The Chief, Psychology Service has broad, comprehensive responsibility for the overall clinical practice, education, human resource management, development, management, technical maintenance, program oversight, staff training, and supervisory and administrative oversight over all psychology services, programs within the psychology service, psychology service staff, and psychology training within the Aleda E. Lutz VAMC

Duties

This is an open continuous announcement until November 3, 2023. Qualified applicants will be considered and referred as vacancies become available. The Psychologist Service Chief manages a stand-alone Service, Product Line or Service Line. They typically have line and staff authority for resource allocations within the area of responsibility, and ensure the efficient operation of the unit. Decisions are made exercising wide latitude and independent judgment. They have broad and overall responsibility for the service-level department and full responsibility for clinical practice, program management, education, human resource management and supervision for the service, as appropriate. They provide leadership with objective, independent assessments and recommendations for policy, operational and administrative issues and initiatives requiring decision and action. Duties include, but are not limited to: Chief, Psychology Service has broad, comprehensive responsibility for the overall clinical practice, education, human resource management, development, management, technical maintenance, program oversight, staff training, and supervisory and administrative oversight over all psychology services, staff, and training within the Aleda E. Lutz VAMC. Full administrative control over 22 FTEE in the Psychology Service of the Mental Health Service Line (including 14 direct reports), which includes full line and staff authority for resource allocations within the Psychology Service, and ensures the efficient operation of the organizational unit. Performs the overall administrative and personnel management functions relative to staff supervised. Establishes guidelines and performance expectations for staff that are clearly communicated through the formal employee performance management system. Responsible for completing and monitoring focused and ongoing professional practice evaluations for privileged and credentialed psychology staff. Observes and evaluates staff performance. Responsible for program development, implementation, evaluation, and outcomes related to the Psychology Service. Provide leadership with objective, independent assessments and recommendations for policy, operational and administrative issues and initiatives requiring decision and action. Assure compliance with accrediting agency and regulatory requirements and assure corrective action is initiated as needed; Advise leadership on policy implications, key issues, and relationships to both internal and external interest groups, and recommend courses of action. Prepare special reports and responses, Congressional responses, briefing papers, issue briefs, and decision papers for Medical Center leadership, which may be highly sensitive, confidential, and of a complex nature as requested. Responsible for developing performance standards, position descriptions and functional statements; Act in the role of the Associate Chief of Staff for Mental Health when directed and communicate with Executive Leadership of the Medical Center when indicated. Provides comprehensive psychosocial assessments and treatment for Veterans with mental health issues; reviews all subjective and objective data; assesses high risk factors; provides a clinical assessment; determines a treatment plan for the Veteran based on acuity, need for and type of service(s) and/or psychotherapy(ies) recommended. Provides a full range of therapeutic interventions including individual, couple/family, and group psychotherapies; psycho-educational groups; and case management. Consults with and serves as a resource for other Medical Center staff regarding the psychology training programs, specific case conceptualization, treatment planning, and utilization of evidenced-based treatments and clinical practice guidelines. Is responsible for identification of any Veteran concerns or issues requiring consultation with other multi-disciplinary medical center staff and making appropriate referrals. Ensures that appropriate referrals occur to specialty programs, including community resources, are accomplished. Is fully accountable for practice, including entering patient visits, measuring outcomes to interventions, and meeting productivity. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00AM-4:30PM Telework: Eligible - as determined by the agency policy. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 92011-0 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Authorized This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific individual eligibility requirements in accordance with VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) and eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after complete review of the EDRP application. Financial Disclosure Report: Not required.

Requirements

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 chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3.g, this part.) 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. 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. NOTE: The applicant must provide an official transcript and/or certificate documenting the completion of the re-specialization program, which includes completion of an APA or CPA internship. [Psychologists who have successfully completed a re-specialization program as described above and who were employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs prior to the implementation of this standard are considered to have fully met the educational requirements of these qualification standards.] OR (3) Have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally-accredited institution, with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature. AND 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. (NOTE: Once board certified, the employee is required to maintain board certification.) 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 Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3j. Grade Determination: Psychologist, GS-14 (Service Chief) Experience. At least three years of experience as a professional psychologist, with at least one year equivalent to the GS-13 grade level. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Ability to organize work, set priorities, delegate tasks, and meets multiple deadlines. Knowledge of and ability to utilize evidence based practices and clinical practice guidelines appropriately and ability to guide staff in using these tools. Ability to deal effectively with individuals or groups representing widely divergent backgrounds, interests, and points of view. Skill in managing and directing the work of others to accomplish program goals and objectives. Ability to translate management goals and objectives into well-coordinated and controlled work operations. Ability to establish and monitor production and performance priorities and standards. 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 The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-14. Physical Requirements. The position is primarily sedentary, with some bending, walking and stooping required. This position requires the ability to read printed material and distinguish colors, such as reading computer screens and the ability to accurately perceive depth so as to move around workspace safely and to appropriately make contact with patients and staff.

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 Aleda E Lutz Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center 1500 Weiss Street Saginaw, MI 48602 US
• Name: Elizabeth Troiani
• Phone: 689-246-6971
• Email: [email protected]