Senior Social Worker

Senior Social Worker

Department: Department of Veterans Affairs

Location(s): Stillwater, 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:

• VA Careers - Social Work: https://youtube.com/embed/enRhz_ua_UU Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional The CBOC Senior Social Worker will develop an assessment of the Veteran in collaboration with the interdisciplinary treatment team, the Veteran, family members, and significant others. The goal of the assessment is to highlight the Veteran's strengths, limitations, internal/external supports, and service needs to optimize the Veteran's functional status. They will be able to incorporate complex multiple causation in the differential diagnosis and treatment. They understand the range of specialized treatment, interventions and skills needed for all Veterans including geriatric Veterans related to their physical limitations, psychological needs, and age-associated illnesses and conditions. They must have an understanding of the problems of advancing age and respect for the diversification of the aging Veteran population, being sensitive to human growth and development, age-appropriate needs and concerns of the geriatric Veteran and be able to provide current and advanced techniques to the treatment of this Veteran population. Counseling and Psychotherapy - Provides individual, group, and family psychotherapy and psychoeducational services, as well as advanced case management. They will practice at an advanced, independent practice level and may receive training on various evidence-based treatments. Treatment Planning/Goal Setting - Is responsible for collaboratively developing the treatment plan and setting achievable treatment goals with the Veteran/family. The treatment plan will be completed by the Veteran's third visit for mental health services. The plan will be updated yearly or more frequently if there is a change in the Veteran's condition or needs. Referral to Service Providers - Throughout treatment they are the subject matter expert on VA and/or community resources. They will collaborate with other service providers in reassessing the Veteran's needs. They are responsible for educating the Veteran and/or caregiver of the available services and assisting them in establishing the appropriate referrals based on the Veteran's preference or that of his surrogate decision-maker. Collaboration with Primary Care - They assume a collaborative role with the primary care staff at the CBOCs, providing timely social work and psychological consultations for treatment of Veterans of all eras, including on an emergent or walk-in basis. This may involve open access hours for warm handoff referrals from primary care for consultation, mental health screening, or crisis intervention. They consult with CBOC primary care staff to address the impact of psychosocial and psychological areas of functioning on broader health care issues. Crisis Intervention - They are experienced in making rapid assessments and developing crisis management plans for admission to mental health inpatient programs. The incumbent has access to multiple resource directories in addition to previously developed resources to meet the demands of a crisis. In the event of a medical or psychiatric emergency, staff will follow the protocol of the CBOC and Healthcare System. Administrative Responsibilities - They will be responsible for the guidance, training, and orientation of clinical social workers, as well as providing clinical supervision for licensure. The incumbent will provide the CBOC Behavioral Health Program Manager and CBOC medical leadership with recommendations regarding programming and policy in the CBOC. They are able to write policy, procedures, and/or practice guidelines that pertain to the specialty population or a specialty treatment program. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00am-4:30pm EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact 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) 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) Functional Statement #: PD54575-A

Qualifications: Basic Requirements: United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. 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. Persons hired or reassigned to social worker positions in the GS-0185 series in VHA must be licensed or certified by a state to independently practice social work at the master's degree level. Current state requirements may be found by going to http://vaww.va.gov/OHRM/T38Hybrid/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. 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 the GS-12 level. 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). Ability to complete a Basic Life Support (BLS) course is a position requirement.

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 01/12/2026 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12859522. 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: 2026-01-12