Clarification from the agency

• Open to current, permanent, Department of Veterans Affairs Employees, and Tennessee Valley Healthcare System (Facility) Employees. NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.

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For this assignment the incumbent is an Audiologist at the full performance level for staff audiologists. The staff audiologist conducts a full range of audiological evaluations to determine the type and degree of hearing loss, determines patients' need for amplification, predicts and measures the effectiveness of amplification, and determines need for and type of rehabilitation and counseling of veterans with hearing loss and their families.

Duties include, but not limited to:

• Identifies and evaluates individuals with hearing disorders in the reception and perception of speech, language, and other acoustic signals.
• Administers the full range of tests including auditory evoked potentials, tinnitus, and balance assessment; evaluates the type and degree of hearing loss.
• Responsible for direct services of a remedial and preventative nature.
• Counsels patients and family members regarding management of hearing communication, and vestibular disorders.
• Serves as a consultant to other facility personnel involving the most difficult and complex cases.
• Provides professional advice and consultation in areas related to professional audiology to other health care professionals.
• Serves as consultant to other health care professionals and are recognized subject matter experts (SME) on matters related to hearing, tinnitus, and balance disorders.
• Independently applies professional contemporary audiology treatments to the full range of patient populations.
• Applies clinical skills in such areas as hearing conservation, electrophysiological assessment and interpretation, central auditory function assessment and treatment, counseling for coping with tinnitus, and analysis and fitting of advanced amplification technology.
• Assists in the training and supervision of students, trainees, externs, and fellows, providing feedback on progress toward established educational goals.
• Responsible for planning and carrying out the assignment, resolving most of the conflicts that arise, coordinating the work with others as necessary and interpreting policy on own initiative in terms of established objectives.

Work Schedule: Monday- Friday 7:30- 4:00 pm
Telework: Ad-hoc
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 70314-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.
• 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

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.
• Education.
  • (1) Doctor of Audiology (AUD) from an audiology program recognized by the Accreditation Commission for Audiology Education (ACAE) or Council on Academic Accreditation (CAA) of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). HR office staff and management officials may verify a program's accreditation from ACAE at acaeaccred.org and CAA at caa.asha.org. OR
  • (2) Other doctoral degree in hearing science or a directly related field from an institution accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
• Licensure.
  • Individuals must hold a full, current, and unrestricted license to practice audiology at the doctoral level in a United States state, territory, commonwealth, or the District of Columbia.
  • Loss of Credential. Management officials, in collaboration with HR Office staff must immediately relieve employees who fail to maintain the required licensure of the duties and responsibilities associated with this occupation which may also result in separation from employment.
• English Language Proficiency.
  • Audiologist candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f)

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 Determinations Audiologist, GS-12:Experience: Completion of one year of professional experience comparable to the next lower grade level demonstrating skills below.

• Knowledge of project-specific clinical and research literature to assess the current state of the research and identify areas that require additional research.
• Ability to apply basic scientific methods, basic research design, and statistics to conduct research.

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs). In addition to the KSAs required at the full performance level, the following KSAs are required:

• Skill in determining nature, type, and severity of hearing/communication/vestibular disorders.
• Skill in counseling patients and family members regarding management of hearing/communication/vestibular disorders.
• Ability to provide professional advice and consultation in areas related to professional audiology to other health care professionals.
• Ability to independently apply professional contemporary audiologic treatments to the full range of patient populations.

Preferred Experience: Current Certificate of Clinical Competence in Audiology (CCC-A) and experience supervising audiology health technicians, students and residents.

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS12. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-12.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.The full performance level of this vacancy is 12. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-12.Physical Requirements: Light lifting and carrying (under 15 pounds); use of fingers and both hands required; 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; Mental and Emotional Stability; works outside and inside; works closely with others; ability to distinguish basic colors; ability to distinguish shades of colors; hearing (aid permitted).

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.