Psychology Program Manager

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.

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Duties



NOTE: Readjustment Counselors are multi-disciplinary and can be filled by: Social Worker, Psychologist, Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor, and Marriage & Family Therapist. Each discipline is announced separately, and applicants must apply to the announcement for which they are qualified.

Serves as a Psychology Program Manager, RCS Vet Center Director (VCD) and is responsible for the professional and administrative supervision and oversight of all readjustment counseling, outreach, referrals and follow-up care coordination services provided to eligible individuals within the designated Vet Center Service Area (VSA).

• The VCD supervises both professional and nonprofessional staff including a multi-disciplinary team of mental health professionals of various performance levels who work in multiple locations (Vet Centers, Vet Center Outstations and Community Access Points) and in communities distant from the Vet Center through planned outreach, often in conjunction with a Mobile Vet Center.
• Responsible for Administrative and outreach staff service functions
• Responsible for the Vet Center's resource and fiscal management, monitoring control points, developing the annual budget, operating within that budget and accounting for appropriated funds
• Leads the coordination and briefing during meetings with Congressional representatives and their staff.
• Lead in planning, establishing and implementing Vet Center policies and procedures, developing staff goals and objectives, and monitoring, coordinating and evaluating the work of all Vet Center staff, including social workers, other Hybrid Title 38 Mental Health Professionals recognized as licensed independent practitioners, Title 5 Readjustment Counselors, outreach workers and program support assistants.
• Provides direct readjustment counseling services within and outside of the Vet Center to include in-person and virtual services based on client preference, within the parameters of all current VHA directives, state licensure standards and VA OIG expectations.
• Responsible for professional assessment and specialized service planning to address the most complex readjustment problems presented by eligible clients within the Vet Center setting Service provision to such cases requires the incumbent to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment perspectives into the development of the service plan
• Performs other duties as assigned.
  
  

Total-Rewards-of-an-Allied-Health-VA-Career-Brochure.pdf

Psychologist: vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Total-Rewards-of-a-Psychology-Career-Flyer.pdf

Work Schedule: Mon-Fri; 8:00am - 4:30pm

Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized

Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized

EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact VHA.ELRSProgramSupport@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more

Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases when setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade).

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: Not Available

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Functional Statement #: 34121A

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

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Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• You may be required to serve a probationary period.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process.
• Must pass pre-employment physical examination.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details.
  
  

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: The basic requirements for employment as a VHA psychologist are prescribed by Public Law 96-151 codified in 38 U.S.C. :OR: :OR:

7402. To qualify for appointment, all applicants for the position of psychologist in VHA must meet the following:

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: Psychologists must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3j.

Education: Have a doctoral degree in psychology from a graduate program in psychology accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA), the Psychological Clinical Science Accreditation System (PCSAS), or the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) at the time the program was completed. The specialty area of the degree must be consistent with the assignment for which the applicant is to be employed.

There are no job assignments in VHA that require the skills of a school psychologist; therefore, an applicant with a degree in the specialty area of school psychology is not eligible for appointment.

Have a doctoral degree in any area of psychology and, in addition, successfully complete a re- specialization program (including documentation of an approved internship completed as part of the re- specialization program) meeting both of the following conditions:

• The re-specialization program must be completed in an APA or a CPA accredited doctoral program; and,
• the specialty in which the applicant is retrained must be consistent with the assignment for which the applicant is to be employed.
• Have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally-accredited institution, with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature.
• Internship: Have successfully completed a professional psychology internship training program that was accredited by APA or CPA at the time the program was completed and that is consistent with the assignment for which the applicant is to be employed. :OR:
• New VHA psychology internship programs that are in the process of applying for APA accreditation are acceptable in fulfillment of the internship requirement, provided that such programs were sanctioned by the VHA Central Office Program Director for Psychology and the VHA Office of Academic Affiliations at the time that the individual was an intern. :OR:
• VHA facilities that offered full-time, one-year pre-doctoral internships prior to PL 96- 151 (pre- 1979) are considered to be acceptable in fulfillment of the internship requirement :OR:
• Applicants who completed an internship that was not accredited by APA or CPA at the time the program was completed may be considered eligible for hire only if they are currently board certified by the American Board of Professional Psychology in a specialty area that is consistent with the assignment for which the applicant is to be employed.
  
  NOTE: Once board certified, the employee is required to maintain board certification. :OR:
• Applicants who have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally- accredited institution with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature may fulfill this internship requirement by having the equivalent of a one-year supervised internship experience in a site specifically acceptable to the candidate's doctoral program.
• 
  
  Licensure: Persons hired or reassigned to psychologist positions in the GS-0180 series in VHA must hold a full, current, and unrestricted license to practice psychology at the doctoral level in a State, Territory, or Commonwealth of the United States, or the District of Columbia.
  

Preferred Experience: Working with combat veterans in providing family counseling services; working with veterans who were sexually traumatized/harassed while in the military; conducting psycho-social assessments and the provision of processing psychotherapy for trauma related conditions; and implementing treatment plans for combat Veterans/and their families.


Grade Determinations:

GS-14 Experience and Education: In addition to the Basic Requirements; candidates must have at least three years of experience as a professional psychologist, with at least one year equivalent to the GS-13 grade level.

:AND:

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs): In addition to the experience above, candidates must demonstrate all of the following Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs):

• Ability to organize work, set priorities, delegate tasks, and meet multiple deadlines.
• Knowledge of and ability to utilize evidence based practices and clinical practice guidelines appropriately and ability to guide staff in using these tools.
• Ability to deal effectively with individuals or groups representing widely divergent backgrounds, interests, and points of view.
• Skill in managing and directing the work of others to accomplish program goals and objectives.
• Ability to translate management goals and objectives into well-coordinated and controlled work operations.
• Ability to establish and monitor production and performance priorities and standards.
• Ability to analyze organizational and operational problems and to develop and implement solutions that result in sound operation of the program.
  
  

Reference: VA Handbook 5005/103, Part II, Appendix G18, dated February 7, 2018.

The Full Performance level of the GS-0180 Psychologist job series is GS-13. The actual grade at which a candidate may be selected for this vacancy is above the Full Performance level as GS-14.



Physical Requirements: The work does not inherently include physical requirements essential for successful job performance that could not otherwise be performed with a workplace accommodation.

Education


IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application.



Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. 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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Additional information

Receiving Service Credit or Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: 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. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.

During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status.

VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority.

Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process.

If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.

Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.

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Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.