Social Service Representative

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/14/2024. 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-9 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-7. 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. Individual Occupational Requirements: Undergraduate Education: Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in any field leading to a bachelor’s degree, in an accredited college or university, is qualifying for GS-5 level positions. Graduate Education: Major study — social sciences. One full academic year of graduate study is qualifying for GS-7. Graduate education is not creditable for positions above the GS-7 level. OR Combination of education and experience that provided the applicant with knowledge of one or more of the behavioral or social sciences equivalent to a major in the field. OR General Experience (for GS-5 positions): Three years of general experience, 1 year of which was equivalent to at least GS-4, is qualifying for GS-5 level positions. General experience is work in a social services activity or other organization that required the ability to conduct interviews; to collect and analyze pertinent facts; to provide needed information, advice, and practical assistance; and to prepare clear concise personal histories and factual reports. Specialized Experience (for positions above GS-5): One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower level in the normal line of progression is qualifying for positions above the GS-5 level. Specialized experience is experience in a program of direct social welfare services that required the application of program policy and operations knowledge in providing social welfare services and/or assisting social workers. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Communications Manages and Organizes Information Veteran and Customer Focus 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 sedentary. It occasionally requires carrying of light objects such as files, books and papers; some walking, standing and bending. No special physical qualifications are required. 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/.
The Veterans Affairs Northern California Health Care System (VANCHCS) is a Level 1b facility and ranks among a complex system in the VA serving the VA Sierra Pacific Network (VISN 21). The VANCHCS offers a full range of comprehensive health care services including Dentistry, Geriatrics and Extended Care, Imaging, Medicine Services, Mental Health Services, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Service, Primary Care, Radiation Oncology, Rehabilitation Services, Specialty Services, and Surgery.