Clarification from the agency

• BOP Employees nationwide • DOJ Surplus and Displaced (CTAP) Employees in the local commuting area. • Duty Location: Northeast Regional Office, Philadelphia, PA • NOTE: Applicant may be subject to an interview. • NOTE: Reimbursement is authorized for travel and transportation for this position.

Serves as a Regional Psychology Services Administrator (PSA) for a region within the Bureau of Prisons (BOP).

Serves as the technical advisor to the Regional Director, Deputy Regional Director, other Regional Administrators, and institution Wardens and their staff on matters related to Psychology Services departments and their role in BOP institutions.

Disseminates and implements agency standards developed by the Psychology Services Branch (PSB) of the Reentry Services Division, Central Office, pertinent to suicide risk management, the care of mentally ill inmates, the oversight of correctional treatment programs, and other critical areas relevant to institution Psychology Services operations.

Provides staff assistance to all institutions within the region through the promotion of effective, evidence-based mental health and re-entry programming practices.

Maintains records of psychology staffing at institutions within the region, and advises the Regional Director of critical psychology staffing shortages that may impact the quality of clinical services or program integrity.

Promotes professional development among psychologists in the region.

Along with all other correctional institution employees, incumbent is charged with responsibility for maintaining security of the institution. The staff correctional responsibilities precede all others required by this position and are performed on a regular and recurring basis.

Conditions of employment

• U.S. Citizenship is Required.
• See Special Conditions of Employment Section.

Career Transition Programs (CTAP): These programs apply to Federal and/or DOJ employees who meet the definition of surplus or displaced from a position in the competitive service. To receive selection priority for this position, you must:

• 1. Meet CTAP eligibility criteria;
• 2. Be rated well-qualified for the position, scoring at least half of the total possible points for the vacancy KSAs or competencies; and
• 3. Submit the appropriate documentation to support your CTAP eligibility:
• A copy of the agency notice (i.e., separation notice or agency RIF letter),
• Most recent performance appraisal, and
• Most recent SF-50 showing current/former position, grade, promotion potential, and duty location.
• See USAJOBS' Career Transition Programs for more information.

NOTE: Applicants claiming CTAP eligibility must complete all assessment questions to be rated under the established ranking criteria.

EEO Statement/Policy: The United States government does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service or other non-merit factor. More information can be found here: https://www.justice.gov/jmd/media/1425556/dl?inline.

Qualifications

To be considered for the position, you must meet the following:

Basic Requirements:

Degree: Satisfactory completion of all the requirements for a doctoral degree (Ph.D. or equivalent) directly related to full professional work in clinical psychology is required.

NOTE: Applicants may have received this degree in either clinical or counseling psychology.

AND

In addition to the basic requirements, you must have:

Education:

There is no substitution of education for specialized experience for this position.

Experience:

At least one year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and complexity to the next lower grade level. To be creditable, this experience must have equipped the applicant with the particular qualifications to successfully perform the duties of the position, and that is typically be in or related to the position to be filled.

Some examples of qualifying experience are:

• Experience providing clinical services to inmates as a mental health provider in a correctional treatment setting.
• Experience supervising clinical staff who are providing mental health or rehabilitation treatment programs in a correctional setting.
• Experience managing a prison psychology department or a correctional treatment program for inmates with mental illness (e.g., residential program for mentally ill offenders).

AND

Selective Placement Factor:

Applicants applying for this position, MUST also possess the following Selective Factor.  In the event you do not possess the Selective Factor, you will be found ineligible for the position.

• Applicants must hold a full, current, and unrestricted license to practice psychology at the doctoral level in a State, Territory, Commonwealth of the United States (e.g., Puerto Rico), or the District of Columbia.

NOTE: All applicants must electronically upload a copy of their license at the time they apply to the vacancy announcement. The documentation provided MUST show the expiration date of the license. Failure to provide this documentation will result in loss of consideration for this position.

If applicable, credit will be given for paid and unpaid experience.  To receive proper credit, you must show the actual time (such as the number of hours worked per week) spent in activities.

**Your eligibility for consideration will be based on your responses to the questions in the application.**

How you will be evaluated

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

If your composite score exceeds the average score for this job, your resume and supporting documentation will be compared to your online assessment responses and utilized to determine whether you meet the job qualifications listed in this announcement.  If your selections are not supported by your application materials, your responses may be adjusted and/or you may be excluded from consideration for this job. If you are found to be among the top candidates, you will be referred to the selecting official for employment consideration.

There are several parts of the application process that affect the overall evaluation of your application:

• Your resume, which is part of your USAJOBS profile;
• Your responses to the eligibility questions;
• Your responses to the online assessment;
• Your supporting documentation, if required.

Time-in-Grade: Federal employees must meet time-in-grade requirements for consideration. You must meet all qualification requirements upon the closing date of this announcement.

What Competencies/Knowledge, Skills and Abilities are Required for this Position?

The following Competencies/Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSA's) are required:

• Oral Communication
• Written Communication
• Analyze Information and Make Recommendations
• Technical Competency
• Research Practices and Application
• Manage Resources and Provide General Program Direction

Failure to provide legible required documents and/or follow the prescribed format often results in removal from consideration.  If uploading documentation, do not identify/save your documents utilizing a special character such as %, #, @, etc. Documentation should be identified/saved as VA Letter, DD-214, or Transcripts.

• Resume (limited to 2 pages) must include your name, contact information, and relevant experience (cover letter optional). Experience that would not normally be part of the Federal employee’s position is creditable when documented by satisfactory evidence of qualifying experience (e.g., a memorandum from the manager, Human Resource Manager, SF-52, MOU, etc.). If providing a memorandum, it must follow the format below AND clearly cite the duties performed.
• To receive credit for experience, your resume and/or any satisfactory evidence must include:
  
  • Start date and end date in month/year format (MM/YYYY) AND
  • Number of hours worked per week. 
• SF-50: Current or former Federal employees NOT employed by the Bureau of Prisons MUST submit a copy of their SF-50 Form which shows competitive service appointment, tenure group, and salary. If you have promotion potential in your current position, please provide proof. If you are applying for a higher grade, and your experience was gained at a Federal agency other than the Bureau of Prisons, you MUST provide the SF-50 Form which verifies the length of time you have been in your highest grade and supports your claim for time in grade.
• Employees applying with an interchange agreement must provide proof of their permanent appointment.
• Current federal employees NOT employed by the BOP and former federal employees MUST submit a copy of their latest yearly performance appraisal/evaluation.
• Proof of CTAP eligibility, Click Here, if applicable.
• College transcript: includes the School Name, Student Name, Degree, and Date Awarded (if applicable).
  • NOTE: If you are selected, official transcript(s) will be required prior to your first day.

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