West Palm Beach is looking for Social Work Associate. They accepts and supports the guiding principles of the Medical Center. Performs assigned duties in a manner that promotes quality health care, outstanding customer service, and the maintenance of an environment committed to serving veterans under the HUDVASH Section in the Social Work Service. Actively supports the team concept and functions as a team player.

Qualifications:

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 09/11/2026.

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-8 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. You may qualify based on your experience and education s described below:

Education :

Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in major fields of study such as: social welfare, sociology, psychology, public administration, philosophy, education, anthropology, history, economics and/or English AND Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR) : One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower level (GS-7) in the normal line of progression of the position. 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

AND Experience :

Two years of experience as a social welfare worker or social work assistant in a voluntary, public, social, or health agency, which must have included 1 year in a medical setting. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:

Communication:

Demonstrates ability to communicate with patients in both adult and geriatric categories.

Interpersonal Skills:

Considers and responds appropriately to the needs, feelings, and capabilities of others; adjusts approaches to suit different people and situations.

Influencing/Negotiating:

Persuades others to accept recommendations, cooperate, or change their behavior; works with others towards an agreement; negotiates to find mutually acceptable solutions.

Planning and Evaluating:

Organizes work, sets priorities, and determines resource requirements; determines short- or long-term goals and strategies to achieve them; coordinates with other organizations or parts of the organization to accomplish goals; monitors progress and evaluates outcomes. 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:

he work involves sitting, standing, walking and driving and is carried out either in the community or the confines of the office/work space provided.

Work Environment:

Work will be done in HUDVASH team locations, other areas of the medical center or out in the community. Much of the work will be carried out in the integrated team work space. Works in proximity to Veterans and is therefore, occasionally exposed to communicable diseases. May also be subjected to hostile behavior during an interview and defensive maneuvers to protect self may be necessary. May be required to drive a government vehicle to other sites of care; community meetings; outreach events or other appropriate functions. 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/ .