Social Worker

Job Overview

Reporting to the Director, HR, the staff Social Worker is a newly established role dedicated to the mental health and emotional well-being of Eclipse's clinical, administrative, and leadership staff. Working in a 24/7 emergency and specialty veterinary environment brings a distinct set of stressors — compassion fatigue, moral distress, exposure to euthanasia and patient loss, and high-acuity, high-consequence decision-making under time pressure. This role provides staff-facing mental health support, delivers skills-based training grounded in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and champions a culture of compassionate care, empathy, and sustainable self-care across the hospital.

This is an employee-support and organizational-development role, not a treating clinician relationship. The Social Worker does not provide ongoing psychotherapy or a diagnosis-and-treatment relationship to Eclipse employees; rather, they provide short-term supportive check-ins, psychoeducation, skills training, and referrals to outside licensed providers or the hospital's Employee Assistance Program (EAP) for employees who need ongoing clinical care.

Job Responsibilities:

Staff Mental Health Support

• Provide confidential, short-term supportive check-ins for staff experiencing acute stress, grief, compassion fatigue, or burnout, particularly following difficult cases, euthanasias, or critical incidents.
• Serve as a point of contact for staff seeking guidance on workplace-related emotional or psychological concerns, and connect employees to the EAP, community mental health resources, or outside licensed providers as appropriate.
• Coordinate and help facilitate critical incident stress debriefings following traumatic events (e.g., patient deaths, workplace incidents, high-acuity cases).
• Maintain appropriate confidentiality and clear boundaries between supportive check-ins and HR's employee-relations and disciplinary functions.

Training & Education on CBT Skills

• Design and deliver training sessions that introduce staff to practical, evidence-informed CBT skills (e.g., cognitive reframing, thought records, grounding techniques) for managing workplace stress.
• Develop take-home resources, job aids, and refreshers so staff can apply CBT-based coping tools independently between sessions.
• Incorporate CBT-informed content into new hire onboarding and ongoing continuing education programming.
• Track training participation and gather feedback to continuously refine content and delivery.

Compassionate Care, Empathy & Self-Care Culture

• Partner with hospital leadership to embed compassionate-care and empathy principles into the hospital's service standards and day-to-day staff interactions.
• Develop and lead self-care programming (workshops, wellness resources, peer-support structures) tailored to the demands of 24/7 emergency and specialty veterinary work.
• Promote awareness of compassion fatigue, secondary traumatic stress, and burnout risk factors specific to veterinary medicine, and provide early-intervention strategies.
• Serve as a visible, trusted resource who helps normalize conversations about mental health and well-being within the hospital's culture.

Program Development & Collaboration

• Collaborate with the Director of HR on culture and well-being initiatives, including incorporating findings from staff engagement and culture surveys.
• Maintain accurate, confidential records of support interactions and training activities consistent with professional ethical standards and hospital policy.
• Stay current on best practices in veterinary social work, compassion fatigue resilience, and CBT-based workplace interventions.
• Perform other duties as assigned that support staff well-being and the hospital's culture goals.

Requirements

• Education & Licensure
• Master's degree in Social Work (MSW) from a CSWE-accredited program required.
• Current New Jersey licensure as a Licensed Social Worker (LSW) required; Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) preferred.
• Training or demonstrated experience in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) techniques required.
• Minimum 2–3 years of experience providing mental health support, counseling, or employee wellness programming, ideally in a high-stress, shift-based, or healthcare environment.
• Experience with compassion fatigue, secondary traumatic stress, or grief support strongly preferred.
• Veterinary, animal welfare, or healthcare industry experience a plus, but not required.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Strong working knowledge of CBT frameworks and ability to translate clinical concepts into accessible staff training.
• Excellent listening, empathy, and rapport-building skills across a range of roles, from front-line technicians to leadership.
• Sound judgment regarding confidentiality, professional boundaries, and when to escalate or refer out.
• Comfortable working in or around clinical environments that may involve exposure to patient illness, injury, or euthanasia.
• Strong presentation, facilitation, and written communication skills.
• Ability to work independently while collaborating closely with HR leadership and hospital management.

Join us in making a difference by providing vital social support that enhances the healing process for pets and peace of mind for their owners!

Compensation and Benefits:

Job Status: Full Time
Pay Range: $75,000-$85,000 commensurate with experience and credentials

• 401k
• Dental insurance
• Employee assistance program
• Employee discount
• Health insurance
• License reimbursement
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Professional development assistance
• Tuition reimbursement
• Uniform allowance
• Vision insurance

This job description is intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed and is not an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications. Eclipse Emergency & Specialty Veterinary Hospital reserves the right to amend this job description at any time. This role is subject to applicable federal and New Jersey state employment laws, including but not limited to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (NJLAD), and other applicable statutes governing licensure, confidentiality, and workplace conduct.