Clarification from the agency

This announcement is open to only current, permanent VHA Honolulu employees only.

Videos

The Associate Chief of Staff (ACOS) of Mental Health is responsible for the overall clinical, administrative, and programmatic operations of the Mental Health Service.

The Mental Health Service Line at VA Pacific Islands Health Care System PIHCS) includes General Mental Health in the Behavioral Health Integration Program (BHIP) and Specialty Mental Health including Inpatient, specialty PTSD services, specialty substance use disorder, residential care, suicide Prevention Program, Workplace Violence Prevention, Psychology Training and Homeless programs.

Duties may include but are not limited to:

• Decisions are made with very wide latitude and independent judgment.
• Participates as chair of Mental Health programmatic oversight for Mental Health services in all VA PIHCS sites of care.
• Applies knowledge of state of the art, evidence-based practice of mental health and organized treatment programs including a familiarity with all disciples that provide mental health treatment.
• Has supervisory responsibility for subordinates and is responsible for all professional, management, and administrative aspects of mental health services.
• Evaluates partnerships for other services including but not limited to Primary Care, Geriatrics and Extended Care, Whole Health and medical services that have an embedded mental health provider or may refer to mental services, using relevant VA statutes and regulations and take action to improve identified deficiencies.
• Responsible for all administrative action associated with mental health including tracking and evaluating staff's workload and productivity, Action Items related to mental health, creating, implementing and ensuring compliance with policies and procedures related to all aspects of mental health services, documentation of clinical services and workload, performance improvement tasks, compliance with VA performance measures, meeting all appropriate strategic goas, compliance with requirements for follow up of Veterans who miss clinical appointments, ensuring utilization of resources, etc.
• Establishes and maintains positive working relationships with internal and external customers.
• Responsible for timely completion of all program evaluations and documents required by Medical Center, VISN and VACO, ensuring compliance with appropriate bodies (such as CARF and The Joint Commission) and monitoring entities.
• Support all existing safety and infection control practices relevant to this position.
• Directs the continuous measurement and improvement of the quality, timeliness and patient satisfaction with mental health care provided by the service.
• Targeting performance improvement initiatives to address national programs such as SAIL, HEDIS.
• Plans, coordinates and ensure high quality, timely, patient centered care through utilization of multiple quality measurement tools.
• Improves patient outcomes through implementation of strategies such as clinical practice guidelines and critical pathways, health risk assessment, provider profiling etc.
• Continuously assess and improves the processes of mental health delivery in the service.
• Provides continuing surveillance of the professional performance of all providers.
• Provides active strategic decision-making and organizational planning, including budgetary and financial oversight.
• Collaborates with other service chiefs in the development and execution of the overall Medical Center and business plan.
• Plans initiatives and develops programs in collaboration with other services.
• Stays abreast of and educates staff about changing conditions in health care.
• Encourages and rewards risk-taking and entrepreneurial behavior.
• Demonstrates commitment to the Medical Centers goals and patient centered care.

Due to text limitations, this is not the entire text from the Functional Statement. If you would like to review the entire duties section, please contact the Human Resources point of contact listed at the bottom of this job opportunity announcement.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 7:30 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Telework: Ad-hoc
Remote: Available for highly qualified applicant
Functional Statement #: 000000
EDRP Authorized: Contact Sue Bringel, susan.bringel@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

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

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.
• (1) 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. For the purpose of meeting this requirement, the term "specialty area" refers to the specific specialty areas recognized by the accrediting body and not to specific job duties that might require special skills. Currently, APA accredits doctoral programs in the specialty areas of clinical psychology, counseling psychology, school psychology, or combinations of two or more of those areas. PCSAS accredits doctoral programs in psychological clinical science. CPA accredits doctoral programs in clinical psychology, counseling psychology, clinical neuropsychology, and school psychology. 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. Strictly for the purpose of determining eligibility for appointment as a psychologist in VHA, there is no distinction (b) the specialty in which the applicant is retrained must be consistent with the assignment for which the applicant is to be employed.
• [OR (3) Have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally-accredited institution, with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature.] AND (4) Internships (a) 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 (b) 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 (c) 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 (d) Applicants who completed an internship that was not accredited by APA or CPA at the time the requirement by having the equivalent of a one-year supervised internship experience in a site specifically acceptable to the candidate's doctoral program. If the internship experience is not noted on the applicant's official transcript, the applicant must provide a statement from the doctoral program verifying that the equivalent of a one-year supervised internship experience was completed in a site acceptable to the doctoral program.

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).
Grandfathering Provision. [All persons employed in VHA as a psychologist on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series and grade held, including positive education (i.e., degree and internship requirements) and licensure/certification that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation. (1) Employees grandfathered under this provision for this revision may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance (journey) level, or changed to lower grade within the occupation, but II-G18-3 FEBRUARY 7, 2018 VA HANDBOOK 5005/103 PART II APPENDIX G18 may not be promoted beyond the journey level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions or beyond the assignment currently held for those being grandfathered to assignments above FPL.] (2) Psychologists who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed on a temporary or permanent basis until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard. (3) Psychologists initially grandfathered into this occupation who subsequently obtain additional education and/or licensure that meet all of the basic requirements of this qualification standard must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation.

Preferred Experience:
Mental Health Clinical Leadership experience

References: VA Handbook 5005/PART II APPENDIX G18

The full performance level of this vacancy is 15.

Physical Requirements: In accordance with VA Directive and Handbook 5019
This position required potentially long periods of continued walking, standing and sitting. The incumbent may be exposed to infected patients and contaminated materials and may be required to don protective clothing. The incumbent may occasionally be exposed to patients who are combative secondary to delirium, dementia, or psychiatric disorders. The incumbent must be a mature, flexible, sensible individual capable of working effectively in stressful situations, able to shift priorities based on patient needs. Must complete annual Employee Health requirements, such as annual TB screening or testing, as condition of employment.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Your application, resume, C.V., and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for employment.

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; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.