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 employees of SAVAHCS, Southern Arizona VA Health Care System.

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Duties include, but are not limited to:

A Supervisory Audiologist in this position serves as a Service Chief; responsible for all professional, management and administrative aspects of the service or organizational entity; broad and overall responsibility for a service-level organizational unit and has full responsibility for clinical practice, program management, education, human resource management and supervision for the service.

Autonomously manages substantive parts of specialized, complex, professional services that significantly impact Veterans' care; provides leadership with objective, independent assessments and recommendations for policy, operational and administrative issues and initiatives requiring decision and action.

Monitors work performance to ensure that requirements are satisfied; interprets and processes a wide variety of data related to program planning and specialized needs of the Veterans, the service, and the medical center; and ensures policies or issues have been fully coordinated, vetted, and staffed.

Advises executive leadership on implications, key issues, and relationships to interest groups (both internal and external) and recommends courses of action; coordinates and negotiates resolutions to complex problems.

Assures compliance with accrediting agencies and regulatory requirements and corrective action is initiated as needed. Responsible for professional and administrative management of an assigned area, including budget execution.

Maintains interdepartmental relationships with other services to accomplish medical center goals. May prepare special reports and responses, Congressional responses, briefing papers, issue briefs and decision papers for the medical center leadership, which may be highly sensitive, confidential and of a complex nature.

Develop policies and procedures and may develop performance standards, position descriptions and functional statements. Monitors the clinical performance of staff, conduct performance appraisals, and perform other clinical and administrative responsibilities to ensure that the mission of the service and the medical center have been satisfied. May set training objectives for staff and delegate responsibilities to subordinate sections.

Promotes collaboration to accomplish goals: Exercises supervision, administrative management, and direction of both professional areas in a unified audiology and speech-language pathology service or equivalent service-level department, or administrative management and program direction of other rehabilitation-related areas. Manages and directs the work of others to accomplish program goals and missions. Supervises, motivates, and effectively manages a diverse clinical staff applicable to a service level department in a large, complex, or multi-division facility.

Translates management goals and objectives into efficient service operations: Organizes work, sets priorities, delegates tasks and responsibilities. Balances operational resources to ensure appropriate delivery of service operations: Responsible for planning, assessing, and evaluating programs to ensure proper coordination between care delivered by the service. Develops, organizes, directs,
manages, supervises, controls, and implements policies and procedures for complex service-level departments.

Supervises a diverse staff: Makes decisions that affect subordinate section or assistant chiefs (if applicable), clinical, and clerical staff, and other resources associated with the department
and are made with great autonomy.

Interacts and collaborates with local, VISN and/or national leadership: Fully responsible for developing and directing educational and training programs; negotiating affiliation agreements with academic partners; and setting training objectives.

Establishes and monitors productivity standards, production, and performance priorities
to achieve management goals and objectives: Delegates responsibilities to subordinate section or assistant chiefs (if applicable), planning, and scheduling work; assigning work to employees; accepting, amending, or rejecting completed work; assuring that production and accuracy requirements are met; appraising performance and recommending performance standards and ratings; assigning delineated clinical privileges; approving leave; and affecting all levels of disciplinary measures.

Work Schedule: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday 6:30 am to 4:00 pm.
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

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.
  • Doctor of Audiology (AuD) from an audiology program recognized by the Council on Academic Accreditation (CAA) of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). The CAA is the only accreditation agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation to accredit entry-level audiology programs. HR office staff and management officials may verify the program accredited from CAA at www.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 USDE.
• 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.
• Foreign Education. To be creditable, education completed outside the U.S. must have been submitted to a private organization specializing in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials. Such education must have been deemed at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. programs.
• 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:
Supervisory Audiologist, GS-14.
Experience. At least three years of experience as a professional audiologist, with at least one year comparable to the next lower grade level, must fully meet the KSAs at that level.

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs).
In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:
Skill in promoting collaboration to accomplish goals.
Skill in translating management goals and objectives into efficient service operations.
Skill in balancing operational resources to ensure appropriate delivery of service operations.
Ability to supervise staff.
Ability to effectively interact and collaborate with local, VISN and/or national leadership.
Ability to establish and monitor productivity standards, production and performance priorities to achieve management goals and objectives.

Preferred Experience:
1.) Advanced skill to provide treatment interventions including analysis and fitting of advanced amplification technology and signal processing algorithms and also using virtual modalities to a full range of patient populations.
2.) Working knowledge of Audiology regulations and preparation for accreditation surveys, e.g., The Joint Commission, OIG, CARF.
3.) Working knowledge of audiology budgetary requirements, fiscal planning, workload projections and productivity measures.
4.) At least 3 years of employment as a professional Audiologist engaged in the practice of Audiology, preferably in VA or the Department of Defense.
5.) Has experience in using electronic medical records for documentation, data entry and other clinical activities.

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

Physical Requirements: The work is sedentary. Some work may require movement between offices, hospitals, warehouses, and similar areas for meetings and to conduct work. Work may also require walking/standing, in conjunctions with travel to and attendance at meetings and/or conferences away from the work site. Incumbent may carry and lift light items.

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.