The VA Central California Health Care System is recruiting for a Senior Psychologist Program Manager within the Mental Health Service. This is an OPEN CONTINUOUS ANNOUNCEMENT and will remain open until September 29, 2023. The initial cut-off date for referral of eligible applications will be August 23rd, 2023. Eligible applications received after that date will be referred at regular intervals or as additional vacancies occur on an as-needed basis until positions are filled.

Duties

Serves as Senior Psychologist Program Manager, Mental Health Service (MHS) and has programmatic responsibilities for the delivery of mental health services at all sites of care. The incumbent reports to the Chief of the MHS for all clinical, administrative, and quality performance matters. The incumbent assists the Chief with management of the MHS including assessing program needs, allocating resources effectively and efficiently while monitoring their use, working with program managers to develop policies and procedures which are fitted to the needs of each program, and facilitating communication between MHS programs, among other duties assigned by the Chief. The incumbent supervises the directors of multiple MHS programs and to a group of staff who provide support to the MHS. The Senior Psychology Program Manager, Mental Health Service (MHS), is a position that provides support to the Chief, MHS in all areas of management, leadership and oversight of mental health clinical, educational, and research activities at the VA CCHCS. The incumbent is a key member of the organization's clinical leadership team and reports directly to the MHS Chief. Incumbent ensures observance of federal, national, and local regulatory policy and accreditation requirements governing the medical center. Incumbent is responsible for supporting strategic planning, budget oversight, staff recruitment and management, and quality assurance. The Senior Psychologist Program Manager, MHS functions as a liaison to the Chief, MHS for Education and affiliated health professional schools for undergraduate and graduate education issues. Incumbent ensures that mental health practitioners demonstrate effectiveness in teaching and comply with necessary trainee supervision requirements. The Senior Psychologist Program Manager, MHS is expected to maintain all necessary credentials in his/her respective discipline in order to provide clinical care approximately 10% percent of the time. The Senior Psychologist Program Manager also responsible for psychology program oversight and coordination as a psychology executive. The Senior Psychology Program Manager, MHS is responsible for planning, organizing, developing, implementing, coordinating, and refining a comprehensive patient management/clinical support/administrative program which provides services and technical counsel necessary to meet clinical, procedural, legal and administrative requirements relating to the care and treatment of inpatients and outpatients. Incumbent provides a climate in which clinicians can care for patients with an awareness of administrative implications of his/her actions, without feeling incumbent is working under unnecessary constraints. Expertise along broad clinical and administrative levels is required to meet the needs of this large, complex patient population, and to integrate Service Line functions with those of other Service Lines, as well as with other VA entities within and outside the local Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN). Incumbent manages multiple programs from the Service Line level (see attached org chart). As such, incumbent is responsible for managing issues elevated to service line, monitoring metrics relevant to these units (including productivity, budget, accreditation issues, etc.) and providing management support and oversight as needed. Incumbent oversees all telehealth activities within the MHS and ensures compliance with laws, regulations, guidelines, and training of staff. Work Schedule: Monday thru Friday: 8:00am - 4:30pm Telework: Position may be eligible for telework as determined by agency policy Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: May be authorized for highly qualified applicants. Financial Disclosure Report: Not required PCS: Not authorized

Requirements

Qualifications

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met. 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. English Language Proficiency Requirement - Per VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, Section A, Paragraph 3j: No person will be appointed under authority of 38 U.S.C., chapter 73 or 74, to serve in a direct patient-care capacity in VHA who is not proficient in written and spoken English. Education Requirement - You must 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. OR, have a doctoral degree in any area of psychology and, in addition, successfully completed a respecialization program meeting both of the following conditions: a) the respecialization program must be completed in an APA or a CPA accredited doctoral program; and b) the specialty in which you were retrained is consistent with the assignment you are am applying for; OR, have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally-accredited institution, with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature. Internship Requirement - You must 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, 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, 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, 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). NOTE: 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: Candidates must 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. Exception: Non-licensed applicants who otherwise meet the eligibility requirements may be given a temporary appointment as a "graduate psychologist" at the GS-11 or GS-12 grade under the authority of 38 U.S.C. 7405 (c)(2)(B) for a period not to exceed two years from the date of employment on the condition that such a psychologist provide care only under the supervision of a psychologist who is licensed. Failure to obtain licensure during that period is justification for termination of the temporary appointment. Experience: In additional to meeting the basic requirements as stated above, you must have the following: GS-15 Level: at least four (4) years of experience as a professional psychologist, with at least one year equivalent to the GS-14 grade level. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Skill in managing and directing the work of large, complex organizational units and in applying effective management practices. Skill in persuasion, negotiation, and motivation to negotiate multiple program policies. Skill in interpersonal relationships in dealing with employees and other managers using advanced consultation and problem solving skills. Skill in the application and analysis of measurement tools to systems issues. Ability to balance responsibilities in a complex environment and to work with great autonomy; ability to set priorities and delegate tasks, meet multiple deadlines, analyze complex organizational problems; and ability to develop and implement effective solutions for those problems. Ability to assess need for basic and complex services across multiple programmatic contexts. Ability to coordinate the efforts of multiple program elements across a complex system. *Experience is only creditable if it is post-doctoral degree experience as a professional psychologist directly related to the duties performed. Reference: VA Regulations, specifically VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Appendix G18 Psychologist Qualification Standard. This can be found in the local Human Resources Office. Physical Requirements: Light lifting (under 15 lbs), light carrying (under 15 lbs), use of fingers, far vision correctable in one eye to 20/20 and 20/40 in the other, hearing (aid permitted), emotional stability, mental stability, working closely with others, and working alone. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-15.

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 Fresno VA Medical Center 2615 East Clinton Avenue Fresno, CA 93703 US
• Name: Julia Dietz
• Phone: 559-260-9624
• Email: [email protected]