Clarification from the agency

This position is open to US Citizens and VHA Employees Nationwide. NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.

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The Behavioral Health Program Manager provides clinical leadership, administrative oversight, and operational management of the MH-RRTP. The Program Manager collaborates with the Associate Chief of Staff for Mental Health (ACOS/MH), service line leadership, and interdisciplinary teams to ensure delivery of high-quality, Veteran-centered, recovery-oriented care consistent with Veterans Health Administration (VHA) national priorities. The position requires strong leadership skills, operational management expertise, and experience supervising interdisciplinary staff in a complex healthcare environment. Major duties include but are not limited to:

• Program Leadership:
  • Provides leadership and oversight for assigned Behavioral Health programs to ensure alignment with:
    • VHA Mental Health policies and directives
    • VISN operational priorities
    • Joint Commission accreditation standards
    • Whole Health and recovery-oriented care principles
  • Leads program development, strategic planning, and implementation of initiatives that improve Veteran outcomes and access to care.
• Supervisory Responsibilities:
  • Provides leadership and supervision to interdisciplinary staff including:
    • Registered Nurses
    • Social Workers
    • Psychologists
    • Nurse Practitioners
    • Psychiatrists
    • Other behavioral health staff
  • Responsibilities include:
    • staff scheduling and coverage planning
    • mentoring and professional development
    • participation in recruitment and onboarding
    • performance management and evaluation input
  • Promotes a collaborative, interdisciplinary culture focused on Veteran-centered care.
• Operational Oversight
  • Monitors program performance and ensures compliance with VHA policies, regulatory requirements, and accreditation standards. Responsibilities include oversight of:
    • access to care metrics
    • clinic utilization and productivity
    • workload capture and labor mapping
    • patient safety and incident review
    • staffing models and operational efficiency
  • Coordinates with service line leadership to address operational challenges and implement improvements.
• Interdisciplinary Collaboration
  • Collaborates with internal and external stakeholders including:
    • Behavioral Health Service Line leadership
    • Medical Service leadership
    • Primary Care Mental Health Integration programs
    • Community partners and referral sources
    • VISN-level program leaders
  • Ensures effective coordination of care across services and supports continuity of care of Veterans.
• Crisis Response and Operational Support
  • Provides leadership support during operational challenges including:
    • emergent patient safety events
    • staffing shortages or coverage issues
    • incident investigations and corrective actions
  • Assists Mental Health leadership in maintaining safe and effective program operations.
• Quality Management and Performance Improvement:
  • Leads quality improvement initiatives to enhance clinical outcomes and patient experience. Responsibilities include:
    • monitoring quality indicators and performance metrics
    • supporting accreditation readiness
    • implementing corrective action plans when necessary
    • participating in facility quality and safety committees
  • Promotes a culture of continuous improvements and patient safety.

Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm, subject to change based on the needs of the facility.
Telework: Ad-hoc telework may be authorized in accordance with VHA telework policies and operational needs.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 520-00590-F
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• 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 evaluation.
• 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 - . Have a master's degree in social work from a school of social work fully accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). Graduates of schools of social work that are in candidacy status do not meet this requirement until the School of Social Work is fully accredited. A doctoral degree in social work may not be substituted for the master's degree in social work. Verification of the degree can be made by going to http://www.cswe.org/Accreditation to verify that the social work degree meets the 4 accreditation standards for a masters of social work
• Licensure: . Persons hired or reassigned to social worker positions in the GS-0185 series in VHA must be licensed or certified by a state to independently practice social work at the master's degree level. Current state requirements may be found by going to http://vaww.va.gov/OHRM/T38Hybrid/.

Grade Determinations:

Experience: In additional to meeting the basic requirements as stated above, you must have the following:

Experience/Education GS-13. One year of experience equivalent to the GS-12 grade level. Experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills and judgment, demonstrating progressively more professional competency. Candidates may have certification or other post-master's degree training from a nationally recognized professional organization or university that includes a defined curriculum/course of study and internship, or equivalent supervised professional experience.

Licensure/Certification. Individuals assigned as social worker program coordinator must be licensed or certified at the advanced practice level, and must be able to provide supervision for licensure. [(3) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs.

• Skill in coordinating and implementing one or more specialty program(s), across the facility.
• Skill in local policy and practice development, procedures, and/or practice guidelines for the program as prescribed by the program handbook or national directive.
• Skill in organizing work, setting priorities, meeting multiple deadlines, and evaluating assigned program area(s).
• Ability to collaborate with internal and external partners to further program goals and enhance patient centered care.
• Ability to provide the full range of supervisory duties including assignment of work to be performed; performance evaluations; and selection of staff, training, and recommendation of awards, advancements, and when appropriate, disciplinary action.
• Ability to oversee the fiscal matters of the functions supervised (including fund controls, contracts, and equipment expenditures), forecast resource and equipment needs, and administer the allocated budget.
• Knowledge of organizational structure and impact on program operations

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

Preferred Experience:

• Experience in Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Programs (RRTP) or other 24/7 residential or inpatient behavioral health settings.
• Demonstrated experience providing supervisory or lead-level oversight of interdisciplinary staff in a mental health program.
• Experience with high-acuity populations, including Veterans with serious mental illness, substance use disorders, PTSD, and co-occurring conditions.
• Working knowledge of VHA Mental Health Services, residential care requirements, and Joint Commission Behavioral Health standards.
• Experience supporting staff scheduling, workload management, and coverage planning in a 24/7 environment.
• Familiarity with workload capture, productivity principles, and labor mapping.
• Experience with quality management, performance improvement, and accreditation readiness.
• Ability to respond to emergent operational and patient safety issues and support incident follow-up.
• Experience collaborating with Program Managers, Service Chiefs, HR and interdisciplinary teams.
• Measurement-based care and evidence-based mental health treatment.

Physical Requirements: Light lifting (under 15lbs), light carrying (under 15lbs), reaching above shoulder, use of fingers, walking (1hr), standing (1hr), repeatedly bending (1hr), operation of crane, truck tractor or motor vehicle, ability for rapid mental and muscular coordination simultaneously, near vision correctable at 13" to 16" to Jaeger 1 to 4, far vision correctable in one eye to 20/20 and to 20/40 in the other, depth perception, and hearing (aid permitted).
Workload Environment: Work is performed in an office/clinic setting with minimal risks that requires normal safety precautions; the area is adequately lighted, heated, and ventilated. However, the work environment requires someone with the ability to handle several tasks at once in sometimes stressful situations.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Selections from this announcement will be made without regard to Veterans' preference in accordance with OCHCO Bulletin dated 09/25/2025.

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.