Clarification from the agency

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

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Major Duties include, but are not limited to:

• Serves as a subject matter expert in the areas of quality management and enterprise risk management for the Veterans Crisis Line and is responsible to ensure the effective implementation of an enterprise quality management system.
• Provides Executive Input in the strategic planning, budget, mission and operational planning and Policy development to ensure the provision of high quality services, including planning, developing, and implementing short and long-term goals and objectives consistent with the VCL's strategic plan.
• Utilizes current trends and relevant theories in analytical framework to design/modify, implement, and measure integrated programs within VCL to achieve the goals of the organization.
• Ensures the program is meeting regulatory/accreditation standards, including Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF), American Association for Suicidality (AAS), International Customer Management Institute (ICMI) and VHA policies.
• Responsible for quality indicators including analysis of data from monthly reporting trends for Silent Monitors from phone calls, digital services which include text and chat, end of call satisfaction question, and complaint/compliment tracking, suicide prevention coordinator consults, emergency dispatch status, facility transport plan compliance, complaints closure and all follow up, death by suicide or homicide reports. Following data analysis the incumbent will provide applicable recommendations and track actions until closure to improve and trend processes.
• Develop and implement programs, policies, and procedures to meet program goals, VHA policy and external accreditation requirements, and monitor outcomes using data-driven quality assurance processes, and implement strategies for improvement based on data analysis.
• Ability to balance responsibilities in a complex environment and to work with great autonomy; ability to set priorities and delegate tasks, meet multiple deadlines, analyze complex organizational problems; and ability to develop and implement effective solutions for those problems.
• Serves as a member of VCL's Executive Leadership Council and works closely with the VCL's Governance, Suicide Prevention Office, Office of Mental Health Operations, Mental Health Services, and key stakeholders to ensure the quality of service delivery.
• Ensures each fiscal year, the quality assurance plan id developed, implemented, and sustained with new priorities and goals developed each fiscal year and tracked until closure for VCL's organizational priorities.
• Develop education to be disseminated nationwide via webinar and other technological platforms.
• Consults with members of the Suicide Prevention Office and Suicide Prevention Researchers within and external to VA to determine effective clinical interventions and public health strategies for crisis intervention and suicide prevention among Veterans and Service Members.
• Other duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: Tour of Duty is typically Administrative Hours. Tour is subject to change based on program needs.
Compressed/Flexible: May be authorized upon supervisor approval after training per Agency policy.
Remote: This is a remote position. Selectees will work 100% of the time in a non-VA-owned space that may be within or outside the commuting area of the agency. The employee's workspace must be suitable for conducting business and as such, remote employees are expected to provide a secure, distraction-free home-based worksite with reliable high speed internet connectivity. The employee will be required to travel to the closest VA Medical Center or VA Outpatient Clinic for issuance of equipment, and as needed for technical support. Selectees will be required to self-certify that their remote workplace meets all safety, privacy, and internet speed requirements.
Functional Statement #: 0896560
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required
Bargaining Unit Information: This position is not a bargaining unit Position.

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.

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

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 3.g, this part.)
• 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: 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).
  • The re-specialization program must be completed in an APA or a CPA accredited doctoral program; and, 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).
  • The specialty in which the applicant is retrained must be consistent with the assignment for which the applicant is to be employed.

• 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. (NOTE: Once board certified, the employee is required to maintain board certification.)

• 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.
• 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:

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

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

The full performance level of this vacancy is 14.

Physical Requirements: This position requires potentially extended periods of computer use, virtual care equipment use, sitting and/or standing.

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.