Clarification from the agency

All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply. Open to U.S. Citizens, but non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens. NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this occupational series. For more information, refer to the Required Documents below.

The Psychologist Program Manager functions as "Team Leader" or "Clinical Coordinator" who is responsible for administrative duties as well as managing and directing clinical activities for a team of health care providers connected with the Psychosocial Rehabilitation and Recovery Center (PRRC) Program. The Program Manager has supervisory control and is responsible for the completion of all required documentation, clinical assessments, monthly and annual reports, as well as ensuring compliance with all Joint Commission requirements. The Program Manager is also responsible for monitoring, reporting, and ensuring the effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction of all services provided within the program. The psychologist will also be Northport's Early Psychosis Intervention Program point of contact. This person will lead a team of at least three members toward advising on the therapeutic and psychosocial needs of individuals identified as experiencing early psychosis

List the major duties and responsibilities for the position:

Clinical Responsibilities:

Provide psychological assessment and diagnosis of mental disorders with special focus on Veterans with complex or intensive mental health needs.
Provide education to Veterans, family members, and significant others.
Provide comprehensive, evidence-based psychotherapeutic interventions, including individual, couples, and group psychotherapy.
Provide consultation both within VA and for community partners regarding the complex care needs of Veterans with severe and persistent mental health problems.
Develop, implement, and document the psychotherapeutic treatment plan for an assigned caseload of patients, including prompt completion of clinical reminders.
Function independently as a licensed provider and member of the medical staff with full clinical privileges.

Administrative and Supervisory Responsibilities:

Provide leadership in the design, development, implementation, and oversight of clinical programs for a team of treatment providers within the range of services offered for Veterans experiencing severe and persistent mental health problems and other complex mental health needs, including EPIC and PRRC. May provide local and network-level leadership for related clinical services and programs

Ensure timely access to care for Veterans assigned to the team.

Initiates and maintains liaisons with other health care programs to effectively coordinate services.

Ensures compliance of team members with local and national performance measures.

Provide clinical supervision, as necessary, to assigned team members, including adherence to VA medical, legal, and ethical standards and policies, documentation, and clinical management of difficult and complex patients.

Teaching, Training, Supervision:

Provide clinical supervision for psychology trainees (practicum students, interns, and/or postdocs).

Provide clinical instructions for psychology trainees according to staff interest and service needs.

May provide education, training, or other learning opportunities for psychology, mental health, or hospital staff.
Research/Program Evaluation

May oversee the establishment of program monitors, measurements, and outcomes within areas assigned or as requested using data driven quality assurance processes.

May plan and oversee completion of personal research projects/programs designed to provide information regarding programs, systems, and treatments.

May present research or other data at VA and regional or national scientific or professional meetings.

May assist in preparation of RFPs and grant proposals as assigned.

SUPERVISORY CONTROLS:

The Psychologist Program Manager has wide latitude to exercise independent judgment in managing the scope of operations for a mental health clinical team. He/she reports to the Chief of Psychology as the first line supervisor, who assumes broad oversight responsibility for the structure and functioning of the mental health team. The Chief of Psychology acts as the approving official for the Psychologist Program Manager to ensure adherence to professional standards of the practice of psychology as well as fulfillment of responsibilities for training psychology interns.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00 am - 4:30 pm.
Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases
Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year)
Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child.
Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA
Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement)
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Conditions of employment

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.

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all the following KSAs;

1. Ability to organize work, set priorities, delegate tasks, and meet 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.

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:

1. Citizenship: Be a citizen of the United States. (Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3.g, this part.)
2. 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.

OR,

1. Have a doctoral degree in any area of psychology and, in addition, successfully complete a re- specialization program (including documentation of an approved internship completed as part of the re- specialization program) meeting both of the following conditions:
   • The re-specialization program must be completed in an APA or a CPA accredited doctoral program; and,
   • the specialty in which the applicant is retrained must be consistent with the assignment for which the applicant is to be employed.
2. Have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally accredited institution, with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature.

AND3. Internship: 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 (pre- 1979) are 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,

• 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. NOTE: Psychologists who meet the requirements of this revision and who were employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs prior to the implementation of this standard are considered to have fully met the requirements of this qualification standard.

1. Licensure: Holds 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.
2. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.
3. English Language Proficiency: Psychologists must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3j.

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 Requirements: Creditable Experience::

• Quality of Experience: Experience is only creditable if it is post-doctoral experience as a professional psychologist directly related to the duties to be performed. Qualifying experience must also be at a level comparable to or exceeding professional psychology experience at the next lower level.

• Part-time Experience: Part-time experience is creditable according to its relationship to a full- time workweek. For example, a psychologist employed 20 hours per week, or on a half time basis, would receive one full-time workweek of credit for each two weeks of service.

• Post-Doctoral Degree Fellowships: Postdoctoral fellowships or residencies are training programs in an advanced area of clinical practice. Training as a fellow or resident is creditable experience on a year-for-year basis.

Psychology Program Manager, GS-14 (Above the Full Performance Level) 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:

• Ability to organize work, set priorities, delegate tasks, and meet multiple deadlines.

• Knowledge of and ability to utilize evidence-based practices and clinical practice guidelines appropriately and ability to guide staff in using these tools.

• Ability to deal effectively with individuals or groups representing widely divergent backgrounds, interests, and points of view. Skill in managing and directing the work of others to accomplish program goals and objectives.

• Ability to translate management goals and objectives into well-coordinated and controlled work operations.

• Ability to establish and monitor production and performance priorities and standards.

• Ability to analyze organizational and operational problems and to develop and implement solutions that result in sound operation of the program.

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. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-14May 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).Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019

How you will be evaluated

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

Your application, resume, C.V., and/or other supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for employment.

NOTE: A formal pay-setting process will be used to determine your salary. The salary may be at any point in the range listed for this vacancy.

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, religious, 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 a resume or during an 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.

Veterans' Preference Note: Preference eligible candidates and other Veterans will be given preference when the qualifications of candidates are approximately equal for Title 38 positions in VHA. When applying for Federal Jobs, eligible Veterans should claim preference for 5pt (TP), 10pt (CP/CPS/XP), or for Sole Survivor Preference (SSP) in the questionnaire. You must provide a legible copy of your DD214(s), which shows dates and character of service (honorable, general, etc.). If you are currently serving on active duty and expect to be released or discharged within 120 days, you must submit documentation related to your active duty service that reflects the dates of service, character of service (honorable, general, etc.), and dates of impending separation. Additionally, disabled veterans and others eligible for 10-point preference (such as widows or mothers of eligible Veterans) must also submit an SF-15 "Application for 10 Point Veteran Preference" with required proof as stated on the form. Documentation is required to award preference. For more information on Veterans' Preference, please visit Feds Hire Vets - Veterans - Job Seekers - Veterans' Preference.

To apply for this position, you must submit a CV and/or resume. Other documents may be requested later in the process if needed.

Special Note for Applications: To complete your application, please use the following link https://vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Resume.docx to download the standard Clinical Resume Document. This one-page document does not need to be modified and must be uploaded into the two-page restricted 'Resume' document upload field.

Your full resume/CV may be uploaded without page limitation into the 'Other' document upload field.

Next steps