The Marion IL VA Healthcare System is seeking a Social Service Program Coordinator to serve as a Whole Health Coach. The Whole Health Coach will complete on-the-job training to test for certification as a Health & Wellness Coach. The Whole Health Coach will work closely with Veterans, family members, clinicians, and VA Staff to assist the veteran in achieving his/her personal goals, to promote healthy lifestyle changes and to foster overall health and well-being.

Duties

Duties include, but are not limited to: Champion patient-led care principles and strategies to empower veterans to make choices that will optimize health and well-being. Develop a coaching/mentoring relationship with the veteran and assist the veteran through a process of actively working toward better health by providing support, encouragement, and education. The Whole Health Coach will be knowledgeable of VHA and community resources that may support each veteran's vision for health and well-being. Assist with the program needs assessment, recommendations for program design, and evaluation or program outcomes. Facilitates and empowers clients to develop and achieve self-determined goals related to health and wellness. Supports clients in mobilizing internal strengths and external resources and develops self-management strategies for making sustainable, healthy lifestyle behavior changes and more effectively managing chronic disease. Assists clients to use their insight, personal strengths and resources, goal setting, action steps and accountability toward healthy lifestyle change. Contacts eligible participants for enrollment and explain the health coaching process. Schedules ongoing sessions to assess progress and assist in navigating obstacles or challenge. Coordinates with others on the veteran's health care team to ensure optimal patient care. Utilizes health coaching techniques and processes, learned through pre-requisite health coach training, to assist members in developing a realistic plan to accomplish their goals. Maintain a therapeutic relationship and continue to support veterans who are not yet ready for change by utilizing motivational interviewing techniques to inspire future change. Conducts outreach activities to inform veterans and family members of available services. Meets with external stakeholders to provide information about Whole Health Groups and individual services. Together with the Veteran, the Whole Health Coach will construct a plan to fit the culture and lifestyle of the patient. Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level. Work Schedule: This position requires flexibility in schedule and assignments. Incumbent may be responsible for a tour of duty that includes early morning, evenings and/or weekends. Telework: VA supports the use of telework as a way to help attract and retain talented individuals in public service, increase worker productivity, and better prepare the agency to operate during emergencies. This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Social Science Program Coordinator- Health and Wellbeing Coach/PD99581S and PD99582S Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 09/05/2023. 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-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05. For a GS-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07. 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 as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Basic Requirement for 0101 Occupations Degree: behavioral or social science; or related disciplines appropriate to the position. or Combination of education and experience that provided the applicant with knowledge of one or more of the behavioral or social sciences equivalent to a major in the field. or Four years of appropriate experience that demonstrated that the applicant has acquired knowledge of one or more of the behavioral or social sciences equivalent to a major in the field. In addition to meeting the basic requirements above, applicants must meet the following: GS-7 Requirements Specialized Experience: Examples of creditable experience includes, but is not limited to: utilizing motivational interviewing and coaching techniques and processes; utilizing interpersonal skills to assist clients with developing and achieving self-determined goals; and sharing goals with support team to assist an individuals in meeting their identified goals. (Note: Specialized experience must be documented in your resume in order to receive credit) OR Education: One full year of graduate level education in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position, such as: behavioral or social science; or related disciplines. OR Superior Academic Achievement. In order to be creditable under this provision, Superior Academic Achievement must have been gained in a curriculum that is qualifying for the position to be filled, such as that identified in Education above. Superior Academic Achievement is based on:(1) Class Standing - Applicants must be in the upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, such as the College of Liberal Arts or the School of Business Administration, based on completed courses; OR(2) Grade-Point Average (G.P.A.) - Applicants must have a grade-point average of either (a) 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B" or better) as recorded on your official transcript, or as computed based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or (b) 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B+" or better) based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum.; OR(3) Honor Society Membership - Applicants may be considered eligible based on membership in one of the approved national scholastic honor societies listed by the Association of College Honor Societies (https://www.achsnatl.org/). OR Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) by 18. Add the two percentages. GS-9 Requirements Specialized Experience: Examples of creditable experience includes, but is not limited to: assisting clients with developing and achieving self-determined goals; utilizing motivational interviewing and coaching techniques and processes to assist clients in developing realistic plans to accomplish their goals; conducting ongoing sessions to assess progress and assist clients in navigating obstacles or challenges; and assisting in the collection of program qualitative data from clients. (Note: Specialized experience must be documented in your resume in order to receive credit.) (Note: Specialized experience must be documented in your resume in order to receive credit.) OR Education: Master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position, such as: behavioral or social science; or related disciplines. OR Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) beyond the first year (total graduate semester hours minus 18) by 18. Add the two percentages. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: CommunicationLeadershipReasoningTechnical Competence 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. Preferred Qualifications: Two years experience as a Health and Wellness Coach. Experience in complementary integrative health practice, experience with Veterans, and exceptional customer service. Certification in Health and Wellness Coaching. Physical Requirements: Work is performed in an office setting with occasional visits to areas within the service as well as throughout the Medical Center. Work area is adequately lighted, heated and air conditioned. The normal risks and discomforts typical of an office and clerical work area are included. There are no unusual risks or safety hazards associated with this position. 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

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 Marion VA Medical Center 2401 West Main Street Marion, IL 62959 US
• Name: Krystal Stewart
• Phone: (706)550-3915
• Email: [email protected]