Job Summary

The Social Work Associate accepts and supports the guiding principles of the Medical Center to enable patients and their families to function at their fullest potential and to enhance their quality of life through the development of personal, familial, social, medical and economic resources. The position is located at thee LCpl Dana C Darnell VA Clinic.

Job Description

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 06/29/2026. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-7 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-6. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR): An IOR is a basic requirement that must be met in order to qualify for the 0187 occupational series. You may qualify based on your experience as described below: Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-6 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower level in the normal line of progression is qualifying for positions above the GS-5 level. Specialized experience is experience in a program of direct social welfare services that required the application of program policy and operations knowledge in providing social welfare services and/or assisting social workers.. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have Graduate Education with Major study -- social sciences. **One full academic year of graduate study is qualifying for GS-7. Graduate education is not creditable for positions above the GS-7 level. In addition to the above IOR requirement, you must also meet the specialized experience as described below: GS-7: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-6 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Knowledge of the goals, services, and administration and operation of HCHV/HUD­V ASH program and the ACT Program and how it relates to direct patient care in inpatient and outpatient settings; knowledge of Program criteria and barriers to finding and maintaining placement for chronically homeless veterans; knowledge of basic interviewing techniques and how to use them appropriately with a wide variety of clients including those who are hostile, emotionally upset, or has physical or sensory impairments. Preferred Experience: Homelessness assistance. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.