Staff Psychologist (Organizational Psychologist)

About the role

The incumbent is intricately involved as a "change agent" in the transition of the Robley Rex VA Medical Center in the new Hospital Replacement Project. The incumbent will work with Executive Leadership, Service Chiefs, all staff and the Activation Team in the physical transition from one facility to another to ensure a positive culture and healthy organizational outcomes.

Responsibilities

• Partners with Executive Leadership to accelerate strategy implementation and change by means of the analysis and evaluation of the meaning and outcomes of national, Veterans Integrated Services Network (VISN) and/or local data collection efforts regarding employee or customer satisfaction with organizational outcomes.
• Principal advisor in the area of organizational development psychology.
• Works in the areas of competency modeling and assessment, organizational development and cultural transformation, report and statistical interpretation, communications strategy and planning, instructional systems design and implementation, program evaluation and training and development.
• Performs work in the management and administration of organization development and continuous assessment.
• Develops coaching and mentoring methods to assess and facilitate candidates' readiness of Executive Leadership, methods for measuring and assessing experience, performance-based recruitment and interviewing (current job achievement), employment references, employee attitudes, etc
• Researches and/or analyzes organizational problems based on psychological theory or program requirements.
• Reconciles conflicts between basic policies and program goals.
• Offers continuous assessment services to the organization and to employees including knowledge of 360/180 degree assessments, coaching and mentoring and the implementation of individual development plans.
• Processes consultation is offered to leadership groups and work groups.
• Leads focus groups and conducts analysis of findings.
• Undertakes or participates in special projects, ongoing analyses, investigations and initiatives that have high priority for high level management across the VHA.

Requirements

• This position is open to all US Citizens.
• This position is one of the hybrid title 38 occupations reported among the occupations with the largest staffing shortages and, therefore, under 38 U.S.C. § 7412 waives the requirement to apply Veterans' preference to external applicants for appointments made during the Fiscal Year 2026.
• Note: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.

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 Policy.
• 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.
• (a) 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.
• (b) 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;
• (b) the specialty in which the applicant is retrained must be consistent with the assignment for which the applicant is to be employed.
• (c) Have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally-accredited institution, with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature.
• 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.
• (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;
• (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;
• (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.)
• (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.
• 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.
• Loss of Credential. A psychologist who fails to maintain the required licensure must be removed from the occupation, which may result in termination of employment. At the discretion of the appointing official, an employee may be reassigned to another occupation if qualified and if a placement opportunity exists.
• 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).
• Experience: At least two years of experience as a professional psychologist, with at least one year equivalent to the GS-12 grade level.
• Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:
• Knowledge of, and ability to apply, professional psychological treatments to the full range of patient populations.
• Ability to provide professional psychological treatments to the full range of patient populations.