Duties

Summary

The Chief of Audiology is responsible for providing comprehensive clinical services as well as ensuring that the work assignments of the other members of the clinical team are carried out by performing a range of duties such as distributing and balancing workload in accordance with established work flow or job specialization; assuring timely completion of assigned workload; assessing the status, quality, and progress of work.
Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

The Chief of Audiology has overall responsibility for management and direction of large, geographically-separated, integrated health care facilities or a Network; planning, coordinating, and evaluating complex interdisciplinary services across the full continuum of care including not only Audiology but also other focused rehabilitation, ancillary, or other health care services. In the absence of a supervisory audiologist, this assignment is responsible for oversight of clinical competence and performance of peers.

• Provides Orientation/training of Audiology and Speech and Language Pathology staff
• Assists in orientation and training of new staff
• Assists in training and supervision of student, trainees and fellows
• Provides feedback on progress towards educational goals
• Keeps current with theory and practice through continuing education, journals, textbooks and other literature and in service programs.
• Provides patient and family education, including informed consent.
• Skill in managing and directing work; setting priorities, delegating tasks, meeting multiple deadlines, analyze complex problems to develop solutions.
• Skill in interpersonal relationships; to include employees, team leaders, managers
• Advanced knowledge of and ability to utilize evidence based practices and clinical practice guidelines in multiple professional areas and to guide program staff in applying these tools.
• Ability to manage budgets, to include other focused rehabilitation, ancillary, or other health care services.
  
  Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00 - 4:30 P.M.
  Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Travel Required

50% or less - You may be expected to travel for this position.

Supervisory status
Yes

Promotion Potential
None

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• Must Be A United States Citizen

Qualifications

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. Master's degree or its equivalent in audiology or hearing science from an accredited college or university is required. ["Accredited" means a college or university accredited by a regional accreditation organization and an audiology program recognized by the Accreditation Commission for Audiology Education (ACAE) and/or the Council on Academic Accreditation of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA).] NOTE: Effective January 1, 2007, the Council on Academic Accreditation (CAA) in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology of ASHA [accredits] only doctoral degree programs in audiology or hearing science. English Language Proficiency. Audiologists must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with chapter 2, section D, paragraph 5a, this part. Licensure. The incumbent must hold a full, current, and unrestricted license in a State, Territory, Commonwealth, or the District of Columbia. Education and Experience. Completion of 1 year of professional experience equivalent to the next lower grade level directly related to the position being filled, and must fully meet the KSAs at that level. Knowledge of contemporary audiology practice; Ability to articulate and communicate the assignment, project, problem to be solved, actionable events, and objectives; as well as advice on work methods, practices and procedures; Ability to apply appropriate problem-solving methods and techniques; Ability to monitor and report on the status and progress of work, evaluate program quality to ensure that methods, deadlines and quality have been met; and make adjustments to accomplish the workload in accordance with established priorities; and Ability to serve as facilitator and/or negotiator in coordinating initiatives and consensus building activities among clinical team members with widely divergent backgrounds, interests, and points of view.
• In addition, the candidate must demonstrate the KSAs identified for the assignment and demonstrate the potential to acquire the assignment specific KSAs as indicated by an asterisk (*):
• The Chief of Audiology have overall responsibility for management and direction of large, geographically-separated, integrated health care facilities or a Network; planning, coordinating, and evaluating complex interdisciplinary services across the full continuum of care including not only audiology but also other focused rehabilitation, ancillary, or other health care services. In the absence of a supervisory audiologist, this assignment is responsible for oversight of clinical competence and performance of peers. The following KSAs are required:
  
  *a. Skill in managing and directing diverse work to include setting priorities and delegating tasks, meeting multiple deadlines, analyzing complex organizational problems in order to develop and implement effective solutions;
  
  b. Ability to balance responsibilities applicable to a large service-level or multi-service, and multi-disciplinary, organizational environment and to work with great autonomy;
  
  c. Skill in interpersonal relationships in dealing with a diverse range of employees, team leaders, and managers;
  
  d. Advanced knowledge of, and ability to utilize, evidence-based practices and clinical practice guidelines in multiple professional areas, and to guide the program staff in applying these tools; and
  
  e. Skill in problem solving and conflict resolution; and
  
  *f. Knowledge of, and ability to manage, budgets for a large, integrated services including not only audiology, but also other focused rehabilitation, ancillary, or other health care services.
  References: VA HANDBOOK 5005/38, PART II, APPENDIX G-29
  
  Physical Requirements: It is VA policy to ensure that all selected applicants and employed personnel are physically, mentally and emotionally fit to perform the duties of the position to which assigned. A pre-placement physical examination is required for all full-time, part-time and intermittent employees identified by VA Directive and Handbook 5019. The pre-placement physical examination shall be completed prior to appointment to determine the physical and mental fitness for candidates for appointment in VA. The examination will be concerned with the mental and physical ability of the applicant to satisfactorily perform the duties of the proposed assignment and will include requisite laboratory and other screening as required by Federal regulatory agencies. The work is primarily sedentary, but may require some walking, bending, stooping, standing, stretching and carrying objects.

Education

IMPORTANT: 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

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

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status.

VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.

If you are unable to apply online view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

NOTE: The Professional Standards Board (a peer-review group) will review the selected candidate's education and experience and recommend the grade and salary at which the candidate will be placed. For internal selectees eligible for promotion, the board will determine grade and HR will determine step in accordance with policy.

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.

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Confidential

Drug test required
No

Required Documents

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes:

The following documents are accepted, and may be required if applicable to your eligibility and/or qualifications for this position. Please use this checklist to ensure you have included all documents required for your application, such as a copy of your transcript (if using education to qualify), SF-50's, documentation to support Veterans Preference or ICTAP/CTAP documentation (for displaced Federal employees).

Veterans' Preference: When applying for Federal Jobs, eligible Veterans should claim preference for 5pt (TP), 10pt (CP/CPS/XP), or for Sole Survivor Preference (SSP) in the questionnaire. You must provide a legible copy of your DD214(s) which shows dates and character of service (honorable, general, etc.). If you are currently serving on active duty and expect to be released or discharged within 120 days you must submit documentation related to your active duty service which reflects the dates of service, character of service (honorable, general, etc.), and dates of impending separation. Additionally, disabled veterans and others eligible for 10-point preference (such as widows or mothers of eligible Veterans) must also submit an SF-15 "Application for 10 Point Veteran Preference" with required proof as stated on the form. Documentation is required to award preference. For more information on Veterans' Preference, please visit http://www.fedshirevets.gov/job/vetpref/index.aspx .

How to Apply
All applicants are encouraged to apply online. To apply for this position, you must complete the full questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 7/15/2019 to receive consideration.

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education .

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.