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Senior Psychologist (Service Chief)

Department of Veterans Affairs
Veterans Health Administration
Veterans Health Administration
This job announcement has closed

Summary

The Psychologist (Associate Chief of Staff/Mental Health) serves as Chief of Behavioral Health Service and is responsible for administrative and clinical management and operation of Behavioral Health personnel and programs and achieving and maintaining facility adherence to VHA standards, state licensing standards, VA-OIG expectations as well as those of accrediting agencies such as The Joint Commission (TJC) and Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF).

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
07/03/2024 to 07/11/2024
Salary
$153,272 to - $199,250 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 15
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Columbus, OH
1 vacancy
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Not required
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Excepted
Promotion potential
None
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
Yes
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
Yes
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
CBSR-12450896-24-CP
Control number
798550600

Videos

Duties

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VA Careers - Psychologist: https://youtube.com/embed/77qHlLw9Xck

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

Duties include, but are not limited to:

Program Management Responsibilities

  • Exercises administrative, programmatic, clinical, and academic oversight of all Behavioral Health programs to ensure delivery of quality services.
  • Coordinates and integrates the programs into a comprehensive package of services that meet the evolving needs of the Veteran population and that comply with the Uniform Behavioral Health Services handbook (VHA Handbook 1160.01) and VHA's Behavioral Health Operating Plan.
  • Serves as the principal lead and advocate for Behavioral Health programs and patients within the VA Central Ohio Healthcare System.
  • Develops and implements appropriate policies, procedures, plans, and professional standards that guide and support all Behavioral Health programs.
  • Develops program review and evaluation to ensure that the access, quality of care, customer service/patient satisfaction, and utilization management/efficiency dimensions of care are continuously evaluated and improved.
Clinical Responsibilities
  • Provides a full range of behavioral health care and consultation as outlined by clinical privileges.
  • Addresses complex patient care needs that may be beyond the abilities of Behavioral Health staff.
  • Provide clinical consultation to various disciplines and levels of training.
  • Through training and policy development, leads the Behavioral Health service in implementation of evidence-based assessment and intervention protocols.
Supervisory Responsibilities
  • Coordinates and provides clinical oversight of all clinical providers and staff who provide or support the provision of behavioral health care in the VA Central Ohio Healthcare System.
  • Coordinates and monitors clinical training and development of behavioral health staff and those who support provision of behavioral health care.
  • Recruits, trains, supervises, and retains well-trained, highly skilled, and compassionate staff to provide behavioral health services.
  • Collaborates with the Social Work Executive and Nurse Executive, to recruit, select, assign, and supervise employees who provide services as part of Behavioral Health Service programs and teams.
Academic/Teaching/Training Responsibilities
  • Oversees, develops, coordinates, and evaluates academic/trainee programs.
  • Involved in the training of trainees of various behavioral health disciplines, as appropriate.
  • Provides leadership, guidance, and consultation on staff education and development.
  • Orients, teaches and serves as a consultant to other VA Central Ohio Healthcare staff and trainees and assists in their formulation of the psychological characteristics and treatment
Research/Program Evaluation Responsibilities
  • Encourages and supports appropriate clinical research.
  • Initiates and completes appropriate studies as per protocols and/or collaborates with others performing research.
  • Reviews protocol submissions to the VA's Institutional Review Board as requested.
Other Significant Responsibilities
  • Serves as a member of key facility managerial bodies.
  • Serves on the Medical Executive Board and other ad hoc committees
  • Serves on VISN 10 committees as assigned
  • Serves on national VA committees as assigned

Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 8:00am-4:30pm
Education Debt Reduction Program (Student Loan Repayment): AuthorizedLearn more.
EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact terrice.wallace@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance.
Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases. When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of existing pay, higher or unique qualifications, or special needs of the VA.
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.
Telework: Available (Ad-hoc)
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 92269-O
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

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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:

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 3g, this part.)

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.

OR

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.

OR

Have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally-accredited institution, with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature.

Internships.

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.

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. 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.

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.

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).


Grade Determinations:

Senior Psychologist, GS-15 (Service Chief)

Experience. At least four years of experience as a professional psychologist, with at least one year equivalent to the GS-14 level.

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:
  1. Ability to supervise and manage a large group of professional staff effectively.
  2. Skill in interpersonal relationships, including conflict resolution and ability to work collaboratively with supervisors from other units.
  3. Ability to accurately apply the qualification standards, assesses the potential of current and prospective employees, and promotes their professional development.
  4. Ability to develop appropriate productivity standards for professional staff, often across multiple program lines.
  5. Knowledge of the goals and objectives of the medical center and VISN and ability to communicate these to subordinates.

References: VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Appendix G18, Psychologist Qualification Standard.

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-15.

Physical Requirements: The work is both sedentary and active, requiring walking throughout the medical center. Duties may require lifting, carting and carrying computer equipment such as monitors and printers weighing 20-40 pounds. Asking assistance from other specialist to help with lifting is encouraged. There may be limited crawling under desks and behind areas to gain access to
equipment.
.

Education

IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

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.

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.

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