Social Services Assistant

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 11/19/2024. 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-06 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05. 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. You may qualify the GS-06 based on your experience and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-05 grade level in the federal service); experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities (KSA’s) and other characteristics to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled, in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience includes: serving as a group leader in community or residential recreation or training programs; serving as a counselor in a youth summer camp; serving as an instructor in a training program for the development of job skills; performing work that demonstrated the ability to be responsible for and to lead and train members of a job crew; serving as a group activities leader in the Armed Services; serving as a unit leader-monitor-proctor for a dormitory group in a boarding school or other residential facility; serving as an 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; serving as an 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; serving as an aid or assistant to professional or specialist staff working with individuals who are addicted to or abuse alcohol and/or drugs. OR, Education Substitution: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed at least one-half year of graduate level education (9 semester hours above a Bachelor’s degree) or an internship in course matter that must include courses directly related to the work of the Social Services Assistant position. This education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university. NOTE: Transcripts (unofficial or official) must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation. OR, Combination of Education and Experience: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have equivalent combinations of successfully completed graduate level education and specialized experience, as described above, which meet the total experience requirements for this grade level. The education portion must include graduate courses directly related to the work of the Social Services Assistant position. You may qualify the GS-07 based on your experience and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-06 grade level in the federal service); experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities (KSA’s) and other characteristics to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled, in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience includes: serving as a group leader in community or residential recreation or training programs; serving as a counselor in a youth summer camp; serving as an instructor in a training program for the development of job skills; performing work that demonstrated the ability to be responsible for and to lead and train members of a job crew; serving as a group activities leader in the Armed Services; serving as a unit leader-monitor-proctor for a dormitory group in a boarding school or other residential facility; serving as an 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; serving as an 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; serving as an aid or assistant to professional or specialist staff working with individuals who are addicted to or abuse alcohol and/or drugs. OR, Education Substitution: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed at least one full year of graduate level education or an internship only in those instances where it is directly related to the work of the Social Services Assistant position. If that information cannot be obtained from the school, 18 semester hours should be considered as satisfying the one year of full-time study requirement. Part-time graduate education is creditable in accordance with its relationship to a year of full-time study at the school attended. This education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university. OR, Combination of Education and Experience: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have equivalent combinations of successfully completed graduate level education and specialized experience, as described above, which meet the total experience requirements for this grade level. The education portion must include graduate courses directly related to the work of the Social Services Assistant position. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Attention to Detail Customer Service Organizational Awareness Teamwork 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. 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 incumbent serves as the Social Services Assistant for VA Central Iowa Health Care Systems (VACI HS) Homeless Programs and is located at the Community Resource and Referral Center (CRRC). The Social Services Assistant supports the Homeless Programs by assisting with the day-to-day operations of the CRRC and providing support to professional staff in providing services to Veterans.