Clarification from the agency

This position is ONLY open to current, permanent VA Western Colorado Health Care System Employees, VA Employees Nationwide, and all other Federal Employees. *** If you are NOT a current federal employee, please apply to the Public Announcement: CBSU-12865438-26-AGL *** NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.

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Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

Administrative, Supervisory, and Program Management Responsibilities
-Operates as the Program Manager having broad program management responsibilities, which include the operation and management of clinical training and related administrative functions.
-Responsibility for development of background information and preparation of final drafts for the Station's response to any RFP that the medical center (through the ACOS-Education) decides to pursue for additional trainee positions.
-Oversight for the administrative and programmatic resources of the Psychology Training Programs, and as such organizes, directs, administers, and manages all aspects of the program including comprehensive planning, development, and implementing of policies and procedures.
-Coordinates the assignment of psychology interns to clinical training rotations/sites and appropriate supervising psychologists with program managers in the various patient care service lines where the clinical rotations are located.
-Responsibility for the national recruitment and selection process of doctoral interns.
-Shall remain current with standards set by the field to allow for clear and measurable evaluations of training goals and outcomes.
-Responsible for directing program evaluation within the training programs.
-Develops program self-studies and coordinates site visits needed to maintain national accreditation.
-Available to VA WCHCS leadership any requested documentation (e.g., policies and procedures) or actual data pertaining to the trainees or training program that may be required for suspense's or reports for VACO or VISN, or other entities such as VA office of Inspector General or The Joint Commission.
-Orientation of the trainees to the medical center and to discipline-specific aspects of the training programs is coordinated annually by the TD.
-Maintains a system for mentoring trainees and oversees an advising process to facilitate adjustments in their transition to the next level of professional functioning expected for their training status.
-Chairs regular meetings of a Training Committee.
-Organizes a Selection Committee and a process for selecting trainees which conforms to the APA, APPIC, and any OAA guidelines and requirements.
-Works with VACO OAA and with APPIC to maintain an accurate program description on the designated web sites for the training program.

Clinical Responsibilities
-Operates as a program manager having broad program management responsibilities, which include the operation and management of clinical training and related administrative functions.
-Role model for the interns and practicum trainees, demonstrating the application of psychological knowledge to clinical practice, and a sensitivity to and knowledge about the influence on the services provided of ethnic, cultural, and individual differences.
-Provides a full range of psycho-diagnostic services including assessment and uses the most appropriate psychotherapeutic techniques in providing quality care.
-Performs evaluations for wide array of patients representing diverse diagnostic entities.
-Provides a full range of therapeutic interventions including individual, couples/family and group psychotherapy using empirically supported approaches
-Consults with medical center staff on a wide variety of patient care issues.
-Accountable for practice, including entering patient visits, appropriate clinical documentation, measuring outcomes to interventions, and meeting productivity standards.
-Independently provides psychological assessment and diagnostic services for Veterans with a broad range of psychopathology receiving care within the clinic setting.

Work Schedule: M-F 8:00am-4:30pm
Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Authorized
EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact Jillana.Martinez@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more
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: AD-HOC May Be Authorized
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 56317-0
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

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.
• 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).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• 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.

Upon completion of your trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

***This is an OPEN CONTINUOUS ANNOUNCEMENT and will remain open until July 14th , 2026 The initial cut-off date for referral of eligible applications will be January 28th, 20205 with subsequent cut-off dates on the 1st of each month. Eligible applications received after that date will be referred at regular intervals or as additional vacancies occur on an as-needed basis until positions are filled.***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.
• 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. 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:
    • 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.
    • 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.]

AND

• 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. (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: Psychologists who meet the requirements of this revision and who were employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs prior to the implementation of this standard are considered to have fully met the requirements of this qualification standard.]
• 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.
• 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.

Psychology Program Manager, GS-14

• Experience. At least three years of experience as a professional psychologist, with at least one year equivalent to the GS-13 grade level.
• Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:
  • 1. Ability to organize work, set priorities, delegate tasks, and meet multiple deadlines.
  • 2. Knowledge of and ability to utilize evidence based practices and clinical practice guidelines appropriately and ability to guide staff in using these tools.
  • 3. Ability to deal effectively with individuals or groups.
  • 4. Skill in managing and directing the work of others to accomplish program goals and objectives.
  • 5. Ability to translate management goals and objectives into well-coordinated and controlled work operations.
  • 6. Ability to establish and monitor production and performance priorities and standards.
  • 7. Ability to analyze organizational and operational problems and to develop and implement solutions that result in sound operation of the program.

Preferred Experience: VA Experience. Understanding of Behavioral Health Interdisciplinary Program (BHIP) within the VA.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

Physical Requirements: Physical demands of the work are generally minor, as the position requires sitting, standing, and walking. A high level of self-awareness is essential. Work, divided between office and clinical settings, is primarily sedentary. May require prolonged standing, moderate walking, and manual dexterity. Requires carrying light items, such as books, files, or laptop computer

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.