The Psychology Program Manager supervises a clinical team within the VISN 1 Clinical Resource Hub and provides psychotherapy services. The CRH is based out of the VA Connecticut Healthcare System. The CRH group serves all VA facilities within the VISN. Staff are expected to provide inter-professional services to VISN 1 facilities that are underserved or experiencing gaps in clinicians due to the inability to match provider supply with demand. The position is full-time at 40-hours per week.

Duties

The full-time, permanent GS-14 level supervising psychologist serves as a Program Manager for a clinical team within the VISN 1 CRH providing psychotherapy services. Direct clinical services provided include diagnostic formulation and treatment planning, evidence-based psychotherapy, suicide and lethality assessment, crisis management, and consultation with referring sites. In addition to direct patient care for Veterans, the primary job functions of a psychologist at the GS-14 level include supervision of a team of CRH psychology providers and Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSWs); developing and implementing program policies and procedures; overseeing the type, quality, and quantity of clinical services provided; setting program priorities; establishing program goals and initiatives; and supporting training programs. This clinical team may be engaged in psychotherapy and behavioral health counseling in a wide range of clinical settings including CBOCs, VAMCs, CLCs, RRTPs, subspecialty mental health, BHIP, health psychology, and caregiver support. The VISN 1 CRH is a repository of clinical and administrative staff that serve all VA facilities within the VISN and some VA sites outside our network to provide virtual and in-person care to support Veterans. Staff within a CRH are expected to provide services to facilities that are underserved or experiencing gaps in clinical services due to the inability to match provider supply with demand. It is recognized that a significant portion of services within CRHs will be completed virtually across different facilities. The major duties of the position include but are not limited to: Provides a full range of clinical services for veterans who receive care through the CRH. Conducts diagnostic evaluations with treatment planning Provides psychotherapy services using evidence-based care practices and based on individual needs and problem identification Provides treatment coordination to veteran with acute and/or chronic mental health or physical health conditions. Consults and serves as a resource for other medical center staff regarding the CRH Direct, administer, and manage aspects of all programs/clinics within CRH. This includes planning programs, implementing changes, assessing progress, and determining program needs. Delivers highly specialized population-based program development in the CRH for veterans working to address a range of biopsychosocial issues. Ensures that assigned providers provide the highest quality of mental health care to veterans utilizing evidence-based practices and clinical guidelines and that Focused and Ongoing Professional Practice Evaluations are completed. Establishes realistic program goals, initiatives, and direction within the limitations of available staff. Provides formal supervision of CRH psychology and social work staff. Collaborates with non-psychology discipline supervisors, including psychiatry, social work and nursing to provide input on program implementation, hiring decisions, performance reviews, and professional behavior. Collaborates with non-Mental Health discipline supervisors and leads, including pain, geriatrics and extended care, specialty care, and primary care to provide input on program implementation, hiring decisions, performance reviews, and professional behavior. Provide information to VISN leadership, as needed, about CRH program issues and performance Encourage adherence to and engagement in activities to support performance metrics and measurement-based care Participates in recruitment and selection of all new MH Tele-Hub staff with significant and active role in selection of applicants. Interfaces and collaborates with VISN and Facility Leadership regarding programming. Provide program oversite to any psychology training programs collaborating with the VISN 1 CRH and ensures that those programs meet guidelines from the Office of Academic Affiliates. Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Compressed/Flexible:Compressed or Flexible work schedule may be available Telework: Authorized Remote: Not Authorized Functional Statement #: F05436 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required Notifications: This position is in the Excepted Service. Veterans' preference does not apply for other current permanent Federal agency employees. This position is not a Bargaining Unit position. This position is covered by locality-based comparability pay. May be required to attend conference at other facilities or other VA sites on occasion. All applicants must submit copies of their most recent SF-50, (Notice of Personnel Action). The SF-50 must identify the position title, series, grade, step, tenure and type of service (Competitive or Excepted). In some cases, more than one SF-50 may be required to show a higher grade previously held. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Requirements

Qualifications

BASIC REQUIREMENTS. :The basic requirements for employment as a VHA psychologist are prescribed by Public Law 96-151 codified in 38 U.S.C. 7402. To qualify for appointment, all applicants for the position of psychologist in VHA must meet the following: a. 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 chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3g this part). b. 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. c. Education.To qualify for appointment, all applicants for the position of psychologist in VHA must possess one of the education credentials as described below. (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 re-specialization program (including documentation of an approved internship completed as part of the re-specialization 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. d. Internship.In addition to meeting the education requirements, you must also meet the internship requirements to be found qualified for this position: (1) 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, (2) 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, (3) 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, (4) 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, (5) 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 NOTE: Psychologists who meet the requirements of this revision and who were employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs prior to the implementation of this standard are considered to have fully met the requirements of this qualification standard.] e. 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. f.. Board Certification and Loss of Credential. (1) Board Certification. Persons hired to psychology positions in the VHA who completed an internship that was not accredited at the time the program was completed must be 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. The board certificate must be current and the applicant must abide by the certifying body's requirement for continuing education. (2) Loss of Credential. Once board certified, psychologist must maintain a full, valid and unrestricted board certification to remain qualified for employment. A psychologist who fails to maintain the required board certification must be removed from the occupation, which may result in termination of employment. At the discretion of the appointing official, an employee may be reassigned to another occupation if qualified and if a placement opportunity exists. g. Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019. GRADE DETERMINATION: Psychology Program Manager GS-14 a. Experience. Applicants applying at the GS-14 grade level must have at least 3 years of experience as a professional psychologist, with at least one year equivalent to the GS-13 level. b. Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs). In addition to the criteria listed above, you must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: 1. Ability to organize work, set priorities, delegate tasks, and meet multiple deadlines. 2. Knowledge of and ability to utilize evidence based practices and clinical practice guidelines appropriately and ability to guide staff in using these tools. 3. Ability to deal effectively with individuals or groups representing widely divergent backgrounds, interests, and points of view. 4. Skill in managing and directing the work of others to accomplish program goals and objectives. 5. Ability to translate management goals and objectives into well-coordinated and controlled work operations. 6. Ability to establish and monitor production and performance priorities and standards. 7. Ability to analyze organizational and operational problems and to develop and implement solutions that result in sound operation of the program. References: VA Handbook 5005/103. Part II, Appendix G18, Psychologist Qualification Standard GS-0180, Veterans Health Administration The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-14.

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.

Contacts

• Address West Haven VA Medical Center 950 Campbell Avenue West Haven, CT 06516 US
• Name: Mark Throckmorton
• Email: [email protected]