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.

Duties

Major duties for the position include (but are not limited to): Supervisory responsibility for subordinates (psychologists, psychology/mental health technicians, clerical staff, and trainees) and is responsible for all professional, management, and administrative aspects of Psychology. Directly supervising all clinical and clerical staff in Psychology including clinical assignments, and administration of all psychological clinical services and programs; Overseeing all doctoral staff psychologists, psychology/mental health technicians, peer support specialists, clerical staff, pre-doctoral interns, post-doctoral residents and practicum students; Responsible for all administrative actions associated with Psychology including accurate tracking of staffs assignments in Decision Support System {DSS) reports, tracking and evaluating staff workload and productivity; Chairing Psychology Staff meetings, appointing Director of Training for Psychology, ensuring Psychology Training Program operates effectviely; Representing Psychology at Professional Standards Board, Medical Executive Committee, Leadership Council, Directors Staff Meeting and other SLVHCS entities and forums; Monitoring and tracks all consults to Psychology Service for appropriate evaluation, assignments and follow up; Incumbent is designated as an approving official for the Government Purchase Card, and therefore is responsible for meeting the standards for monitoring, approval, review of responses, reconciliation, and certification as set forth by VA Handbook 1730.1; Consulting with and serves as a resource for the development of a research program in mental health, including review of research proposals; Providing a full range of therapeutic interventions including: individual and group psychotherapy, psychoeducation, treatment planning, participation in therapeutic community; Serving as a consultant to other medical center staff and trainees and assists in their formulation of the psychological characteristics and appropriate treatment expectations regarding their patients; Serving on decision-making committees at the Medical Center or Healthcare System. Work Schedule: Monday through Friday 0700-1500 Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 00000 - Senior Psychologist (Service Chief) Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: May be authorized for a highly qualified candidate EDRP Authorized: Contact [email protected], the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

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. Education. 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 re-specialization 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 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). OR 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. Grade Determinations: In additional to meeting the basic requirements as stated above, you must have the following: Experience. At least 4 years of experience as a professional psychologist, with at least one year equivalent to the GS-14 level Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: Ability to supervise and manage a large group of professional staff effectively. Skill in interpersonal relationships, including conflict resolution and ability to work collaboratively with supervisors from other units. Ability to accurately apply the qualification standards, assesses the potential of current and prospective employees, and promotes their professional development. Ability to develop appropriate productivity standards for professional staff, often across multiple program lines. Knowledge of the goals and objectives of the medical center and VISN and ability to communicate these to subordinates. Assignment. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity (difficulty), and range of variety, and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. Senior Psychologist Service Chief at the GS-15 level generally manages programs in Complexity Level 1 (High Complexity) facilities or in facilities of lesser complexity levels that have large psychology or mental health programs. They are responsible for all professional, management, and administrative aspects of the service or organizational entity. Supervision and resource management involve major decisions, and work activities and supervision significantly affect the ability of staff to provide comprehensive services to Veterans. The service or organizational entity is a major component of the medical center and the services or programs supervised are highly professional, technical, and complex. Examples include but are not limited to discipline-specific programs (typically in the role of Psychology Service Chief), the overall system of mental health programs (typically in the role of Associate Chief of Staff for Mental Health), research programs (typically in the role of Associate Chief of Staff for Research), or education programs (typically in the role of Associate Chief of Staff for Education). Responsibilities include oversight of a large, complex organization that encompasses several component parts integral to the functioning of the medical center or, alternatively, one large service or organization. They have broad and overall responsibility for a service-level organizational unit and have full responsibility for clinical practice, program management, education, human resource management, and supervision for the service. They autonomously manage substantive parts of specialized, complex, professional services which significantly impact the care provided to Veterans. They provide leadership with objective, independent assessments and recommendations for policy, operational, and administrative issues and initiatives requiring decision and action. They monitor work performance to ensure that requirements are satisfied; interpret and process a wide variety of data related to program planning and specialized needs of the Veterans, the service, and the medical center; ensure policies or issues have been fully coordinated, vetted, and staffed; advise leadership on implications, key issues, and relationships to interest groups (both internal and external) and recommend courses of action. They coordinate and negotiate resolutions to complex problems. They assure compliance with accrediting agencies and regulatory requirements and assure corrective action is initiated as needed. They are responsible for professional and administrative management of an assigned area which may include budget execution. They maintain interdepartmental relations with other services to accomplish medical center goals. They may prepare special reports and responses, Congressional responses, briefing papers, issue briefs, and decision papers for the medical center leadership, which may be highly sensitive, confidential, and of a complex nature. They develop policies and procedures and may develop performance standards, position descriptions and functional statements. They monitor the clinical performance of staff, conduct performance appraisals, and perform other clinical and administrative responsibilities to ensure that the mission of the service and the medical center has been satisfied. They may set training objectives for staff and delegate responsibilities to subordinate sections.

Education

Preferred Experience: Incumbent is a service chief for a service-level department in a large multi-division facility. Incumbent has broad and overall responsibility for a service-level department in large, complex, multi-division facility. Incumbent manages substantive parts of medical centers that deliver specialized, complex, professional services, and significantly impact the care provided to veterans. Incumbent has responsibility for general supervision of clinical and/or training programs, and overall technical and administrative oversight for operations within the service.

References: VA Handbook 5005/103 Part II Appendix G18 February 7, 2018.

This vacancy is above the full performance level.

Physical Demands: Physical aspects associated with work required of this assignment are typical for the occupation and would generally not require a pre-placement examination.

Work Environment: Work is performed in an office/clinic setting with minimal risks that requires normal safety precautions; the area is adequately lighted, heated, and ventilated. However, the work environment requires someone with the ability to handle several tasks at once in sometimes stressful situations.

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 New Orleans VA Medical Center 2400 Canal Street New Orleans, LA 70119 US
• Name: Andrea Auguster
• Phone: 5045077583
• Email: [email protected]