Duties

Summary

Serves as a Child and Adolescent Psychologist for the Child and Family Program Division. Responsible for the intensive case management of Foreign Service (FS) children with special education and behavioral health needs for determining medical clearances. Responsible for determining eligibility for education allowance for children with special needs. Develops procedures and policies relevant to enhancing the functioning of MED's CFP Division.
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Responsibilities

• Advisor and consultant to staff, officials and FS employees in the areas of clinical psychology, reviewing psychological and educational reports for determination of special allowances of children with special education needs while overseas.
• Conducts intensive case reviews for rendering recommendations about FS personnel (specifically EFM (Eligible Family Members) children) to assist with treatment and medical clearance decisions.
• Supports employees and EFMs evacuated for psychiatric illness, monitors care and treatment and works in a team-based approach to medical clearance determination for EFMs.
• Working with a clinical team to facilitate local care referrals for child mental health care.
• Liaises with other departments and agencies to provide information and education about MHS programs for children and families via public speaking, video conferencing and review of written materials that may be distributed to employees and families.

Travel Required

Occasional travel - Overseas/Domestic travel.

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
13

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• Incumbent will be subject to random drug testing.
• U.S. Citizenship is required.
• Must be able to obtain and maintain a Secret security clearance.
• Verification of employment eligibility in the United States is required.
• One year probationary period, unless excepted by regulation.

Qualifications

Applicants must meet all the required qualification requirements, including education, and any selective placement factors described below by the closing date of this announcement.

If you are qualifying based on education OR if there are mandatory education requirements listed below, you MUST submit a copy of your college transcript with your application.

NOTE: Applicants must meet time-in-grade and time after competitive appointment requirements, by the closing date of this announcement.

Time-In-Grade Requirements: Federal applicants must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade to satisfy time-in-grade restrictions, per 5CFR 300, Subpart F.

Applicants MUST meet the required basic entry qualification requirements described below:

BASIC REQUIREMENTS:

Have an undergraduate or graduate level degree with a major or equivalent in psychology AND have satisfactory completed all the requirements for the doctoral degree (Ph.D. or equivalent) from an accredited college or
university directly related to full professional work in clinical psychology is required.

Note: All applicants WILL BE required to submit transcripts as verification of educational requirement by the closing date of this announcement

IN ADDITION to meeting the basic entry qualifications requirements listed above, applicants applying for the GS-13 grade level MUST have at least 1 year of specialized experience that has equipped them with the
particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. This experience is related to the work of the position and equivalent to at least the GS-12 level in the Federal service.
Qualifying specialized experience must demonstrate the following:

• Experience reviewing psychological evaluation cases for children;
• Experience that includes an extensive background in performing in-depth psychological evaluations of adults, children and families;
• Experience working with schools in the U.S. and overseas which have special education services; and
• Experience in report writing and formulating treatment and educational plans.

Note: All applicants WILL BE required to submit transcripts as verification of educational requirement by the closing date of this announcement. You MUST (1) submit a copy of your college transcript(s) with your
application, and if selected, an official college transcript(s) will be required to verify education prior to employment; (2) transcripts MUST be legible AND include your name, major, school name/location, course title/number, date completed, grade, and number of credits earned; (3) if you attended more than 1 college you MUST submit a transcript from each institution if you wish your education
to be considered in qualifying you for this position; (4) all college coursework that may be pertinent to qualifying you for the position MUST be included on the transcripts. If you fail to provide requested information, or the information you submit is insufficient to verify your eligibility, you WILL lose consideration for this position.

Education

See the qualifications section of this vacancy announcement for education requirements, if applicable.

Additional information

EMPLOYMENT ELIGIBILITY VERIFICATION PROGRAM (E-Verify) - U.S. law requires organizations to employ only individuals who may legally work in the United States - either U.S. citizens, or foreign citizens who have the necessary authorization. This agency utilizes E-Verify to compare information from the Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, to data from U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Social Security Administration (SSA) records to confirm employment eligibility. If the employee's information does not match DHS and/or SSA records, the employee is given an opportunity to resolve the problem. If eligibility cannot be verified, employment will be terminated.

For reasonable accommodation at the U.S. Department of State, please contact the Office of Accessibility and Accommodations at

(202) 663-3474 or Reasonable Accommodations@state.gov.

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following knowledge, skills, abilities (KSAs) and other characteristics that are relevant to the duties of this position and must be fully supported by information in your resume:

• Knowledge of Psychological principles, theories, concepts and practices related to mental health illness.
• Knowledge in evaluating and analyzing medical information in order to provide guidance on all types of mental health disorders.
• Ability to interact with other medical professionals to complete evaluations, make assessments, and recommendations related to mental health issues.
• Skill in oral communication in order to provide patient assessment, counseling, and referrals related to patient mental health care.
• Ability to communicate in writing in order to develop policy, procedures, and clinical reports of findings.
• Knowledge of early childhood interventions and special education practices.

Your resume serves as the basis for qualification determinations and must highlight your most relevant and significant work experience and education (if applicable) as it relates to this job opportunity. 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; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Your resume should include the dates of all qualifying experience (from month/year to month/year) and the number of hours worked/volunteered per week. For assistance with creating a resume, please click
here .

Qualified candidates are assigned a score between 70 and 100. Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) candidates must be rated "Well Qualified" for the position and earn a score of at least 85 (when applicants are rated in a range of 70 to 100) to receive consideration for special priority.

If, after reviewing your resume and self-assessment questionnaire responses and a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and/or experience, a score will be manually determined that reflects your documented experience. This may result in a lower score, which may also eliminate you from consideration for this position.

Applicants must meet all the qualification requirements and submit any required supporting documentation by the closing date of this job opportunity. Your application package must contain sufficient information to make a valid determination that you fully meet the basic/specialized experience requirements as stated in this job opportunity announcement for each grade level(s) for which you are applying. Applicants found to be among the top qualified candidates will be referred to the hiring official for further consideration and possible interview.

To preview questions please click here .

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Secret

Drug test required
Yes

Required Documents

All required documents listed below, that are applicable to you, must be submitted to our automated system "Gateway to State" by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement.

1. Resume - your resume or any other written format you choose should contain the required information as specified in the "How You Will Be Evaluated" section. Insufficient information will result in an ineligible rating.

2. A completed online job specific self-assessment questionnaire through the Department's automated system "Gateway to State".

3. Transcripts - if applicable, see the Qualifications section of the announcement. If selected, an official/sealed college transcript(s) will be required to verify education prior to employment.

4. If you are qualifying based on other criteria listed under the Qualification Section of this announcement, you must submit the required supporting documentation (certificates, certifications, etc.) with your application by the closing date.

5. Performance Appraisal - All current Federal employees and reinstatement eligible applicants must submit a copy of your most recent completed annual performance appraisal that includes the final rating. If a performance appraisal does not exist, is incomplete or unavailable, a Form DS-1812 (Applicant Appraisal) or equivalent form from another agency signed by the current supervisor is acceptable. Mid-year progress reviews will not be accepted.

6. Current, former, and non-competitive Federal employees must submit SF-50s (Notification of Personnel Action) that show: effective date, position title, series, grade, salary, tenure, position occupied, full promotion potential, and name of agency. Examples include promotion & within-grade increase actions. Award SF-50s often do not show this information. Multiple SF-50s may be needed to show all information.

7. Veterans who are preference eligibles OR who have been separated from the Armed Forces under honorable conditions (honorable or general discharge) after 3 or more years of continuous active service may apply under the Veterans Employment Opportunities act (VEOA). You must submit a DD-214 Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty (Member Copy 4 is preferable) showing the dates you served as well as your type of discharge and qualifying service campaign medals OR if you are still on active duty, you MUST submit a certification on letterhead from your military branch which contains your military service dates, expected date of discharge or release, and the character of service to show that your military service was performed under honorable conditions. The expected date of discharge or release must be no later than 120 days after the certification is submitted for consideration for this job announcement.

Current Federal employees applying under the Veterans Employment Opportunities Act (VEOA) must submit a qualifying SF-50 to show you meet time-in-grade requirements.

If you are applying as a preference eligible with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more, in addition to the DD-214 or certification, you must also submit a current version of the SF-15 (Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference), dated October 2013, and the required supporting documents listed on that form. Previous editions of the SF-15 will not be accepted. For more information on veterans' preference, click here .

To gain access to your DD-214 online, please visit: http://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records/get-service-records.html. For more information on Veteran Authorities, consult the Vet Guide .

8. CTAP/ICTAP eligibles must submit a copy of the appropriate documentation with their application. See links below:

ICTAP Considerations

CTAP Considerations

9. If you are applying under a special hiring authority you MUST submit proof of eligibility with your application. For information related to special hiring authorities for severely disabled persons visit: http://www.opm.gov/disability/People With Disabilities.asp

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.