Senior Social Worker

Senior Social Worker

Department: Department of Veterans Affairs

Location(s): Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Salary Range: $99273 - $129061 Per Year

Job Summary: This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific individual eligibility requirements in accordance with VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Program Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) and eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after complete review of the EDRP application.

Major Duties:

• The Oklahoma City VA Medical Center, Mental Health, is currently recruiting for three (3) Senior Social Worker in Oklahoma City, OK. This is a multi-disciplinary position and selections can be made from the following, Staff Psychologist, Senior Social Worker, and Senior Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor. VA Careers - Licensed Clinical Social Worker: https://youtube.com/embed/U_xC25QsN0w Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Social Work: vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Total-Rewards-of-a-Social-Worker-Career-Flyer.pdf The Oklahoma City VAHCS is a tertiary care facility, classified as a Clinical Referral Level III facility and is a teaching hospital to medical and behavioral staff. Oklahoma City VAHCS is one of the largest and most complex within the VA system. This position requires independent and advanced decision making and provision of services due to the types of services provided, i.e., marital, family, group and individual therapy. The incumbent practices at an advanced and independent level, using professional judgment and expertise to make decisions about routine and emergent services and treatment provided to Veterans and their Families. This requires specialized knowledge of mental health emergencies, diagnosis, intervention, and treatment. Major Duties and Responsibilities: Triage - Social Worker may perform consult/triage duties as scheduled by the Program Manager. In addition to scheduled and unscheduled walk-in appointments for Veterans referred from Primary Care Mental Health staff, physicians in specialized clinics, other medical clinics (i.e., Alzheimer's clinic, C&L), incumbent responds to appropriate requests to perform initial assessments/open access visits of veterans. Screening/Assessment - The social worker will complete a comprehensive intake/ psychosocial assessment of the veteran in collaboration with the interdisciplinary treatment team, the Veteran, family members and significant others as appropriate. Individual Psychotherapy and Counseling - The social worker is responsible for carrying a caseload of complex individual therapy cases for Veterans with mental health disorders, co-occurring disorders and psychosocial needs. Less complex cases are treated through psycho-educational classes. In collaboration with the Veteran, incumbent coordinates and plans treatment for each individual. Incumbent also assesses for any other needed mental health services, including psychiatric care, other specialized services, or family services, and makes referrals as needed. Psychoeducational Classes - The social worker provides psychoeducational classes for veterans as agreed upon by the social worker and the Mental Health Clinic Program Manager. Treatment Planning/Goal Setting - The social worker is responsible for collaboratively developing the treatment plan and setting achievable treatment goals with the Veterans participating in his/her individual caseload. Referral to service providers -. The social worker collaborates with other service providers concerning available resources and services. Advocacy - The social worker understands the intimidation of bureaucracy and will act as an advocate when it serves the best interest of the veteran. Crisis Intervention - The social worker is experienced in making rapid assessments and developing crisis management plans in conjunction with the psychiatrist for admission to mental health inpatient programs. Social Worker will perform other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: 8:00am - 4:30pm Monday - Friday Compressed/Flexible: Not available EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact David Billingsley at david.billingsleyjr@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year) Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior [work experience] or military service experience. Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child. Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment, full time employees with a total family income below $144,000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66. Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement) Telework: Situational (Ad-hoc) Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 635-54127-A Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Qualifications: Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met. Basic Requirements: Citizenship. Be a citizen of the United States. (Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3g this part). English Language Proficiency. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f). 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/Certification. Individuals assigned as supervisory social workers must be licensed or certified at the advanced practice level, and must be able to provide supervision for licensure. May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria). Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates Senior Social Worker, GS-12 Experience/Education. The candidate must have at least two years of experience post advanced practice clinical licensure and should be in a specialized area of social work practice of which, one year must be equivalent to the GS-11 grade level. Senior social workers have experience that demonstrates possession of advanced practice skills and judgment. Senior social workers are experts in their specialized area of practice. Senior social workers may have certification or other post-masters training from a nationally recognized professional organization or university that includes a defined curriculum/course of study and internship or equivalent supervised professional experience in a specialty. Licensure/Certification. Senior social workers must be licensed or certified by a state at the advanced practice level which included an advanced generalist or clinical examination, unless they are grandfathered by the state in which they are licensed to practice at the advanced practice level (except for licenses issued in California, which administers its own clinical examination for advanced practice) and they 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: a) Skill in a range of specialized interventions and treatment modalities used in specialty treatment programs or with special patient populations. This includes individual, group, and/or family counseling or psychotherapy and advanced level psychosocial and/or case management. (b) Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice. (c) Knowledge in developing and implementing methods for measuring effectiveness of social work practice and services in the specialty area, utilizing outcome evaluations to improve treatment services and to design system changes. (d) Ability to provide specialized consultation to colleagues and students on the psychosocial treatment of patients in the service delivery area, as well as role modeling effective social work practice skills. (e) Ability to expand clinical knowledge in the social work profession, and to write policies, procedures, and/or practice guidelines pertaining to the service delivery area. Preferred Experience: Experience providing mental health services Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. This vacancy is being announced above the full performance level at a GS-12 Physical Requirements: The work of the position is primarily sedentary. It may require some lifting (10-20 lbs) occasionally. Reaching above shoulder; Frequent keyboarding (4-7 hours per day); Sitting (4-7 hours per day); Walking (up to 6 hours per day); Standing (up to 8 hours per day); Infrequent climbing/descending of stairs; Some bending; Ability for rapid mental and muscular coordination simultaneously; Correctable near sighted and far-sighted vision; Hearing (Aid permitted).

How to Apply: All applicants are encouraged to apply online. To apply for this position, you must complete the full questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 12/01/2025 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12839471. To begin, click Apply Online to create a USAJOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USA JOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire. Click Submit My Answers to submit your application package. NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date.

Application Deadline: 2025-12-01