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Psychology Program Manager (Substance Use Disorders Program)

Employer
USAJobs
Location
Hampton, Virginia
Closing date
Dec 12, 2021
Duties

This position is located within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans Health Administration (VHA), VA Mid-Atlantic Health Care Network (VISN 6), Hampton Veterans Affairs Medical Center (HVAMC), under the Mental Health and Behavioral Sciences Service Line (MHBS). This position is aligned under the Specialty Outpatient Services - Substance Use Disorder Programs.

The Psychology Program Manager is responsible for management of the administrative and clinical aspects of the Substance Use Disorder Program at the Hampton VA Medical Center. Duties may include:

Administrative (Supervisory) Responsibilities
  • Responsibilities of this position include administrative oversight of the Outpatient Substance Use Disorder Programs and includes supervision of at least 10 FTEE. The incumbent, along with the Section Chief of Outpatient Substance Use Disorder Programs, have responsibility for the professional practice and services conducted by the Psychologists, Social Workers, Addiction Therapists, Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselors (LPMHCs), and Medical Support Assistants (MSAs) in these programs. The incumbent is also responsible for ensuring that the Outpatient Substance Use Disorder Programs meet all applicable practice requirements and standards.
  • The personnel supervised represent major components of the medical center and the services supervised are highly complex and broad in scope.
  • The incumbent is responsible, along with the Section Chief for Outpatient Substance Use Disorder Programs, for the professional, management, and administrative aspects of the Outpatient Substance Use Disorder programs at VAMC Hampton. These MH programs deliver substance use services to veterans in an outpatient setting. The incumbent's responsibilities require coordinating multiple legs of the program across sites, coordinating day to day activities of the program, establishing and adhering to governing policies, and supervising the staff in the program. The incumbent monitors outcomes of these programs using data-driven processes and implements action plans based on this data analysis. The incumbent is also responsible for ensuring coordination of substance use services between outpatient and inpatient treatment programs.
  • Supervisory responsibilities include ongoing evaluation of staffing needs and personnel assignments in these programs, periodic updating of position descriptions and functional statements, coordination of credentialing and privileging, coordination of competency evaluations, completing performance appraisals, and professional and administrative supervision as appropriate and necessary.
  • Supervision and resource management involves major decisions. Work activities and supervision significantly impact the ability of staff to provide comprehensive services to Veterans.
  • Decisions are made with very wide latitude and independent judgment.
Clinical Responsibilities
  • Independently provides psychological services at all levels of complexity and consults with peers and supervisors as appropriate.
  • Conducts diagnostic evaluations by clinical interview, objective and/or projective testing, intellectual assessment, organicity screening, and behavioral observation. Interprets and integrates the findings with all other available patient data and writes these outcomes in comprehensive psychological evaluations.
  • Plans and carries out individual, marital, and/or group psychotherapy with the most difficult cases. The psychologist functions in a way that promotes and maintains a psychotherapeutic milieu within the work area, and participates in the development of treatment programs for patients served in the MH&BS.
  • Provides education to patients, patients' families, and medical center staff.
  • Provides assessment, therapy, education, and support services for, and interacts with, patients from young adult to geriatric age levels on an inpatient and outpatient basis.
  • Serves as a consultant, adviser, and resource person, not only to lower grade level psychologists, but to staff members of other disciplines, operating officials, and others concerned with patient treatment care, including community resources.
  • Establishes and maintains appropriate patient treatment records in conformance with VA, medical center, service line, Joint Commission, CARF, and other applicable standards.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00 to 4:30 pm. Subject to change based on the needs of the agency.
Telework: Ad Hoc Telework is Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Title/Functional Statement #:Psychology Program Manager (Substance Use Disorders Program)/000000
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
EDRP Authorized: Contact Tonya.Searby@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance
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
  • All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
  • Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
  • You may be required to serve a probationary period
  • Subject to a background/security investigation
  • Must be proficient in written and spoken English
  • Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process
  • Participation in the seasonal influenza and Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Vaccination programs are requirements for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP)


Qualifications

Basic Requirements
Citizenship. Be a citizen of the United States. (Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Regulations.

Education. (1) 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. The specialty area of the degree must be consistent with the assignment for which the applicant is to be employed. For the purpose of meeting this requirement, the term "specialty area" refers to the specific specialty areas recognized by the accrediting body and not to specific job duties that might require special skills. Currently, APA accredits doctoral programs in the specialty areas of clinical psychology, counseling psychology, school psychology, or combinations of two or more of those areas. PCSAS accredits doctoral programs in psychological clinical science. CPA accredits doctoral programs in clinical psychology, counseling psychology, clinical neuropsychology, and school psychology. There are no job assignments in VHA that require the skills of a school psychologist; therefore, an applicant with a degree in the specialty area of school psychology is not eligible for appointment. Strictly for the purpose of determining eligibility for appointment as a psychologist in VHA, there is no distinction between the specialty areas (with the exception of school psychology).
OR
(2) Have a doctoral degree in any area of psychology and, in addition, successfully complete a respecialization program (including documentation of an approved internship completed as part of the respecialization program) meeting both of the following conditions: (a) The re-specialization program must be completed in an APA or a CPA accredited doctoral program; and, (b) the specialty in which the applicant is retrained must be consistent with the assignment for which the applicant is to be employed.
OR
(3) 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.
OR
(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;
OR
(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;
OR
(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.
OR
(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. 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.

English Language Proficiency. Psychologists must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Regulations.

Grade Requirements (GS-14) Program Manager

Experience. At least three years of experience as a professional psychologist, with at least one-year equivalent to the GS-13 grade level.

Assignment. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity (difficulty), and variety, and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. Psychologist program managers have broad program management responsibilities for a specific program or programs that are designed to deliver specialized, complex, highly professional services that are important program components of the facility and that significantly impact the health care provided to Veterans. Programs include but are not limited to addiction, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), mental health intensive case management (MHICM), mental health compensation and pension examination (C&P) programs, Psychosocial Rehabilitation and Recovery Centers, inpatient mental health, residential rehabilitation, domiciliary, palliative care, neuropsychology, and internship and postdoctoral fellowship training programs; management of an off campus site; psychology program oversight and coordination throughout the facility and its affiliated clinics as a psychology executive, typically at lower complexity facilities. Decisions made by the Program Manager affect staff and other resources associated with the programs managed and are made while exercising wide latitude and independent judgment. The type of program managed, and scope of responsibility are critical aspects of the assignment at this level. Responsibilities include operation and management of key clinical, training, research, or administrative programs to include full responsibility for managing the day-to-day activities of those programs. Responsibility may include supervision of staff but is not required. Psychologist Program Managers are responsible for strategic planning to ensure the provision of high-quality services to meet the needs of the Veterans being served and planning and developing and implementing short- and long-term goals and objectives consistent with the program's strategic plan. They have oversight of administrative and programmatic resources and deploy those resources in support of the program needs. They develop and implement programs, policies, and procedures to meet program goals, VHA policy and external accreditation requirements, and monitor outcomes using data-driven quality assurance processes and implement strategies for improvement based on data analysis.

Reference: VA Handbook 5005/103, Part II, Appendix G18, Psychologist Qualification Standard. Available in the Human Resources Office.

Physical Requirements: The physical demands of the work are generally minor. The work is primarily sedentary in nature and usually occurs within climate controlled clinical and administrative settings. The work may require moderate lifting/carrying (15 pounds or less), pushing, standing; reaching above shoulder; use of fingers; ability to read without strain; ability to hear the whispered voice with or without hearing aid; emotional & mental stability. Use of fingers may be required to operate computers. There may be occasional equipment and room set-up, and ambulation related to physical inspections of the facilities.

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

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