This position is in the Mental Health Service of the Hershel "Woody" Williams VA Medical Center (VAMC) in Huntington, WV. The Horticulturist is responsible for the coordination of the Hershel "Woody" Williams VAMC (Huntington) VA FARMS 'Veterans Growing Together' Agriculture Therapy Program which is designed to engage veterans in agriculture through training in agricultural pursuits while also addressing their behavioral and mental health needs.

Duties

***THIS IS NOT A VIRTUAL POSITION, YOU MUST LIVE WITHIN OR BE WILLING TO RELOCATE WITHIN A COMMUTABLE DISTANCE OF THE DUTY LOCATION*** Duties include, but not limited to the following: AGRITHERAPY: 40% Supervise, plan, develop, and deliver education, and individual and group therapeutic activities and events to patients including individual and group interventions to gain interest in permaculture and/or agriculture. Provide for Veteran behavioral health in relation to gardening through working the body; providing safe, healthy, and relaxing nature surroundings; personal development; agricultural training programs; and community engagement. Serve as a coach and/or mentor to program participants, interns, and volunteers on an on-going basis, tailoring the emphasis based on the needs and backgrounds. Supervise, train, and lead contractor, participants and volunteers in therapeutic gardening/horticulture and agriculture training activities. Transport Veterans with mobility limitations to multiple sites on the grounds of the VA facility using a gas-powered side-by-side 4-wheel drive vehicle. PROGRAM COORDINATION: 40% Collaborate with senior leaders, senior technical leaders, and other department managers to help develop a strategic vision and goal for the Agri therapy Program and sustainability. Assist in research workload, plan short- and long-range objectives, solve problems, and achieve goals within budget and staffing constraints. Maintain communications within hospital programs and services related to therapeutic garden areas and encourage referrals and coordination of services. Provide administrative duties and management of program required records, reports, progress notes, files, and statistical data. Ensure that all documents, study files, and case reports required for participation in any research, grant or nationally funded programs are complete, accurate, and retained according to the protocol and records retention schedule. Track and analyze program progress, evaluate the effectiveness of resources and services, prepare reports/summaries, and make appropriate recommendations to the supervisor on items that will positively impact operational effectiveness and make recommendations for program improvements. COMMUNITY OUTREACH: 20% Establish community partner relationships to provide horticulture and agriculture educational trainings and classes. Communicate and collaborate with external and internal community partners proactively to analyze program needs and project parameters. Travel by government vehicle to offsite locations for community engagement activities. Identify and maintain liaisons with community agencies and organizations to promote therapeutic garden related programming and opportunities. Serve as the liaison between community partners and VA for any research, grant, or nationally funded programs. Serves as the HWW VAMC point of contact for national program. Establish and maintain partnerships with Voluntary Services, Community organizations and stakeholders to support Agri therapy. Work Schedule: Full-Time, Monday - Friday, 8:30am - 5:00pm Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet the following requirements. Basic Requirements 1. Bachelor's Degree (or higher): horticulture; or a related discipline of basic plant science that included at least 30 semester hours in the basic plant sciences, of which at least 16 semester hours were in horticultural subjects such as those dealing with the breeding, care, management, production, and post-harvest handling of horticultural crops. OR 2. Combination of education and experience: courses equivalent to a major in horticulture or a related discipline of basic plant science that included course work as shown above, plus, appropriate experience or additional education. Evaluation of Education: Courses in botany, plant physiology, plant taxonomy, plant pathology, genetics, agronomy, horticulture, and similar courses may be used to meet the 30-semester-hour requirement in basic plant sciences. The 16-semester-hour requirement in horticulture includes course work in basic horticulture and course work related to any of the recognized subject-matter fields of horticulture, i.e., fruits, vegetables, ornamentals, nursery work, seed production, or course work in related areas of science, such as micro-biology, entomology, plant pathology, plant physiology, or genetics that is directly related to horticultural work. In addition to the Basic Requirements above, applicants must meet the following: SPECIALIZE EXPERIENCE: One year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 grade level in federal service that has provided you with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of a Horticulturist. Qualifying specialized experience includes therapeutic gardening or horticulture and horticultural techniques such as cultivation, care, and propagation of innumerous types of plants, plant identification, sustainable gardening, and greenhouse operation. Or SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION FOR EXPERIENCE: a Ph.D., equivalent doctoral degree, or 3 years of progressively higher-level graduate education with a major field of study directly related to horticulture; or a related discipline of basic plant science as stated in 1 above. NOTE: Transcripts Required. Or COMBINATION OF EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE: a combination of specialized experience and graduate education as described above. Only graduate education beyond the second year may be combined with experience: NOTE: Transcripts Required. Preferred Experience: Valid Driver's License and Pass VA required drivers physical for the transportation of Veterans You will be rated on the following Competencies as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position: Interpersonal EffectivenessManages ResourcesProject ManagementTechnical CompetenceTherapy and Counseling IMPORTANT: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. All experience listed on your resume must include the month and year start/end dates. 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. 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; religious; 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. Physical Requirements: The work requires regular and recurring physical exertion such as standing or walking for prolonged periods of time; frequent bending, reaching, twisting, squatting, stooping, and stretching. The work requires ability to lift a minimum of 50 pounds and participate in a 2-person lift. The work may include driving gas-powered vehicles, set-up and dismantling of equipment and apparatus; assisting patients, and physical exertion to manually move, lift, carry, pull, or push heavy objects or materials. 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

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 Huntington VA Medical Center 1540 Spring Valley Drive Huntington, WV 25704 US
• Name: VHA National Recruitment Center
• Phone: (844)456-5208
• Email: [email protected]