Social Service Assistant

Summary This position serves as Social Service Assistant providing a wide range of general social services for the patients served under the Lawton service unit. This position is located under the Oklahoma Area Indian Health Service at the Lawton Indian Hospital in Lawton, Oklahoma. USAJOBS Help Center - Update your resume now so it meets new resume requirements Responsibilities Provides a wide range of general social services for patients. Works with the service unit, community, staff and tribal programs. Establish and maintains listings of community resources for social services. Provides information and referral services for patients, staff, and tribal programs. Makes home visits, serves as a patient advocate serving as a social service assistant to individuals eligible for services provided by the IHS in homes, schools, clinics, and other community services under the Lawton service unit. other duties as assigned. Requirements Conditions of Employment Selectee may be subject to a probationary period ESEP appointees typically serve a two year trial period U.S. Citizenship is required Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12 / 31 / 1959 This is a designated position covered by Public Law 101-630, requiring contact or control over Indian children. Due to this requirement, the agency must ensure that persons hired for these positions have not been found guilty of or pleaded nolo contendere or guilty to certain crimes. On-call hours or standby duty may be required. Nights, weekends, holidays, and / or rotating shift may be required. Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit www.dhs.gov / E-Verify / . You will need to set up direct deposit so we can pay you. Background Investigation : If you are selected for this vacancy, you must undergo a pre-employment fingerprint check and background investigation. Fingerprint results and background investigation documentation must be cleared prior to hire. After you begin your employment, your continued employment is contingent upon the outcome of a complete background investigation as determined by the sensitivity level of your position. The investigation must find that you are suitable for Federal employment in your position. If you are found not suitable, you will be terminated after you begin work. If you make a false statement in any part of your application, you may not be hired; you may be fired after you begin work; or subject to possible criminal charges. You may be subject to a credit check as a part of the background investigation process. Qualifications To qualify for this position, your resume must state sufficient experience and / or education, to perform the duties of the specific position for which you are applying. 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; religious; spiritual; community; social). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer and part time experience. You must clearly identify the duties and responsibilities in each position held and the total number of hours per week. BASIC REQUIREMENT(S) : Individual Occupational Requirements Specialized Experience (for positions at GS-4 and above) Examples of qualifying specialized experience include : Group leader in community or residential recreation or training programs. Counselor in a youth summer camp. Instructor in a training program for the development of job skills. Work that demonstrated the ability to be responsible for and to lead and train members of a job crew. Group activities leader in the Armed Services. Unit leader-monitor-proctor for a dormitory group in a boarding school or other residential facility. 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. 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. Aid or assistant to professional or specialist staff working with individuals who are addicted to or abuse alcohol and / or drugs. In addition to the Basic Requirements, you must also meet the Minimum Qualifications stated below. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS : GS-07 Grade Level : 1 (One) year of specialized experience that equipped me with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of this position. This experience is related to the work of the position and equivalent to at least the GS-06 grade level in the Federal service as described in the vacancy announcement. Your resume must demonstrate at least one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level in the Federal service obtained in either the private or public sector performing the following type of work and / or tasks : Examples Include : planning and carrying out the successive steps and handling behavioral problems in accordance with instructions, policies, previous training, or accepted practices within the interdisciplinary health care team; interact with psychologists, nurses, social workers, community resources, residents and / or their families; facilitate group activities; recognize and respond appropriately to deviations from normal behavior; provide non-professional counseling services, including behavioral issues associated with substance use and mental health disorders in adolescents. OR Education : You have completed 1 (One) year of graduate education that is directly related to the work of the position. Time In Grade Federal employees in the competitive service are also subject to the Time-In-Grade Requirements : Merit Promotion (status) candidates must have completed one year of service at the next lower grade level. Time-In-Grade provisions do not apply under the Excepted Service Examining Plan (ESEP). You must meet all qualification requirements within 30 days of the closing date of the announcement. Education This position has an education requirement. You are strongly encouraged to submit a copy of your transcripts or a list of your courses including titles, credit hours completed, and grades. Unofficial transcripts will be accepted in the application package. Official transcripts will be required from all selectees prior to receiving an official offer. Only attendance and / or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education may be credited. Applicants can verify accreditation at the following website : If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit Additional Information Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. IHS may offer newly-appointed Federal employees credit for their directly related previous non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. This position is covered by a Bargaining Unit. Recruitment or relocation incentives may be authorized. At least a 6 month service agreement will be required. The Indian Health Service (IHS), National Health Service Corps (NHSC), and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) have student loan repayment programs for qualifying health disciplines. This is a competitive process separate from the hiring process. Opportunities for LRP are based on agency hiring priorities and availability of funds. For additional information please visit : For IHS - For NHSC - For HRSA Nurse Corps - You will be evaluated for this position in accordance with the OPM Merit Hiring Plan. As part of the application process, you will be asked to provide short essay responses (200 words or less each) to the following four questions. How has your commitment to the Constitution and the founding principles of the United States inspired you to pursue this role within the Federal government? In this role, how would you use your skills and experience to improve government efficiency and effectiveness? How would you help advance the President's Executive Orders and policy priorities in this role? How has a strong work ethic contributed to your professional, academic or personal achievements? Your responses are optional and will not be scored. However, they may be reviewed by hiring managers and agency leadership (or designees) during the evaluation process. You will be asked to certify that your responses are written in your own words and that you did not use a consultant or artificial intelligence (AI) tool (such as ChatGPT or Copilot).