Clarification from the agency

Open only to current, permanent employees of the Veterans Crisis Line (VCL) including Title 38, Hybrid Title 38, and VCS employees covered by the VA/OPM Interchange Agreements. This does not include temporary, term, or intermittent appointments. All others will be disqualified. NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.

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Major duties include but are not limited to:

• Plan and implement program short and long-term goals.
• Oversight of data driven quality assurance processes.
• Evaluates the quality of care across the suicide prevention national call centers and the VHA medical facilities.
• Consults around clinical suicide prevention program guidelines.
• Prepares reports and recommends communication strategies based on needs and goals of suicide and crisis intervention.
• Coordinates studies and make recommendations based on clinical data from a variety of sources that are implemented via national suicide and crisis intervention programs.
• National level Subject Matter Expert (SME) and consultant to VHA, OSP, and VCL on clinical intervention and outcomes related to crisis intervention and suicide prevention.
• SME in evidence base practices and implementation of suicide and crisis intervention literature throughout VHA.
• Designs evidence-based programs to reduce suicide risk among veterans.
• Develops education messaging tools and campaigns in support of suicide prevention, mental health, and crisis intervention, including increasing public awareness of suicide and crisis prevention/intervention resources beyond the hotline.
• Coordinates with stakeholders to raise awareness of crisis centers and gain public support.
• Coordinates national level clinical and research meetings for suicide prevention and crisis intervention and collaborates with others in the field.
• Critically involved in success and failures of suicide and crisis intervention programs designed to reduce suicide and crisis risk VHA nationwide.
• Collaborates with South Central Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC), MIRECC Centers of Excellence (CoE), and others, to ensure optimal project implementation, integration of project data with data from other healthcare sources, and integration of projects with other related clinical programs and research findings.
• Implements and oversees clinical projects and data collection for project evaluation, and project integration with clinical programs and VCL organizational goals and measuring outcomes.
• Provides leadership and day-to-day implementation oversight for VCL, national field projects and programs implemented through the VCL National Care Coordination Program that are designed to reduce the risk of suicide among VCL callers.
• Develops and modifies national trainings for VHA and VCL healthcare providers that are responsible for the collection and analysis of data sets related to suicide and crisis, the identification of trends in Veteran mental health, the creation of tactical plans to counteract adverse trends, and serves as the guide for the national program office and the field.
• Develop and manage national clinical projects and programs which includes the implementation of plans, collection and analysis of complex healthcare data, quality improvement for evaluation of these projects and programs, administrative and program support activities, analysis and planning of clinical VCL activities, and decision making in collaboration with the VCL National Care Coordination Division Directors.

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.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 01/16/2026.

**NOTE: This position is multi-disciplinary and can be filled by: Psychologist (CBZY-12861790-26-TP) or Social Worker (CBZY-12861791-26-TP). Each discipline is announced separately, and applicants must apply to the announcement for which they are qualified.

BASIC REQUIREMENTS. The basic requirements for employment as a VHA psychologist are prescribed by Public Law 96-151 codified in 38 U.S.C. § 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: Must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3j.
• Education:
  • You must 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-
  • 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-
  • Have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally-accredited institution, with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature. -OR-
• Internships:
  • You must 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. 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.
• NOTE: You 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).
• 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.

• Psychologist, GS-14 (National Manager)
  • Experience: At least three (3) years of experience as a professional psychologist, with at least one (1) year equivalent to the GS-13 level.
• Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:
  • Knowledge of and ability to communicate existing policies and regulations.
  • Knowledge of and ability to utilize resource materials as well as ability to develop new materials when needed.
  • Ability to relate to individuals at many different levels bot within and external to the organization.
  • Ability to communicate effectively orally and in writing with a diverse group of professional staff.
  • Ability to provide information about policy to various stakeholders or audiences in a useable and understandable manner.
  • Ability to develop and recommend new or revised policies that are consistent with organizational goals and objectives.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-14.

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.