This position is located in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans health Administration (VHA), South Central Veterans Health Care Network, Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN 16), G.V. (Sonny) Montgomery VA Medical Center. The primary reason for this position is to support the recovery of Veterans in both the Substance Abuse Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program (SARRTP) and the Mental Health Trauma Recovery Program (PTSD/RRTP).

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 09/07/2023. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS 6 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS 5. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement. Individual Occupational Requirements:Applicants who meet the Individual Occupational Requirements described below are fully qualified for the specified entry grade and must also meet the specialized experience and/or education requirements. Education and Training: Successful completion of 2 years of study in a program directly related to the specialized field of therapy. OR Specialized Experience: Examples of qualifying specialized experience include work as an assistant to one of the specialized therapies such as occupational, physical, manual arts, corrective, or educational therapy; or experience gained as an assistant or aid in patient care, social work, or psychology where the duties involved actual participation in physical medicine and activities of a hospital or clinic. In addition to meeting the above Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR) AND Time-In-Grade, applicants must also meet the experience and/or directly related education relevant to this position. Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-05 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Experience in missions, organizations, programs, and requirements of health care delivery systems in meeting the goals and objectives of the residential programs in order to assist Veterans recovery. Experience with patient demographic trends, and an awareness of strengths and interests of the clinical staff in order to meet goals and objectives of the residential programs. Experience in mental and psychological dysfunctional states and counseling methods in order to provide treatment for recovery. Experience with psychiatric conditions and their treatment/care provided in order to assist Veterans' recovery. Experience with alcohol and drug dependence and the rehabilitation process in order to assist Veterans' recovery. OR Education: Graduate education or an internship meets the specialized experience required above GS-5 only in those instances where it is directly related to the work of the position. OR Combination of Specialized Experience and Education: Combination of specialized experience as described above and graduate education as described above which totals at least one year. [To compute the percentage, divide your total months of qualifying experience by 12. Then divide your semester hours of graduate education beyond one year by 18. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify.] You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: CommunicationCompliance InspectionCustomer Service (Clerical/Technical)Patient CareTherapy and Counseling 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; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. Physical Requirements: The work requires regular walking, occasional lifting, and moderately strenuous activity may be required. The position may require physical assistance of patients including lifting in an emergency such as a fall. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

Education

Graduate education or an internship meets the specialized experience required above GS-5 only in those instances where it is directly related to the work of the position.

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 GV Sonny Montgomery VAMC 1500 East Woodrow Wilson Drive Jackson, MS 39216 US
• Name: April Hightower
• Phone: 228-337-7346
• Email: [email protected]