Clarification from the agency

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 incumbent functions as the administrative and clinical director of the Mental Health Special Programs. Responsibilities are complex in scope, involving the oversight of staff within the program(s) as well as the management of the complex mental health program(s). Is responsible for defining the mission and vision of the clinical service, in support of the overall VA mission. The Program Manager has responsibilities which encompass professional, management, and administrative aspects of staff, including establishing policies, standards, procedures, and practices regarding the provision of clinical services.

FUNCTIONS OR SCOPE OF ASSIGNED DUTIES: Psychology Program Manager
1. Administrative and programmatic supervision of subordinates which includes providing input to hiring decisions, monitoring and evaluating performance, approval of leave, disciplining, and recommending termination when warranted.
2. Line and staff authority for resource allocations within the areas of responsibility.
3. Develop short-and long-range goals and plans for the programs and implement policies and procedures to ensure goal attainment.
4. Oversee and ensure program compliance with VHA national program guidelines.
5. Organization of resources to ensure immediate access to expert mental health consultation for colleagues and access to services for patients from all areas of the health care system.
6. Develop and monitor treatment program content to ensure it is evidence-based and sufficiently comprehensive to meet the biopsychosocial needs of all Veterans served by the program.
7. Manage admission and discharge processes to ensure optimal patient flow and coordinated transition between levels of care.
8. Facilitate cohesion and communication among the interdisciplinary team members, and mediate conflicts as they arise.
9. Collect, aggregate, and analyze data to monitor treatment outcomes and to facilitate data-driven quality assurance processes
10. Interact with referring providers in order to promote access, knowledge of the programs, and feedback about customer satisfaction.
11. Establishing guidelines and clearly communicating performance expectations for staff; monitoring of staff performance; collaborating with discipline and providing informal feedback and communicating through the formal employee performance management system.
12. Responsible for all aspects, in collaboration with the Mental Health Service Line Director, of the treatment program(s) including: programmatic planning, development, implementation, and ongoing monitoring.
13. Consultation, training and monitoring of Special Programs services in the medical center and three rural CBOC's.
14. Coordinate the work of individuals in multiple disciplines and working closely with professional discipline leads within the health care system to ensure professional staff are operating within their scope of practice and at the highest level of their professional abilities to ensure programmatic success in providing the highest quality health care to the Veterans served.
15. Liaison and coordinate with other mental health managers as well as other key stakeholders/leadership to ensure the appropriateness and continuity of care for patients, to develop and implement policies and procedures impacting the entire health care system.
16. Ensures that high quality outpatient-based treatment programs/services remain consistent with the evolving health care needs of the total veteran patient population utilizing an evidence-based, best-practice approach.
17. Member of the Director's Staff and other relevant committees.
18. Initiate and oversee award and operation of the HCHV Contract Residential transitional housing, maintaining certification as a Contracting Officer Representative.
19. Establish, request and monitor HCHV Contract Residential transitional housing budget.
ENRICHING ELEMENTS-Clinical Responsibilities and Academic/Teaching/Training
1. Provides occasional direct clinical care (e.g., evidence-based psychotherapy, psychoeducation, or assessment).
2. Provides clinical supervision to psychologists in training (e.g., psychology interns).
3. Provides supervision and support to other trainees such as psychology, nursing, advance practice clinicians.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8am-4:30pm evening and weekends maybe required
Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): May be authorized for highly qualified applicants.
Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized
EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact VHAVISN23EDRP@va.gov. , the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more
Telework: Not Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
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 identification 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.
• Drivers License Requirement: Unrestricted drivers license is required. Must provide a clean driving record report from the DMV during onboarding.
• Physical Examination: A driver's physical is required for this position
  

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:
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: Applicants must meet the English Language Proficiency requirement for positions in this occupation. To be appointed under authority of 38 U.S.C., chapter 73 or 74, or to serve in a direct patient-care capacity in VHA, applicants must be proficient in written and spoken English.
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 respecialization program (including documentation of an approved internship completed as part of the respecialization 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 the applicant is retrained must be consistent with the assignment for which the applicant is to be employed.

OR

• 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 (pre1979) 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(e) 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: 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.

Grade Determinations:
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.
AND
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 meets 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 representing widely divergent backgrounds, interests, and points of view.
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: Mental Health, leadership, leading crisis response scenarios.

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

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-14.

Physical Requirements: You will be asked to participate in a pre-employment examination or evaluation as part of the pre-employment process for this position. Questions about physical demands or environmental factors may be addressed at the time of the evaluation or examination.

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.