Clarification from the agency

Open to current permanent Department of Veterans Affairs employees, current permanent Federal employees of other agencies and all US Citizens.

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The Psychology Program Manager of Inpatient Mental Health is located in Psychology Service within the Mental Health Service Line and serves to develop, oversee, and manage clinical programming, education, training, and administrative operations related to Inpatient Mental Health services at VA Maine Health Care System. Duties may include, but are not limited to:

• Develops, oversees, and manages clinical programming, education, training, and administrative operations related to Inpatient Mental Health services, including:
• Collaborates with the VAMC Local Recovery Coordinator and other key stakeholders to develop and refine local SOPs to address the education, staff training and implementation of recovery-oriented care.
• Collaborates with the Inpatient Mental Health Nurse Manager and Patient Safety to ensure a safe and secure environment of care on the Inpatient Unit.
• Ensures that all interdisciplinary treatment team members meet regularly and work collaboratively with each Veteran in the development and implementation of a comprehensive inpatient mental health treatment plan.
• Works closely with leadership to ensure the unit has sufficient clinical coverage on weekends and holidays.
• Provides direction to front-line clinicians to ensure safe, efficient, and successful functioning of the unit.
• Initiates and supports multiple internal performance improvement projects and reports findings regularly to key stakeholders, including the Mental Health Service Line Performance Improvement Committee (MH PIC).
• Consults with and serves as resource for other professional staff concerning the need for the provision and development of services.
• Involved in the process of hiring staff and selecting trainees, to include reviewing applications, participate in interview panels, and making recommendations for selection.
• Attends VISN and VACO calls related to the provision and management of inpatient mental health services.
• Plans, develops, promotes, and manages patient-centered, recovery-oriented psychological services on the unit, including consultation, assessment, and psychotherapy.
• Provides full range of psychodiagnostics services, including clinical assessment and uses evidence-based approaches to ensure quality care to Veterans.
• Provides a full range of patient-centered, recovery-oriented therapeutic interventions, with an emphasis on delivering efficient, evidence-based therapeutic interventions to individuals, couples, family members, and groups.
• Provides clinical care coordination and case management of patients assigned.
• Conducts structured clinical interviews, provide comprehensive intake assessments, crisis interventions, completes mental health and addiction screenings, clinical reminders, evaluates Veterans for suicidal and homicidal ideation plans, and/or behavior, provides diagnoses, consults with colleagues regarding Veteran care plans, and ensures that Veterans are linked to appropriate treatment.
• Involved in the Psychology Training Program and Training Committee and provides clinical supervision and didactics to psychology trainees at all levels of training.
• Serves on Medical Center or Healthcare System, VISN, and/or National VA committees or task forces as assigned.
• Represents psychology on decision-making committees at the Medical Center or Healthcare System as assigned.
• Represents the Medical Center or Healthcare System at professional/program community group/events and committees as assigned.
• Performs other related professional duties as assigned Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 7:30a.m. to 4p.m.
  Compressed/Flexible: Not Authorized
  Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized
  Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized
  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)
  Telework: Not Eligible
  Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
  Functional Statement #: F08147
  Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
  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.
• May be subject to satisfactory completion of our credentialing process.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).

Qualifications

Basic Requirements:
a. United States Citizenship: Be a citizen of the United States. Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3.g,.
b. Education:(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 between the specialty areas (with the exception of school psychology). OR
(2) 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: (a) The re-specialization program must be completed in an APA or a CPA accredited doctoral program; and, (b) the specialty in which the applicant is retrained must be consistent with the assignment for which the applicant is to be employed. NOTE: The applicant must provide an official transcript and/or certificate documenting the completion of the re-specialization program, which includes completion of an APA or CPA internship. Psychologists who have successfully completed a re-specialization program as described above and who were employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs prior to the implementation of this standard are considered to have fully met the educational requirements of these qualification standards. OR
(3) Have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally-accredited institution, with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature. AND
c. 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 (pre1979) 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 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
(e) 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. 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.
d. Licensure. 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.
e. Board Certification. Persons hired to psychology positions in the VHA who completed an internship that was not accredited at the time the program was completed must be 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. The board certificate must be current, and the applicant must abide by the certifying body's requirement for continuing education.
f. Loss of Credential. Once board certified, psychologist must maintain a full, valid and unrestricted board certification to remain qualified for employment. A psychologist who fails to maintain the required board certification must be removed from the occupation, which may result in termination of employment. At the discretion of the appointing official, an employee may be reassigned to another occupation if qualified and if a placement opportunity exists.
g. 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.

Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates:

GS-14 Psychology Program Manager: Experience. At least three years of experience as a professional psychologist, with at least one year equivalent to the GS-13 grade level.

In addition to the experience above, the candidate 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.

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.

Area of Consideration - Eligible applications will be reviewed and referred in the following order:
1. Current permanent VA employees of the facility.
2. All other VA employees.
3. All other applicants.

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.