized: May be authorized to highly qualified candidates. Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive.

Additional Benefits
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)
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)
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.

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.
• 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 identification 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).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

Applicants must meet the requirements by the closing date of this announcement. 08/31/2026

BASIC REQUIREMENTS. The basic requirements for employment as a VHA social worker are prescribed by statute in 38 U.S.C. § 7402(b)(9), as amended by section 205 of Public Law 106-419, enacted November 1, 2000. To qualify for appointment as a social worker in VHA, all applicants must meet the following:

• 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. Social workers must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3j, this part.
• 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).
• Licensure. Persons hired or reassigned to social worker positions in the GS-185 series in VHA must be licensed or certified by a state to independently practice social work at the master's degree level.
  • GS-9 Exception. VHA may waive the licensure or certification requirement for persons who are otherwise qualified, pending completion of state prerequisites for licensure/certification examinations. This exception only applies at the GS-9 grade level.
    • For the GS-11 grade level and above, the candidate must be licensed or certified. VHA social workers who are not licensed or certified at the time of appointment must become licensed or certified at the independent, master's level within three years of their appointment as a social worker.
• Grandfathering Provision. All persons employed in VHA in this occupation on the effective date of the Social Worker Qualification Standard - GS-0185 - September 10, 2019 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. 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.

Social Worker, GS-09:

• Experience, Education, and Licensure. None beyond the basic requirements.
• Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs). In addition to the experience above, you must demonstrate all of the following KSAs on their resume and in their experience. Please ensure your resume/CV/application contains sufficient information to support the level of experience/education/training listed below; otherwise, we will not be able to award you credit for the experience/education/training you claim. If selected, you may be required to submit narrative responses then.

• (a) Ability to utilize a Veteran centric approach when providing interventions and counseling for Veterans, their family members, caregivers, and survivors.
• (b) Ability to assess the psychosocial functioning and needs of Veterans and their family members, and to formulate and implement a treatment plan, identifying the Veterans problems, strengths, weaknesses, coping skills, and assistance needed.
• (c) Ability to implement treatment modalities in working with individuals, families, and groups to achieve treatment goals. This requires judgment and skill in utilizing supportive, problem solving, or crisis intervention techniques.
• (d) Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships and communicate with clients, staff, and representatives of community agencies.
• (e) Fundamental knowledge of medical and mental health diagnoses, disabilities, and treatment procedures. This includes acute, chronic, and traumatic illnesses/injuries; common medications and their effects/side effects; and medical terminology.

Social Worker, GS-11:

• Experience. Appointment to the GS-11 grade level requires completion of a minimum of one year of post-MSW experience equivalent to the GS-9 grade level in the field of health care or other social work-related settings (VA or nonVA experience).

-OR-

• Education and Licensure. In addition to meeting basic requirements, a doctoral degree in social work from a school of social work may be substituted for the required one year of professional social work experience in a clinical setting. You must attach additional transcripts to support this substitute.
  • Licensure or certification at the independent practice level is required at the GS-11 level.

-AND-

• Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs). In addition to the experience above, you must demonstrate all of the following KSAs on their resume and in their experience. Please ensure your resume/CV/application contains sufficient information to support the level of experience/education/training listed below; otherwise, we will not be able to award you credit for the experience/education/training you claim. If selected, you may be required to submit narrative responses then.
  • (a) Knowledge of community resources, how to make appropriate referrals to community and other governmental agencies for services, and ability to coordinate services.
  • (b) Skill in independently conducting psychosocial assessments and treatment interventions to a wide variety of individuals from various socio-economic, educational, and other backgrounds.
  • (c) Knowledge of medical and mental health diagnoses, disabilities and treatment procedures (i.e. acute, chronic and traumatic illnesses/injuries, common medications and their effects/side effects, and medical terminology) to formulate a treatment plan.
  • (d) Skill in independently implementing different treatment modalities in working with individuals, families, and groups who are experiencing a variety of psychiatric, medical, and social problems to achieve treatment goals.
  • (e) Ability to provide consultation services to new social workers, social work graduate students, and other staff about the psychosocial needs of patients and the impact of psychosocial problems on health care and compliance with treatment.

References: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit Social Worker Qualification Standard - GS-0185

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-11. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-9 to GS-11.

Physical Requirements: Must pass a pre-employment physical examination as required by VA Handbook 5019. This examination is administered by VA Occupational Health. This position requires moderate lifting up to 44 lbs., carrying objects up to 15 lbs., frequent reaching above shoulder, use of fingers, hands and legs, walking & standing up to 8 hours, bending and climbing and able to hear whisper. The incumbent must be physically, emotionally and mentally stable in order to efficiently perform the essential functions of this position without hazard to themselves or others.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

This occupation is listed on the Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer (OCHCO) Bulletin - Annual Determination of Staffing Shortages - September 25, 2025. Therefore, this vacancy announcement is EXEMPT from Veterans Preference.


IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Your application, resume, C.V., and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for employment.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.

Area of Consideration - Eligible applications will be reviewed and referred in the following order by highest grade level:
1. Current permanent VA employees of the facility.
2. All other VA employees.
3. Current permanent Federal employees of other agencies.
4. All other applicants.

Note: Veterans' Preference does not apply to this occupation, effective 9/25/25.

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes:

• Resume
• Transcript

Special Note for Applications: To complete your application, please use the following link https://vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Resume.docx to download the standard Clinical Resume Document. This one-page document does not need to be modified and must be uploaded into the two-page restricted 'Resume' document upload field.

Your full resume/CV may be uploaded without page limitation into the 'Other' document upload field.


The following documents are accepted, and may be required if applicable to your eligibility and/or qualifications for this position. Please ensure you have included all documents required for your application, such as a copy of your transcript (if using education to qualify), SF-50's (current/former Federal employees), etc.

• Cover Letter
• DD-214/ Statement of Service
• Disability Letter (VA)
• Independent Licensure (required for GS-11)
• HPT Documentation
• Standard Clinical Resume
• Professional Certification
• Resume
• SF-15
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcript

Next steps