Clarification from the agency

NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below. This position is open to current VHA employees only.

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

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

The Senior Psychologist Program Manager is assigned to the Behavioral Health (BH) service line within the Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans' Hospital (Truman VA). This position serves as the General Mental Health Section Lead for the the BH service, with senior leadership responsibility for Behavioral Health Interdisciplinary Programs (BHIP), Primary Care Mental Health Integration (PCMHI), and Home Based Primary Care (HBPC) at the Truman VA main facility and nine associated Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs).

Duties may include but are not limited to:

• Directly supervises a diverse team (over 14 FTE) of psychologists (GS 12, 13, and 14), social workers (GS 11 and 12), and Peer Specialists. Indirectly supervises more than 20 additional FTE, including psychologists, social workers, nurses, and doctoral psychology interns.
• Manages substantial and specialized, complex, and highly professional services that significantly impact the behavioral health care provided to Veterans. Provides direct oversight of the BHIP programs located at the main facility and all associated CBOCs, PCMHI at all locations, and BH staff who are assigned to Home Based Primary Care (HBPC) teams. Provides indirect support and oversight for psychology training programs at the practicum and doctoral internship levels. This position completes other administrative and clinical leadership tasks as assigned by the Chief of Behavioral Health.
• Provides a full range of psychodiagnostic services, including psychological assessment and psychological testing of patients. Selects the optimum battery of tests or procedures to gain the appropriate information in each case. Oversees the administration and scoring of psychological assessment procedures, interprets and reports the findings of the evaluation in the medical record in a timely fashion, and integrates the findings to inform treatment planning for patients. Psychological assessments comply with the documentation and timeliness standards established by the Medical Center and The Joint Commission.
• Develops, implements, and documents the psychotherapeutic treatment plan for an assigned caseload of patients, including prompt completion of clinical reminders, suicide risk assessments, and safety plans. The incumbent formulates a mutually agreed upon treatment plan, which includes measurable goals, objectives, and treatment methods based upon the results of psychological assessment. The treatment plan is used to direct a course of treatment, is individualized to include patient preferences, and reflects a multidisciplinary approach to care (as clinically indicated). The plan is updated annually or more frequently if there is a change in the patient's condition or needs as indicated by veteran self-report or data gathered through measurement based care activities. The incumbent utilizes the Federal Electronic Health Record (FEHR) and any other electronic software assigned by the Chief of Behavioral Health (e.g., Mental Health Suite) to document treatment planning and progress. Treatment plan documentation complies with the documentation and timeliness standards established by the Medical Center and The Joint Commission.
• Provides clinical supervision and instruction for psychology practicum students, doctoral psychology interns, and/or post-doctoral fellows, as assigned.
• Other duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm
Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized
EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact VISn15EDRP@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)
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 (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement)
Telework: Adhoc, will be discussed during interviews.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 000000
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.
• Incumbent is responsible to operate a government-owned/leased vehicle to properly carry out assigned duties.? Incumbents must possess [and maintain] a valid, unrestricted State driver's license, have a safe driving record, and demonstrate that they are medically qualified to operate the appropriate motor vehicle safely
  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

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:

• 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 Requirement - Per VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, Section A, Paragraph 3j: No person will be appointed under authority of 38 U.S.C., chapter 73 or 74, to serve in a direct patient-care capacity in VHA who is not proficient in written and spoken English.
• Education Requirement - 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. OR, have a doctoral degree in any area of psychology and, in addition, successfully completed a 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 you were retrained is consistent with the assignment you are am applying for; OR, have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally-accredited institution, with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature.
• Internship Requirement - 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). NOTE: 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: Candidates must 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. Exception: Non-licensed applicants who otherwise meet the eligibility requirements may be given a temporary appointment as a "graduate psychologist" at the GS-11 or GS-12 grade under the authority of 38 U.S.C. 7405 (c)(2)(B) for a period not to exceed two years from the date of employment on the condition that such a psychologist provide care only under the supervision of a psychologist who is licensed. Failure to obtain licensure during that period is justification for termination of the temporary appointment.

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 Determination - GS15:

Experience: To qualify for this position you must possess at least 4 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) Skill in managing and directing the work of large, complex organizational units and in applying effective management practices.
2) Skill in persuasion, negotiation, and motivation to negotiate multiple program policies.
3)Skill in interpersonal relationships in dealing with employees and other managers using advanced consultation and problem-solving skills.
4) Skill in the application and analysis of measurement tools to systems issues.
5) 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.
6) Ability to assess need for basic and complex services across multiple programmatic contexts.
7) Ability to coordinate the efforts of multiple program elements across a complex system.

Preferred Experience: Leadership experience or leadership potential, supervisory experience in general mental health settings.

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

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS15.

Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019

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.