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Posted: February 5, 2026 (0 days ago)

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Mental Health Program Manager (Supervisory Social Worker)

Veterans Health Administration

Department of Veterans Affairs

Fresh

Location

Salary

$118,639 - $154,233

per year

Closes

February 13, 2026

GS-1 Pay Grade

Base salary range: $21,996 - $27,534

Typical requirements: No experience required. High school diploma or equivalent.

Note: Actual salary includes locality pay (15-40%+ depending on location).

Job Description

Summary

This job involves leading a mental health program for veterans as a supervisory social worker, overseeing a team to provide counseling and support services while managing operations and ensuring high-quality care.

It's ideal for an experienced social worker with leadership skills who is passionate about helping veterans and has a strong background in mental health administration.

The role offers benefits like student loan repayment up to $200,000 for eligible candidates.

Key Requirements

  • Master's degree in social work from a CSWE-accredited school
  • Licensed or certified at the advanced practice level for independent social work
  • One year of experience equivalent to GS-12 level in advanced social work practice or administration
  • Ability to supervise social workers, including clinical oversight and staff development
  • Skills in organizing work, setting priorities, and meeting deadlines in a high-stress environment
  • Proficiency in analyzing problems, implementing solutions, and using data for program efficiency
  • U.S. citizenship (or qualification under VA policy for non-citizens)

Full Job Description

This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program.

You must meet specific individual eligibility requirements in accordance with VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment.

Program Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) and eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after complete review of the EDRP application.

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/.

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: Supervisory Social Worker GS-13 Experience/Education: One year of experience equivalent to the GS-12 grade level.

Experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills in a specialty area or in administration demonstrating progressively more professional competency and judgment.

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 supervisory social workers 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) Ability to independently organize work, set priorities, and meet multiple deadlines.

(b) Skill in a range of supervisory duties which includes clinical supervision, consultation, negotiation with other departments and quality improvement.

(c) Ability to ensure provision of clinical social work services by supervised social workers.

(d) Ability to delegate authority, manage priorities, coordinate work, and follow up on pending issues to complete duties in an accurate and timely fashion.

(e) Ability to analyze organizational and operational problems, develop and implement solutions that result in efficient operations, and use data effectively to manage workload, quality, performance, and productivity within the service.

(f) Ability to provide staff training and development Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

Physical Requirements: Work requires some pulling, pushing, bending, walking and standing. Must have the ability to stand, walk and bend for prolonged periods and to function calmly under stress.

Major Duties:

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional The Mental Health Service is comprised of the outpatient Mental Health Clinic, the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Clinical Team (PCT), the Outpatient Clinical Addiction Treatment Services (CATS), the PTSD Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program (PTSD-RRTP), the Substance Abuse Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program (SARRTP), Homeless Prevention Team, an acute inpatient mental health service, and mental health providers embedded in specialty clinics, severe mental illness clinic, primary care, and community-based outpatient clinics.

This position will supervise and manage the Primary Care Mental Health Integration program.

Duties include, but are not limited to: Supervises interdisciplinary staff including Psychiatrists, Psychologists, Social Workers, LPCCs, Nurses, Peer Specialists, and Vocational Rehab Specialists housed in specialty clinics throughout mental health, including conducting performance appraisals, handling disciplinary actions, managing time and leave, and evaluating for and recommending awards.

Responsible for training incoming staff on best practice, compliance within VA standards of documentation, and ensuring appropriate training for trainees across multiple disciplines.

Handles, prioritizes and delegates complex patient care, personnel, budget, education, and program planning activities.

Responsible for a variety of accountability practices, that there are appropriate quality improvement practices in place and providing necessary pertinent data on the programs included in the incumbent's sphere of responsibility.

Writes facility policies and standard operating procedures consistent with national standards and remains knowledgeable of current staffing, productivity, clinical care guidelines/policies/directives that impact staffing and clinical care.

Provides a full range of mental health treatment and assessment services and diagnoses mental disorders, particularly for complex or unusually difficult patients.

Applying advanced theories and techniques to a wide range of Veterans with mental health disorders.

Responsible for timely completion of all clinical charting and documentation required by the Medical Center. Attend all clinical staff meetings.

Assumes complete professional responsibility for his/her clinical assessment findings, patient care decisions, and documentation.

Coordinating treatment planning and delivery of services that best meet the needs of patients and are based on scientific research on optimal treatment.

Promoting communication/interactions between team members, patients, and their families to facilitate the treatment process.

The incumbent will develop, initiate, implement, and review psychosocial treatment plans based on the patient's assessed needs.

May be asked to serve as Acting Chief or Assistant Chief of Mental Health service, in the event of their absence and will also provide coverage to other programs as needed.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00 am - 4:30 pm Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized. Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized.

EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact Betsy Quinn, betsy.quinn@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance.

Learn more Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases.

When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade).

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) Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior [work experience] or military service experience.

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: Available - Ad-hoc.

Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 31321-F Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized.

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Posted on USAJOBS: 2/5/2026 | Added to FreshGovJobs: 2/6/2026

Source: USAJOBS | ID: CBTG-12877349-26-AH