Clarification from the agency

Open to Current permanent Department of Veteran Affairs (Agency - VHA, VBA, NCA) Employees, Current permanent Federal employees of other agencies, and all US Citizens. Facility Employees will have FIRST consideration. NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

Psychologist Program Manager serves as the Manager for the Substance Use Disorder/Intensive Outpatient Program (SUD/IOP) in the VACHCS. They are responsible for the direct supervision of all professional behavioral health staff assigned to the SUD/IOP program. Will have direct administrative responsibilities over the day-to-day operation of this program in alignment with the guidelines set forth in the Uniform Mental Health handbook of the program. Is licensed at the doctoral level to practice independently in the provision of psychotherapy services, consulting, and providing clinical supervision to trainees as appropriate. The psychologist for whom this functional statement applies is administratively assigned to the Mental Health and Behavioral Health Sciences Service and responds to the PCMHI & Specialty Care Clinics (SUD & MHTRC) Section Chief, with regards to the administrative and clinical duties as manager of the SUD/IOP Program.

Additional Duties include but not limited to:

• Broad program management responsibilities.
• Will supervise all clinical staff within this program and will assure that the performance of staff and clinical procedures are in alignment with established treatment policies. SUD/IOP at this facility has Psychology (4), Social Work (4), Addiction Therapists (8) and Psychiatry staff (5) assigned at 3 locations: 2 CBOCs and the main medical center.
• Will complete performance appraisals for each employee within this program.
• Manages the day-to-day operations of the program regarding issues such as coverage, clinic profiles, and environment of care.
• Manages the program time and attendance through approval or disapproval of annual, sick, authorized absence, and other leaves.
• Responsible for monitoring and improving patient flow to the program to allow for efficient scheduling and for assuring same day access to care for New and Established Patients.
• Receives, assigns, and/or monitors the consults, same day referrals, and care transitions (CPRS consults, referrals to other and from other services) of Veterans enrolled in his/her program.
• Works actively with program Staff and schedulers (HAS) as well as HAS leadership in procedures regarding clinic utilization and scheduling to avoid missed opportunities and no-show rate.
• Assures that treatment teams within his/her program carry out all patient care related meetings such as huddles, treatment planning, monthly interdisciplinary meetings and other required meetings.
• Supervises and monitors all staff regarding completion of required documentation and progress notes.
• Assists the Senior manager in assuring that staff within his program are able to follow all standard operating procedures established for this program.
• Understands and interprets data provided in essential performance reports (e.g. clinic utilization, caseload, productivity, and performance measures, etc.).
• Able to share relevant data with staff under his/her supervision, identify barriers, and promote improvement as needed.
• Manages and directs the work of program staff to accomplish program goals and objectives as well as program's performance measures and performance improvement activities.

Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm, with rotating tours of duty as needed.
Recruitment/Relocation Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized
EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact V8_EDRP_SanJuan@va.gov , the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more
Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases. When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade).
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).
Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior military service experience.
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.
Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment, full time employees with a total family income below $144,000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66.
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)
Telework: Not Available.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #:60943F; Psychology Program Manager Position - Substance Use Disorder/Intensive Outpatient Program (SUD/IOP)
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

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

Basic Requirements:

• United States Citizenship
• 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. OR
  • 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. OR
  • Have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally accredited institution, with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature.
• 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 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 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.
• 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.
• 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 Determinations: In addition to meeting the basic requirements stated above, the following qualifications criteria must be met in determining the appropriate grade assignment of candidates.

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

Experience. At least 3 years of experience as a professional psychologist, with at least one year equivalent to the GS-13 level.

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate 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:

• Clinical experience providing services to Substance Use Disorder population.
• Supervisory experience.
• Addiction Psychology Certifications or Specialty

Required Selective Placement Factor (SPF): Must be proficient in spoken and written English and Spanish.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.
This position is being filled above full performance level GS-14.

Physical Requirements: Physical demands are generally minor, and the work is primarily sedentary in nature and usually occurs within climate controlled clinical and administrative settings. There may be occasional light lifting/carrying (15 pounds or less) requirements to relocate boxed materials from one area to another, equipment and room set-up, and ambulation related to physical inspections of facilities. The incumbent will be expected to successfully negotiate various functional requirements (i.e., lifting, ambulating, reaching above their shoulder(s), the use of hands or fingers, sitting, standing, repeated bending, using stairs or elevators, functional vision, clear speech, hearing, and emotional stability) and environmental factors (i.e., working independently and at times closely with others, moving about the campus for appointments and/or meetings) for the position, with or without adaptive devices, technology, or reasonable accommodations that are more thoroughly evaluated in the current version of Certificate of Medical Examination, U.S. Office of Personnel Management Optional Form 178 (OF178). Use of fingers may be required to operate computers.

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-14.

How you will be evaluated

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

This occupation is listed on the OIG Determination of Veterans Health Administration's Occupational Staffing Shortages fiscal year (FY) 2026 dated September 25, 2025. Therefore, is vacancy announcement is exempt from Veterans Preference.

Area of Consideration-Eligible applicants will be reviewed and referred in the following order:

1. Current permanent VA employees of the facility.
2. All other VA Employees.
3. Current permanent Federal employees of other agencies.
4. All other applicants.

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.

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

• License
• Resume
• 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
• License
• Resume/CV for Title 38 & Hybrid Title 38 Applications that may exceed two (2) pages.
• Other (2)
• Other (3)
• Resume
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcript

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