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This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific individual eligibility requirements in accordance with VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) and eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after complete review of the EDRP application. Learn more 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. 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. For the purpose of meeting this requirement, the term "specialty area" refers to the specific specialty areas recognized by the accrediting body and not to specific job duties that might require special skills. Currently, APA accredits doctoral programs in the specialty areas of clinical psychology, counseling psychology, school psychology, or combinations of two or more of those areas. PCSAS accredits doctoral programs in psychological clinical science. CPA accredits doctoral programs in clinical psychology, counseling psychology, clinical neuropsychology, and school psychology. There are no job assignments in VHA that require the skills of a school psychologist; therefore, an applicant with a degree in the specialty area of school psychology is not eligible for appointment. Strictly for the purpose of determining eligibility for appointment as a psychologist in VHA, there is no distinction between the specialty areas (with the exception of school psychology). 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: (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. NOTE: The applicant must provide an official transcript and/or certificate documenting the completion of the re-specialization program, which includes completion of an APA or CPA internship. [Psychologists who have successfully completed a re-specialization program as described above and who were employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs prior to the implementation of this standard are considered to have fully met the educational requirements of these qualification standards.] [OR Have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally-accredited institution, with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature.] AND Internships (a) 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 (b) 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 (c) 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 (d) 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 (e) 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. 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. Social workers must be proficient in spoken and written English. 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: Senior Psychology (Program Manager), GS-15 Experience: At least three years of experience as a professional psychologist, with at least one year equivalent to the GS-14 grade level. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Skill in managing and directing the work of large, complex organizational units and in applying effective management practices. Skill in persuasion, negotiation, and motivation to negotiate multiple program policies. Skill in interpersonal relationships in dealing with employees and other managers using advanced consultation and problem solving skills. Skill in the application and analysis of measurement tools to systems issues. Ability to balance responsibilities in a complex environment and to work with great autonomy; ability to set priorities and delegate tasks, meet multiple deadlines, analyze complex organizational problems; and ability to develop and implement effective solutions for those problems. Ability to assess need for basic and complex services across multiple programmatic contexts. Ability to coordinate the efforts of multiple program elements across a complex system. References: VA Handbook 5005/103, Part II Appendix G18 Preferred Experience: Supervisory Experience; Leadership Experience; Management Experience; The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-15. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-15. Physical Requirements: For additional information on Physical Standards please see VA Directive and Handbook 5019. http://www.va.gov/vapubs/ ["Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, tour of duty to be established.\nTelework: Not Available\nVirtual: This is not a virtual position.\nFunctional Statement #: 000000\nRelocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized\nEDRP Authorized: Contact V21CCOEEDRP@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance\nPermanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized\nFinancial Disclosure Report: Not required The Senior Psychologist Program Manager will split his/her time between providing Behavioral Health Interdisciplinary Program (BHIP) clinical services and the administrative tasks associated with program management. Clinical BHIP responsibilities include providing diagnostic assessments, individual and group psychotherapy, psychological testing, and case management services, as appropriate. Veterans treated within BHIP teams come from a wide geographic area and have a wide range of mental health diagnoses. Their healthcare, psychosocial problems, and needs are complex. They require a high degree of clinical oversight and creative problem solving. BHIP clinical care will focus primarily on providing evidence-based treatment. VASNHS is a complex and large level 1B facility with staff located at seven facilities in the catchment area. The administrative responsibilities of the Senior Psychologist Program Manger involves clinical and administrative responsibility for the Chief of Psychology Section, Specialty Services Section, the PCMHI Section, Psychology Training Section, and EBP/MST Coordinator. These programs include over 100 FTE. Chief of Psychology Section includes administrative oversite of BHIP teams located across five site locations as well as the couples and family therapy program. Specialty Services Section administratively oversees the Addictive Disorders Treatment Program (ADTP), PTSD Treatment Program, Neuropsychology, Pain Psychology, and the DBT Coordinator. Duties of the position include, but are not limited to: Provides direct clinical and administrative supervision to the Chief of Psychology Section, Specialty Services Section, the PCMHI Section, Psychology Training Section, and the EBP/MST Coordinator. Develops short- and long-range goals and plans related to strategic planning. Develops and implements policies and procedures to ensure goal attainment. Manages administrative and programmatic resources, and outcomes monitoring using data-driven quality assurance processes. Along with the ACOS-BH, the Senior Psychologist Program Manager will initiate and supervise the hiring of new LIPs and non-LIPs for the Service. Provides leadership and guidance in carrying out program planning, outcome evaluation, and staff development activities. Participates fully in peer review, assessing the quality of professional standards provided in the organization. Responsible for identification of patient problems requiring consultation with other multi-disciplinary medical center staff and making appropriate referrals. Participates in a variety of meetings as directed by the ACOS-BH. These will include, but are not limited to, SAIL Committee (VISN and Local), BH Executive Committee, BH Patient Experience Committee, and VISN 21 Metrics Workgroup. Responsible for program resources and elements of fiscal management related to the assigned sections and assists the ACOS-BH in management of fiscal resources for the Behavioral Health Service. Manages space allocations/assignments for programs reporting to the Senior Psychologist Program Manager. Provides clinical services including direct clinical care to Veterans being treated in BHIP, via TeleMental Health and face-to-face modalities. A strong emphasis is placed on providing evidence-based treatments. Reviews all data, subjective and objective, and makes a clinical assessment, identifying needs and strengths. Effectively uses professional skill, objectivity and insight. Uses clinical training, insight and experience to interpret data and to identify viable treatment options. Assesses high risk factors, acuity and need for services. Develops comprehensive treatment plans in coordination with interdisciplinary team members, including goals, objectives and interventions for psychosocial clinical treatment. Makes adjustments to the treatment plan and interventions based on the changing needs, response to interventions and to improve outcomes. Provides individual, family and group therapy services in accordance with the needs identified in the Veteran's treatment assessment and treatment plan. Ultimately responsible for all entries in the Veteran's medical record (CPRS) and timely completion thereof, including discharge summaries and patient encounters. Responsible for completion of all assigned clinical reminders for patients under his/her care, and performance measures assigned to the Care Line. Involved in the Psychology training programs, the training of social work interns, psychiatric residents, medical students, and nursing students, as appropriate."]