Summary You will serve as the Social Services Assistant for the VA Puget Sound Healthcare System in Social Work Service located in Tacoma or Seattle, Washington. You will provide administrative support for the Community Housing and Outreach Services (CHOS) Program. This is a full-time position at 40 hours per week. Responsibilities Assist homeless and formerly homeless Veterans with their psycho-social needs, identify problems, inform them of VA services or benefits available, provide supportive counseling, refer them to appropriate programs and resources, and when needed, assist them in linking up with a Social Worker or housing program that can be of most assistance. Provide direct interventions to Veterans within their home and/or in community settings. Educate, provide guidance, and assists Veterans and family members with completing Advance Directives (Living Will/Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care), housing documentation, and will provide guidance to patients regarding these documents. Screen all Veterans coming into the office to determine needs and make appropriate referrals. Maintain an up-to-date file on resources provided by community providers. Provide administrative support for program, multi-disciplinary team, and participate in events throughout the regions such as homeless Stand Down events. Perform a wide range of functions involving the review, analysis, and evaluation of the full range of services (functions) provided within the program while utilizing various computer software applications. Ensure accurate and timely balances are maintained on fund control points. Participates in program planning and development, making recommendations for program policies and procedures. Will be expected to perform a large part of their work in community settings. Must have an unrestricted State Driver's License and be cleared upon hire to drive a government vehicle for transporting Veterans Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00am-4:30pm Compressed/Flexible: May be authorized Telework: Not authorized Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Social Services Assistant/PD41378A Financial Disclosure Report: Not required Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 You may be required to serve a probationary period Subject to background/security investigation Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP) Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details. You must have an unrestricted State Driver's License and must be cleared to drive a government vehicle Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by 30 days from the closing date of this announcement, 11/15/2024. 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-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-06. 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. Must have an unrestricted State Driver's License and be cleared upon hire to drive a government vehicle for transporting Veterans. Incidental Operator: Incidental Operators are employees, other than those occupying a position officially classified as a motor vehicle operator, who are required to operate a government-owned or leased motor vehicle to properly carry out their assigned duties. To qualify as an incidental operator, an employee must possess a valid State license, have a safe driving record, pass a road test, and demonstrate that he or she is medically qualified to operate the appropriate motor vehicle safely. Individual Occupational Requirement: All applicants, regardless of grade level must meet minimum requirements. Examples of specialized experience include Group leader in community or residential recreation or training programs. Counselor in a youth summer camp. Instructor in a training program for the development of job skills. Work that demonstrated the ability to be responsible for and to lead and train members of a job crew. Group activities leader in the Armed Services. Unit leader-monitor-proctor for a dormitory group in a boarding school or other residential facility. Aid or assistant to professional or specialist staff in such fields as personnel (private or government), employment guidance in a vocational or academic institution, social service, or manpower development. Aid or assistant to professional or associate staff engaged in work of a social services nature in private, public welfare, government program, or community organizations, or in voluntary activities. Aid or assistant to professional or specialist staff working with individuals who are addicted to or abuse alcohol and/or drugs. In addition to the Individual Occupational Requirements, you must also qualify based on the below: 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: specialized training and/or equivalent experience in the field of addition treatment and homelessness; demonstrate knowledge of substance abuse problems and rehabilitation planning and the ability to recognize deficiencies and disabilities; demonstrate knowledge and theory of the forms, stages, and manifestations of additive disorders; an in-depth understanding of communications with staff members including the ability to communicate clearly and maintain smooth working relationships with Veterans, fellow employees, supervisors and professionals throughout the medical center and community; ability to handle crisis intervention or other emergency situations; application of thorough knowledge and understanding of problems common to homeless persons or related knowledge and ability to learn about homeless persons. OR Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed one (1) year of graduate education that is directly related to the duties of the position. NOTE: Transcripts (unofficial or official) must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation NOTE: As a general rule, education is not creditable above GS-05 for most positions covered by this standard; however, graduate education may be credited in those few instances where the graduate education is directly related to the work of the position. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Administration and Management Compliance Oral Communication Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. Physical Requirements: The work is mainly sedentary with occasional carrying of items such as papers and files, boxes of paper, driving government vehicles. Working Conditions: Work is performed in an office setting with periodic travel to the community to liaison with community organizations or for outreach events. 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/. Education A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/. Additional Information This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement. Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.