Senior Social Worker
Veterans Health Administration
Posted: February 13, 2026 (0 days ago)
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Veterans Health Administration
Department of Veterans Affairs
Location
Salary
$126,164 - $164,017
per year
Type
Full Time
More Social Services jobs →Closes
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).
This job involves leading a team of social workers to provide mental health support and connect veterans in hospitals and outpatient clinics to community resources, while also managing the program's operations and policies.
It's a leadership role in a VA hospital in San Francisco, focusing on helping veterans with issues like surgery recovery, housing, or end-of-life care.
A good fit would be an experienced social worker with strong team management skills and a passion for veteran services.
The Social Worker Program Coordinator Team Lead provides clinical social work services to Veterans admitted to the Inpatient medicine/Surgery/ARC services and Veterans engaged with outpatient surgery specialty clinics at SFVA Health Care System.
Responsible as a part of a multi-disciplinary team; consist of high-quality psychosocial assessment and intervention: assessment of coping in the community; coordination of linkages to other appropriate VA or community service providers/agencies, etc.
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.
References: VA Handbook 5005/120 Part II Appendix G39, Dated September 10, 2019. The full performance level of this job series, 0185, Social Worker, is GS-11. Major Duties:
This higher-level duties consist of significant scope, complexity (difficulty), and variety and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time.
The duties as the Program coordinator at the GS-12 grade level are listed below but not limited to: 1) administratively responsible for a clinical program providing treatment to Veterans in a major specialty area; 2) may be the sole practitioner in this specialty at the facility and typically provide direct patient care services in the program area; 3) 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; 4) is 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; 5) provides analysis and evaluation of clinical program data and computerized programs to identify system-wide trends and needs to enhance the quality of service; 6) 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; 7) is administratively responsible for the clinical programming and prepares reports and statistics for facility, VISN, and national use; 8) provides leadership, direction, orientation, coaching, in-service training, staff development, and continuing education programs for assigned staff; 9) initiates and conducts a variety of program or service audits and complete designated clinical practice audits and reports, including productivity assessments; 10) 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; 11) provides leadership, direction, orientation, coaching, in-service training, staff development, and continuing education programs for assigned staff; 12) develops and monitors staff compliance with practice, standards and guidelines on documentation, workload, data entry, ethical practice and service delivery.
As Team Lead Responsibilities: The Inpatient Social Work Team Lead will be the acting supervisor in the supervisor's absence to assure adequate staff coverage and responds to clinical and administrative issues.
They will seek out, 4 create, and participate in section, department, and hospital-wide projects in program planning, strategic planning, performance improvement, organization advocacy, resource planning, systems improvement, and quality improvement.
They will serve as the liaison with the UCSF Medicine Service (residents, chief residents, med students) and serve as point-person in Med/Surg/ARC for questions and consultation.
They will provide training to social workers related to Inpatient Medicine as well as general topics in Social Work Service.
They will train new social workers in the section in general skills of Med/Surg/ARC social work, VA and community resources, and the role of Social Worker on the interdisciplinary team and serve as mentor for other social workers in the section.
They will serve as field instructor for MSW Social Work student Duty Location: 4150 Clement Street, San Francisco, CA 94121 Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00am-4:30pm or as determined by supervisor.
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP): This position is ineligible for EDRP. Travel: This position is not expected to travel.
Physical Requirements: The physical demands of this position involve primarily walking, talking, driving, use of the telephone, etc.
Strenuous physical activity is not required although the incumbent is expected to withstand pressure and stress as part of their daily activities. Light lifting and carrying - under 15 pounds.
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