Clarification from the agency

Open to current, permanent federal employees of VISN 10 CRH only. NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.

The Psychology Program Manager is responsible for monitoring the efficiency, effectiveness, timeliness and quality of the VISN 10 SP Telehealth Program services. The incumbent provides operational oversight for Suicide Prevention and directs clinical functions, such as timely therapy assignments and accurate documentation in electronic health medical record systems. This includes supervisory review mechanisms; review of workload data from Vista and DSS, and position management. They review staffing patterns and work assignments within assigned area to ensure that staffing levels are appropriate to meet workload demands at the spoke sites served by the virtual SP team. As part of a team effort, they will identify areas for improvement, gather relevant data, assess the data, develop and implement ideas for improvement, and evaluate efficacy of improvements. Incumbent also serves on VISN CRH committees and task forces that support telemental health program services related to suicide prevention efforts and monitors efficiency, effectiveness and data as needed. Administers information and analytical systems to evaluate and enhance the quality of service provided to patients. Implements existing information systems to track service activities including visits, referrals, patient demographics, equipment utilization, and patient satisfaction. Implements and assists in evaluation of clinical guidelines and protocols to establish appropriate utilization of services.

The incumbent directly supervises a group of employees performing work at various GS levels (e.g. social workers, psychologists, physicians, etc.) who are located at remote locations and time zones across the United States providing care to virtual spoke sites throughout VISN 10. Provides administrative and technical supervision necessary for accomplishing the work of the program including outreach efforts and efforts at other sites within the Health Care System. Incumbent supervises employees to accomplish the work of the organization unit. Exercises supervisory authorities and responsibilities involving work assignment and review, as well as the administrative and personnel management functions relative to the staff supervised. The SP Telehealth Program Supervisor participates in recruitment, interviewing, selection and training of new SP Telehealth staff in alignment with National Suicide Prevention Program requirements.

The Suicide Prevention Telehealth staff may work at various GS levels up to and beyond the incumbent's own grade. The incumbent provides administrative and technical guidance necessary for accomplishing the work of the unit. The incumbent directs the clinical functions and workflow of the team including therapy, management and routing of consults, ensures the team has regular huddles and meetings with spoke sites and weekly treatment team meetings to increase timely access to specialty mental health care for Veterans. Incumbent ensures the team is providing the following core services to Veterans on the SP Telehealth team, as required by the National Suicide Prevention Program: risk assessment and referral, intake/diagnostic and psychosocial assessments, comprehensive treatment planning, and evidence-based psychotherapy services in a manner consistent with established protocols to Veterans at risk for suicide, as outlined by SPP. The incumbent is responsible for ensuring staff complete required documentation in both EHMR - CPRS and Cerner which includes the documentation of individual notes, telephone calls, assessment/intakes and treatment plans, appropriate level of risk assessment, groups, documentation of referrals and placement of consults. Incumbent monitors workload through RVUs, clinic utilization, mapping and accuracy of CPT code use and stop code/clinic set up.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, standard daytime hours across multiple time zones. Evenings, weekends and holidays required as necessary based on the needs of the Clinical Resource Hub and spoke sites.

Remote: This position is designated as remote. Remote work is defined as full-time employment conducted outside of a VA facility or in VA-leased spaces. The option for remote work will be assessed continuously, and the selected individual may need to return to a VA office if required. The selectee must live within 50 miles of a VA Medical Center.

Travel: Occasional travel is required between spoke sites, community partner locations, and host facility as needed for training, coordinating requirements between providers and Veterans, meetings, auditing, and patient care. This required travel may include overnight travel outside of Tour of Duty and travel by plane.

Functional Statement #:91419-0
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required
Compressed/Flexible:May be authorized at supervisor discretion.

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 dentification 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.

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.

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.

Education Requirement:

• 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,
• Have a doctoral degree in any area of psychology and, in addition, successfully completed a re-specialization 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.

Internship Requirement:

• 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 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
• 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.

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).

Grandfathering Provision: All persons employed in VHA as a psychologist on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series and grade held, including positive education (i.e., degree and internship requirements) and licensure/certification that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation.

Grade Determinations: In additional to meeting the basic requirements as stated above, the following criteria must be met for the grade level of the position:

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 (KSAs): 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 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.

Preferred Experience: Current employee with the VISN 10 CRH Sui8cide Prevention 2.0 program.

References: VA Handbook 5005/103, Part II, Appendix G18 Psychologist Qualification Standard. This can be found in the local Human Resources Office.

The full performance level of this vacancy is 14. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is a 14 .

Physical Requirements: This position requires visual acuity, keen hearing, clear distinctive speech, and manual dexterity. This position requires mostly periods of continued walking, standing, stooping, sitting, bending, pulling, and pushing. The incumbent may be exposed to infected patients and contaminated materials and may be required to don protective clothing in isolation situations. The incumbent may occasionally be exposed to patients/residents who are combative secondary to delirium, dementia, or psychiatric disorders. The incumbent must be a mature, flexible, sensible individual capable of working effectively in stressful situations, able to shift priorities based on stakeholder needs. Position may require traveling to the various VISN Medical Center.

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.

our 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.

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes:

• License
• Resume
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcript

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.

The following documents are accepted, and may be required if applicable to your eligibility and/or qualifications for this position. Please ensure you have included all documents required for your application, such as a copy of your transcript (if using education to qualify), SF-50's (current/former Federal employees), etc.

• Cover Letter
• DD-214/ Statement of Service
• Disability Letter (Schedule A)
• Disability Letter (VA)
• License
• OF-306
• Other (1)
• Other (2)
• Other (3)
• Performance Appraisal
• Professional Certification
• Resume
• Separation Notice (RIF)
• SF-15
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcript

Veterans' Preference: 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 which 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.

Veterans' preference does not apply for internal or other current permanent Federal agency employees.

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