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Posted: February 24, 2026 (0 days ago)

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Social Worker (Program Coordinator) - Spinal Cord Injury

Veterans Health Administration

Department of Veterans Affairs

Fresh

Location

Salary

$123,105 - $160,040

per year

Closes

February 27, 2026More VA jobs →

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 and coordinating a social work program focused on supporting veterans with spinal cord injuries, including managing staff, developing policies, and providing clinical guidance.

A good fit would be an experienced social worker with a master's degree who enjoys administrative roles, supervising teams, and helping veterans navigate health challenges.

The position 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-11 level with advanced practice skills
  • U.S. citizenship (non-citizens only if qualified citizens unavailable)
  • Proficiency in spoken and written English
  • Ability to supervise multidisciplinary staff and provide training
  • Knowledge of program coordination, policy writing, and meeting deadlines

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/. Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Services.

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

Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates.

Social Worker (Program Coordinator), GS-12 Experience and Education. One year of experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level.

Experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills and judgment, demonstrating progressively more professional competency.

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 social worker program coordinator 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, candidates must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Knowledge of program coordination and administration which includes consultation, negotiation, and monitoring.

Knowledge and ability to write policies, procedures, and/or practice guidelines for the program. Ability to supervise multidisciplinary staff assigned to the program.

Skill in organizing work, setting priorities, meeting multiple deadlines, and evaluating assigned program area(s). Ability to provide training, orientation, and guidance within clinical practice.

Assignments.

For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity (difficulty), and variety and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time.

Program coordinators at the GS-12 grade level are administratively responsible for a clinical program providing treatment to Veterans in a major specialty area, such as but not limited to: Spinal Cord Injury, Homeless Continuum Veteran Program, Hospice and Palliative Care Program, Suicide Prevention Program, Veterans Justice Outreach, Caregiver Support Program and Community Nursing Home Program.

The program coordinator oversees the daily operation of the program, develop policies and procedures for program operation, and prepare reports and statistics for facility, VISN, and national use.

They may be responsible for the program's budget, developing and monitoring staff compliance with practice, standards and guidelines on documentation, workload, data entry, ethical practice and service delivery.

The program coordinator provides analysis and evaluation of clinical program data and computerized programs to identify system-wide trends and needs to enhance the quality of service.

They may be responsible for, or contribute to, the program's resource and fiscal management, monitoring control points developing the annual budget, operating within that budget, and accounting for appropriated funds.

The program coordinator is administratively responsible for the clinical programming and prepares reports and statistics for facility, VISN, and national use.

They provide leadership, direction, orientation, coaching, in-service training, staff development, and continuing education programs for assigned staff.

They initiate and conduct a variety of program or service audits and complete designated clinical practice audits and reports, including productivity assessments.

They oversee program operations and evaluations, identifying areas for improvement, gathering relevant data, assessing the data, developing and implementing ideas for improvement and evaluating efficacy of improvement efforts.

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.

Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Services. Major Duties:

The Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) is one of six nationally recognized Veterans Health Administration (VHA) special disability programs.

VHA facilities without SCI centers appoint SCI program coordinators to oversee access to care, referrals for treatment services, and case management services for Veterans with spinal cord injuries.

The SCI Coordinator is a master's prepared social worker with an advanced license who is responsible for managing the facility's SCI program and for coordinating SCI treatment services provided to Veterans.

The SCI Coordinator plans, develops, and implements components of the SCI/D program within the Hub and Spoke System of Care.

This includes but is not limited to: Develops a system to identify SCI patients served by the facility and community who belong in this special disability group.

This may involve use of the Spinal Cord Dysfunction (SCD) Registry, Patient Treatment File searches, VISTA and CPRS records, SCD reports and/or Classification reports, Patient Data Exchange, Network Health Exchange, and contacts within the community.

This developed system alerts the SCI Coordinator of admissions or outpatient appointments of Veterans receiving care anywhere within the facility for appropriate SCI consultation and potential referral to an SCI Center.

Serves as the point of contact for all inquiries regarding the SCI program. This may include stakeholders (e.g.

Veterans, families, community hospitals and nursing homes, Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) and other Veterans Service Organizations), Spinal Cord Injury and Disorders Strategic Healthcare Group (SCI&D, SHG) and Congressional inquiries.

Coordinates an annual comprehensive preventive health evaluation for each enrolled SCI patient at the SCI Center or at appropriate SCI Outpatient Support Clinics.

Promotes and coordinates annual evaluations within the SCI Center and appropriate SCI Outpatient Clinics.

Prepares SCI program reports for the SCI Center hubs, SCI Support Clinic, the SCI & D Strategic Healthcare Group in VA Central Office, Congress, and other stakeholders.

Develops a procedure for referrals between the SCI Center and local VA and/or community hospitals and facilitates appropriate and timely inter-facility transfers.

Establishes collaborative relationships with physicians, nurses, and other disciplines to foster their involvement in the care of Veterans with SCI.

Manages the daily operation of the SCI program and provides accountability for program effectiveness and modification of service patterns to enhance customer satisfaction.

VA Careers - Social Work: https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU VA Careers - Licensed Clinical Social Worker: https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/U_xC25QsN0w Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00am-4:30pm or as determined by supervisor.

Compressed/Flexible: Not Authorized 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 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: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Functional Statement #: 09519-F Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

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Posted on USAJOBS: 2/24/2026 | Added to FreshGovJobs: 2/25/2026

Source: USAJOBS | ID: CBSW-12893259-26-MMR