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Posted: January 29, 2026 (1 day ago)

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Social Work Supervisor (Director, Mental Health Service)

Veterans Health Administration

Department of Veterans Affairs

Fresh

Salary

$168,211 - $218,677

per year

Closes

February 10, 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 is for a leader in mental health services at a VA hospital in Oakland, California, where you'll oversee social workers, manage programs for veterans' care, and ensure smooth operations in a busy healthcare setting.

It's ideal for an experienced social worker with strong leadership skills who wants to guide a team in providing support to those who served in the military.

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
  • U.S. citizenship (or rare exceptions) and proficiency in spoken and written English
  • Demonstrated ability to supervise staff, organize work, set priorities, and meet deadlines
  • Skills in clinical supervision, consultation, problem-solving, staff training, and using data for performance management
  • Ability to delegate authority, coordinate tasks, and implement solutions for operational efficiency

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. English Language Proficiency.

Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f). 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 4 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.

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:GS-13 Supervisory Social Worker Requirements: 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/.

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-13.

Physical Requirements: Moderate Lifting (15-44 lbs); Light Carrying (under 15 lbs); Use of fingers; Walking 8 hours; Standing (up to 3 hours); Repeated bending (up to 1 hour); Climbing, legs only 3 hours; Hearing (aid permitted) and emotional/mental stability.

Major Duties:

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional The Social Work Supervisor serves as the Mental Health (MH) Director at the Oakland Community Based Outpatient Clinic (OKCBOC).

The OKCBOC provides a broad range of outpatient care, which includes, in addition to mental health services, primary care, dermatology, podiatry, dental, audiology, optometry, HUD-VASH and HBPC.

The Social Work MH Director has responsibility for all clinical and administrative services in the program and is directly responsible for the management and supervision of a large interdisciplinary mental health staff..

The Social Work Mental Health Director has general proficiencies in leadership and administration, teaching and training, psychotherapy and clinical service, consultation services, and scholarly activities.

The incumbent directly reports to the Associate Chief of Mental Health CBOCs and has a dotted line reporting relationship to the Director of Mental Health Social Work.

The OKCBOC Director is a member of the management team of the San Francisco VAMC Mental Health Service and represents the Oakland Mental Health Services at relevant Medical Center management meetings and to outside groups such as Community Mental Health, Colleges, and Veteran's Organizations.

The incumbent has experience that demonstrates possession of advanced practice skills and judgment, program development and supervisory experience.

The incumbent must be licensed or certified by a state at the advanced practice level and is able to expand clinical knowledge in the profession, provide consultation and guidance to colleagues, role model effective leadership skills, teach or provide orientation to staff, develop innovations in practice interventions, and provide both administrative and supervision for a highly complex, multi-disciplinary team.

Work Schedule: Monday through Friday,8:00am to 4:30pm 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 V21CCOEEDRP@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Functional Statement #: 662-07315F Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

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Posted on USAJOBS: 1/29/2026 | Added to FreshGovJobs: 1/30/2026

Source: USAJOBS | ID: CBSW-12874384-26-BDJ