Duties

The main duties consist of, but not limited to:

• Performing a variety of therapeutic activities associated with assisting Veterans , including individual and group Whole Health Coaching.
• Coordinate care with Veterans' treatment providers - both primary and specialty care to ensure identified goals are consistent with best practices for treatment and management of chronic illness.
• Assists with data management analyses, special studies, and reports for use by management for budget preparation, workload projections, and quality assurance and utilization reviews.
• Contacts eligible participants for enrollment
• Conducts Whole Health Facilitated Groups, including participating in MOVE, Whole Health Pain Pathway, smoking cessation, diabetes management, hypertension clinics, mental health, and other outpatient and telehealth groups as appropriate in EVP.
• Provides follow-up care through telephone clinics or secure messaging between face-to-face appointments
• Uses VISTA, CPRS, Microsoft office software, Intranet, Internet, and other applicable software to track and support patient progress.
• Conducts outreach activities to inform Veterans and family members of available programs.
• Provides educational opportunities for staff, including lunch and learns, grand rounds, and presentations at staff meetings, in order to promote health coaching and encourage referrals to these services.
• Plans activities in coordination with local Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, Veterans Health Education staff, and other staff responsible for health-related education for Veterans.

Work Schedule: Monday- Friday, 8:00am-4:30pm
Compressed/Flexible:
Remote: This position is remote however selected employee must reside within 50 miles of the Baltimore, MD VAMC
Position Description/PD#: Social Science Program Coordinator/PD512-21023-O
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• You may be required to serve a probationary period
• Subject to background/security investigation
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP)
• Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 02/02/2023.

Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

For a GS-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade.

Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment.

Individual Occupation Requirement (IOR)
Degree: behavioral or social science; or related disciplines appropriate to the position.

or

Combination of education and experience that provided the applicant with knowledge of one or more of the behavioral or social sciences equivalent to a major in the field.

or

Four years of appropriate experience that demonstrated that the applicant has acquired knowledge of one or more of the behavioral or social sciences equivalent to a major in the field.
-AND-

• Specialized Experience: (GS-09); You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-07) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would include, but are not limited to:
• Knowledge of health coaching structure, process, skills, and techniques, and apply ethical code and rules of conduct for health coaches.
• Familiarity with current research literature related to health and wellness
• Understanding of pertinent laws, regulations, policies, and precedents required to determine their impact on the customer service program and related support resources
• Skilled in effective interpersonal and verbal communication to present recommendations that improve patient services.
• Knowledge of VA rules and regulations regarding eligibility, enrollment, income assessment, and insurance for Veterans' medical care in order to provide educational guidance to the Veteran.
• Knowledge of the VA telehealth system, other inpatient and outpatient programs and operations, admissions, scheduling, sharing agreements, and travel.
• Ability to efficiently navigate various automated operating systems, including the ability to retrieve, track and trend information needed for reporting related to health coaching.

-OR-

Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have 2 years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree. Education must be related and demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work.

-OR-

Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond 1 year of graduate-level education

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:

• Teamwork
• Teaching Others
• Interpersonal Skills
• Information Management
• Education and Training

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.

Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.

Physical Requirements: The work places no special physical demands on the employee. Work is performed in an office setting with occasional visits to areas within the service as well as throughout the Medical Center.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/ .

Education

A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/ . If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html .

Additional information

Receiving Service Credit or Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.

Special Employment Consideration: VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply, including those eligible for hiring under 5 CFR 213.3102(u), Schedule A, Appointment of persons with disabilities [i.e., intellectual disabilities, severe physical disabilities, or psychiatric disabilities], and/or Disabled veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more. Contact the Agency Contact for information on how to apply under this appointment authority via the Selective Placement Coordinator.

The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal/VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well-qualified : applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the required competencies of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/ .

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process.

If you are unable to apply online or need to fax a document you do not have in electronic form, view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application .