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 announcement is open to current permanent VA Puget Sound and Department of Veterans Affairs employees only. Applicants will be referred in the following order: 1. Current permanent Facility employees. 2. Current permanent Agency (Department of Veterans Affairs) employees.

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This position serves as a consultant and subject matter expert for health care providers regarding the delivery of care within neurorehabilitation, teach and mentor medical center staff, provide clinical practice guidance and training for other Speech Pathology staff locally and nationally, and demonstrate the ability to guide work of a multi-disciplinary team.

Not all direct patient care clinical duties are related to the specialty area. As such, this individual will provide clinical services to address problems and disorders that impact the health and function of a wide range of diverse patients.

Functions
Clinical:

• Use advanced skills and knowledge of Speech Language Pathology theories and techniques to examine and evaluate patients as appropriate for their age and diagnosis to determine current levels of functioning.
• Plan, conduct, coordinate, and monitor the effectiveness and clinical outcomes of patient-centered treatment and rehabilitative services to maximize and restore to the greatest extent possible physical and social functioning.
• Develop an effective and comprehensive plan of care for swallowing and communication disorders in collaboration with other health care practitioners; establish and maintain an effective therapy relationship with the patient, family, and caregivers; adjust treatment plans according to patient response and indicators of progress.
• Serve as a professional role model to other Speech Pathology staff, students, and volunteers by providing efficient and quality patient care.

Education:

• Have and maintain advanced training/certification and experience in neurorehabilitation. Continually increase knowledge and skills by attending seminars, workshops, lectures, and in-services, especially in neurorehabilitation.
• Orient patients, medical residents, allied health professionals, community organizations, Speech Pathology Trainees, and volunteers to the purpose and function of Speech Pathology with any area of SLP service delivery.
• Education, Consultation, and Standardization:
  • Develop and disseminate educational resources, provide expert consultation, and promote standardized practices across the VA system.
  • Design and implement educational programs for Speech Language Pathology professionals across the VA system to promote consistency in care delivery.
  • Develop and disseminate standardized training materials and resources for use across facilities.

Administrative:

• Communication is required by this position and the incumbent is expected to attend regular staff meetings and inter-disciplinary health care team meetings as appropriate; review policies and procedures and attend in-service trainings.
• Assist Speech Pathology leadership in ensuring proper supply inventory levels and equipment is available for patient treatment.
• Ensure patient appointments made in the medical record are checked out and encounter information is completed for all patients in a timely manner.
• Track and turn in monthly statistics relating to patient visits and workload as requested by the Speech Pathology Program Leadership.

Program Oversight and Management:

• Develop and provide recommendations to national programs and initiatives related to Speech Language Pathology services, ensuring alignment with VA strategic goals and policies.
• Collaborate with VISN and local facility leadership to implement and monitor nationwide strategies for enhancing Speech Language Pathology care delivery.

Consultation and Collaboration:

• Serve as a subject matter expert for Speech Language Pathology practices, offer guidance and expertise to clinical staff, administrators, and other stakeholders.
• Engage in interdisciplinary collaboration to enhance patient care and operational efficiency across various service lines and facilities.

Data Analysis and Reporting:

• Establish metrics and benchmarks for Speech Language Pathology services, stratified by VISN, rurality, and diagnosis (e.g., Parkinson's Disease vs. Multiple Sclerosis).
• Prepare and present reports on program performance, outcomes, and compliance with national standards.

Policy and Standardization:

• Participate in the development, review, and revision of Speech Language Pathology policies, procedures, and protocols to ensure alignment with evidence-based guidelines.
• Promote the adoption of standardized care pathways and clinical practices to ensure consistency in patient care across the VA system.

National, Regional and Local Coordination:

• Act as a liaison between local facilities and National Program Offices to facilitate the implementation of national initiatives and policies.
• Coordinate and support VISN-level initiatives to improve access to and quality of Speech Language Pathology services.

Work Schedule: Mon - Fri, 7:00am to 3:30pm
Telework: Not available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position
Functional Statement #: 000000
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 identification 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

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement.

BASIC REQUIREMENTS.
Citizenship. Be a citizen of the United States (U.S.). Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7407(a).

Education and Experience.
(1) A master's degree, or its equivalent, in speech-language pathology, communication disorders, or a directly related field from an accredited college or university and one year of creditable experience.
OR,
(2) A doctoral degree in speech-language pathology, communication disorders and sciences or a related field, from an accredited college or university.

• Note: Accredited. A college or university recognized by a regional accreditation organization and a speech-language pathology academic program recognized by the Council on Academic Accreditation of the American Speech-Language- Hearing Association.

Licensure. Individuals must hold a full, current and unrestricted license in a U.S.state, territory, commonwealth or the District of Columbia.
(1) Non-licensed applicants who otherwise meet the eligibility requirements for SLP licensure may be appointed to a temporary position as a graduate SLP under the authority of 38 U.S.C. § 7405 (c)(2). Individuals appointed as graduate SLPs may not be promoted to the GS-12 level without being fully licensed.
(2) The requirement for licensure may be waived by the Under Secretary for Health or designee in VHA Central Office for individuals engaged in research or academic assignments involving no direct patient care duties, in accordance with current activities.
(3) An SLP who has, or ever has had their speech-language pathology license revoked, suspended, denied, restricted, limited or issued/placed on probationary status may be appointed only in accordance with the provisions in Chapter 3, section B, paragraph 16 of this part.

Foreign Education. To be creditable, education completed outside the U.S. must be deemed at least equivalent to that gained in a conventional U.S. program by a private organization specializing in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials.

English Language Proficiency. SLP candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).

GRADE REQUIREMENTS. In addition to the basic requirements, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates.

Speech-Language Pathologist, GS-13.
(1) Experience/Education. In addition to the basic requirements at the GS-12 level, completion of one year of professional experience comparable to the next lower level.

(2) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs). In addition to the experience requirements, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:
(a) Knowledge of scientific principles and contemporary, evidence-based practice in differential diagnosis and treatment of speech, language, voice, swallowing and cognitive-communication disorders as it relates to a specialized clinical program.
(b) Skill in prioritizing program goals and objectives.
(c) Ability to build consensus among clinical team members, interests and points of view.
(d) Ability to gather and evaluate outcome data to determine program quality and effectiveness.
(e) Ability to serve as a resource to other health care providers regarding a specialized clinical program.

Assignment. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity and range of variety and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. SLPs with special clinical program responsibilities plan, guide and facilitate the work of a specialized, intra- or interdisciplinary clinical team to accomplish program goals and establish well-coordinated work operations. At this level, SLPs are responsible for communicating team goals and objectives to other medical center staff; and serve as a resource to other health care providers. SLPs with special clinical program responsibilities evaluate the program's work by developing quality improvement indicators and monitoring outcome data, making adjustments as needed.

Preferred Experience:

• 3 years of neurorehabilitation experience, preferably with MS and/or Parkinson's Disease.
• Specialty Certifications (Speak Out Certification, ATP, BRS-S, BC-ANCDS).
• Program and/or Project Development Experience.

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-13.

Physical Requirements: There are no physical requirements for this occupation per OCHCO Communications email to VA Handbook 5019, updated on 4/17/2026.

How you will be evaluated

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

What are KSAs?
In the federal hiring process, Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) are a list of special qualifications and personal attributes that you need to have for a particular job/grade level (see Qualifications section of this announcement).

• Knowledge statements refer to an organized body of information usually of a factual or procedural nature which, if applied, makes adequate performance on the job possible. A body of information applied directly to the performance of a function. Skill statements refer to the proficient manual, verbal or mental manipulation of data or things.
• Skills can be readily measured by a performance test where quantity and quality of performance are tested, usually within an established time limit.
• Ability statements refer to the power to perform an observable activity at the present time. This means that abilities have been evidenced through activities or behaviors that are similar to those required on the job. Note that abilities are different from aptitudes. Aptitude is only the potential for performing the activity.

Although not required at the time of application, we highly recommend submitting a supplemental document with your written responses to the KSAs required at each grade level you wish to be considered. If you choose not to submit KSA responses, please ensure your resume includes details of your experience that fully demonstrate the required KSAs as described in the "Qualifications" section of this announcement.

5 Tips for Writing a Federal Resume - FederalPay.org (https://www.federalpay.org/articles/5-tips-for-writing-a-federal-resume)

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.