Summary

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. Program 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.

Qualifications

Applicants must meet the requirements by the closing date of this announcement 02/14/2025

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 - must have one of the following: 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 - must have one of the following: 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
• 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
• GS-14 Psychology Program Manager Experience
• At least 3 years of experience as a professional psychologist, with at least one year equivalent to the GS-13 level
• Experience at this grade level can include: Psychologists diagnose mental disorders, conduct psychological or neuropsychological assessments, treat mental disorders through a variety of modalities, and provide adjunctive interventions for treatment of medical disorders
• Among the modalities provided are individual, family, and group psychotherapies and other interventions such as behavioral health and community interventions
• Psychologists consult with medical center staff on a wide variety of patient care issues
• Staff psychologists may be involved in program evaluation, teaching, training, and research activities
• Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit VA Handbook 5005/103 Part II Appendix G18 Psychologist Qualification Standard
• Please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/
• The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-14
• Physical Requirements: The work requires extreme patience and controlling of emotions
• The work may require assisting physically disabled Veterans
• Day-today work involves sitting, walking, standing, and carrying light objects
• The work is typically performed in a clinical setting that exposes the incumbent to the communicable diseases common to the hospital environment.

Duties

• Total-Rewards-of-an-Allied-Health-VA-Career-Brochure.pdf Psychologist: vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Total-Rewards-of-a-Psychology-Career-Flyer.pdf This is a multi-discipline posting
• Applicants will be considered from one of the following Multidisciplinary Occupations, which are listed in separate announcements: Psychology Program Manager, Social Worker Program Coordinator, Physician (Psychiatry) - Mental Health Clinic Program Manager, or Nurse Practitioner - Mental Health
• The Psychology Program Manager (PPM) has responsibility for the day-to-day operations management to a team of interdisciplinary professionals including psychiatrists/physicians, clinical psychologists, clinical social workers, RNs, ARNPs, LMFT, and others assigned to the program within the Mental Health Service Line (MHSL) at the Jacksonville, FL primary care clinic location
• Major duties of the position include but are not limited to: The Mental Health Clinic (MHC) Program Manager is responsible and accountable for all clinical and administrative Mental Health activities and functions
• All professional, non-professional and administrative MHC personnel in Jacksonville report to the Program Manager of the Mental Health Clinic
• The Program Manager, MHC will be responsible for Mental Health program development, implementation, operations and performance improvement activities within the clinic
• The Program Manager will coordinate activities with the various NF/SGVHS Mental Health Service Line Functional Area and will be supervised by and report directly to the Associate Chief of Staff (ACOS), Mental Health Service Line (MHSL)
• All professional and academic processes and functions will be managed through their discipline-specific service chief (e.g
• Social Work, Psychology)
• He/she promotes and evaluates standards of clinical competence and conduct for staff which are maintained through compliance with the credentialing and privileging processes, monitoring and evaluation of clinical practice, peer review, and other appropriate quality assurance activities
• The Program Manager will serve as a member of the NF/SGVHS Mental Health Service Line Executive Council tasked with assisting the ACOS in policy development and program planning
• The Program Manager will also function in a clinical capacity and perform other duties as assigned
• Recommends qualified and competent persons to provide care/service to patients in cooperation with Managers/Managers in Psychology, Social Work, Nursing, Finance, and Human Resources Services
• Recommends and implements appropriate policies, procedures, plans and professional standards which guide and support Mental Health Service Programs, including general and specialty Mental Health services
• Develops program review and evaluation to ensure that the four dimensions of care are continuously evaluated and improved: Access, Quality of Care, Customer Service/Patient Satisfaction, and Utilization Management/Efficiency of Care
• Coordinates orientation and, in cooperation with Education, promotes staff development and training
• Recruits, trains, supervises and retains the highest quality of staff
• Responsible for position management, orientation of new staff, time and leave management, and clinical supervision
• Responsible for the overall oversight of clinical services provided by staff, on-going training needs, and completes competencies/performance reviews/plans efficiently and effectively in collaboration with the discipline chief(s)
• Work Schedule: Monday to Friday 8am-4:30pm Compressed/Flexible: Not available Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): May be available to highly qualified applicants - As determined by Facility/Agency EDRP Authorized: May be authorized for a highly qualified candidate subject to further facility leadership approval, available funding, and in accordance with agency policy
• Once selected and approved, contact VISN8CCOE@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance
• Telework: Not available Functional Statement #: FS#000000 / Psychologist Program Manager Financial Disclosure Report: Not required Additional Benefits 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) Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases 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) 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.