Senior Psychologist (Service Chief)

Summary This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP) - a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific eligibility requirements per VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Program Approval - award amount (up to $200 -000) & eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after review of the EDRP application. Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply. 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 United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA PolicyEnglish Language Proficiency: Psychologists must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005Education: 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 completedThe specialty area of the degree must be consistent with the assignment for which the applicant is to be employedFor 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 skillsCurrently - APA accredits doctoral programs in the specialty areas of clinical psychology - counseling psychology - school psychology - or combinations of two or more of those areasPCSAS accredits doctoral programs in psychological clinical scienceCPA accredits doctoral programs in clinical psychology - counseling psychology - clinical neuropsychology - and school psychologyThere are no job assignments in VHA that require the skills of a school psychologisttherefore - an applicant with a degree in the specialty area of school psychology is not eligible for appointmentStrictly 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 programand - (b) the specialty in which the applicant is retrained must be consistent with the assignment for which the applicant is to be employedNOTE: 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: 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 employedOR 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 internOR 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 requirementOR 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 programIf 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 programNOTE: 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 ColumbiaBoard Certification: Persons hired to psychology positions in the VHA who completed an internship that was not accredited at the time the program was completed must be 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 employedThe board certificate must be current and the applicant must abide by the certifying body's requirement for continuing educationLoss of Credential: Once board certified - psychologist must maintain a full - valid and unrestricted board certification to remain qualified for employmentA psychologist who fails to maintain the required board certification must be removed from the occupation - which may result in termination of employmentAt the discretion of the appointing official - an employee may be reassigned to another occupation if qualified and if a placement opportunity existsMay 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 Psychologist - GS-15 (Service Chief) Experience: At least four years of experience as a professional psychologist - with at least one year equivalent to the GS-14 levelDemonstrated Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities: In addition to the experience above - the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Ability to supervise and manage a large group of professional staff effectivelySkill in interpersonal relationships - including conflict resolution and ability to work collaboratively with supervisors from other unitsAbility to accurately apply the qualification standards - assesses the potential of current and prospective employees - and promotes their professional developmentAbility to develop appropriate productivity standards for professional staff - often across multiple program linesKnowledge of the goals and objectives of the medical center and VISN and ability to communicate these to subordinatesPreferred Experience: The Mental Health provider and leader with more than 10 years of management experienceExperience in research in Mental HealthReference: For more information on this qualification standard - please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-15The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-15Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019. Duties The Service Chief is responsible for all professional - management - and administrative aspects of the service including supervision and resource management which involve major decisions - and work activities that significantly affect the ability of staff to provide comprehensive services to VeteransDuties for the position may include but are not limited to: Assist the full range of diagnostic - therapeutic - rehabilitative and evaluative techniquesProvides comprehensive inpatient and outpatient mental health care for VeteransEvaluates crisis intervention - medication management - case management - psychiatric emergency services - psychotherapy - inpatient consultations - neuropsychiatric evaluations - MHICM program - suicide prevention services and civil commitments Consist of program planning and development - implementation - review - evaluation - and retention of effective programs and discarding or modifying less effective programsMaintains administrative and professional leadership of the different programs of the Mental Health Service subject to broad policies and guidelines established by the agency and with the scope of the Processional Services of the medical centerKnowledges of EEO regulationssupports partnership with employee Unions by actively seeking opportunities to develop productive labor relations and is guided by ethical standards of the professionPossess sound fiscal and budgetary management and accountability as well as human resource management knowledgeWork Schedule: Monday - Friday8:00 a.m- 4:30 p.mTelework: Available Ad-hoc Virtual: This is not a virtual positionFunctional Statement #: 10770F Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentiveContact: VHAV21CCOEEDRP@va.gov - the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistanceLearn more Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized