This position is responsible for the delivery of Whole Health Coaching and skill development of the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center's Whole Health Coach program, including provision of care through coaching and promotion and education regarding Whole Health Coaching to Veterans and staff.

Duties

Major duties include, but are not limited to: Contacts eligible participants for enrollment and explain the health coaching process. Provides health coaching for Veterans in order to reduce or eliminate high-risk behaviors while increasing healthy ones. Conducts interventions for Veterans using one-on-one, couple, or group modalities in outpatient and inpatient settings. Conducts Whole Health Facilitated Groups; participate in MOVE, smoking cessation, diabetes management, hypertension clinics, mental health, and other inpatient and outpatient groups as appropriate. Provides follow-up care through telephone clinics or secure messaging between face-to-face appointments. Actively guides Veterans in the exploration of core elements of personal health planning through individual and group based programs. Encourages and assists Veterans with the adoption of habits that are conducive to a higher quality of life and in alignment with the Veteran's goals. Identify habits and behaviors that are harmful to quality of life and related to chronic illness. Develops treatment plans for Veterans focused on behavioral interventions based on current scientific knowledge and research that improve quality of life and reduce risk for chronic disease, or that reverse or slow progression of chronic disease. Reviews current health behaviors and develops customized treatment plans with Veterans. These plans include personalized goals, action steps and interventions. Individualize intervention strategies to help the client utilize existing skills and develop new ones to enhance success. Schedule ongoing sessions to assess progress and assist in navigating obstacles or challenges. Guide Veterans to learn about available support tools in the VA and the community that assist in attainment of goals. Coordinates care with Veterans' treatment providers, both primary and specialty care, to ensure identified goals are consistent with best practices for treatment and management of chronic illness. Utilizes motivational interviewing and health coaching techniques and processes, learned through pre­requisite health coach training, to assist members in developing a realistic plan to accomplish their goals. Fosters an environment of individual responsibility to maximize each Veteran's ability to adhere to a lifestyle management plan. Develops trust with Veterans and incorporates trust principles in day-to-day activities. Works collaboratively within a team setting to provide positive outcomes for participants, peers and overall operations. Maintains education and knowledge regarding lifestyle (habits and behaviors) and clinical outcomes, including behaviors that improve Veterans' health and well-being and those related to poor clinical outcomes. Coordinates with others on the Veteran's health care team to ensure optimal patient care. Provides eligible Veterans and family members with information regarding lifestyle management including weight management, nutrition, exercise/fitness, smoking cessation, stress management, diabetes, pain management, and other appropriate conditions that are in line with the personalized health plan developed between the health care team and the patient, and in coordination with programs providing specific services when applicable, e.g., MOVE! for weight management or smoking cessation classes, if Veteran is enrolled in these programs. Performs other duties as assigned. 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: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm. Subject to change based on the needs of the Agency 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/PD99582S and PD99581S Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required This position is covered by AFGE bargaining unit. Per the AFGE Master Agreement, the Area of Consideration will be: 1st Area of Consideration - current permanent Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center employees including satellites; 2nd Area of Consideration - current permanent Veterans Healthcare Administration employees; 3rd Area of Consideration - current permanent VA Nationwide employees; 4th Area of Consideration - All Other Status Applicants.

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 11/27/2023. 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. Individual Occupational Requirements Basic Requirements: The following education or experience are required to meet the specific qualification requirements for this position. 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. 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. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: GS-07 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. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: promoting health and wellness, publicizing available wellness resources, participating in outreach events, promoting healing relationships, developing coaching services or groups, partnering with individuals to support their health and wellness OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed 1 year of graduate-level education or superior Academic achievement in a field directly related to the position to be filled.. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and completed graduate level education. GS-09 Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-07 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: coaching and supporting clients in mobilizing internal strengths and external resources; developing self-management strategies for making sustainable, healthy lifestyle behavior changes and more effectively managing chronic disease; coaching and assisting clients to use their insight, personal strengths and resources, goal setting, action steps and accountability toward healthy lifestyle change; conducting interventions for Veterans using one-on-one, couple, or group modalities in outpatient and inpatient settings; developing treatment plans for Veterans focused on behavioral interventions based on current scientific knowledge and research that improve quality of life and reduce risk for chronic disease, or that reverse or slow progression of chronic disease.OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed 2 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's degree or equivalent graduate degree in a field directly related to the position to be filled. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond the first graduate year. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Administration and ManagementCommunicationInterpersonal SkillsOrganizational Awareness 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: Regular and recurring work is mostly sedentary involving sitting at a desk, although the position requires the ability to move from one geographic location of the facility to another. Some physical effort such as standing, walking, bending or prolonged sitting may be required. The work places no special physical demands on the employee. 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 Michael E DeBakey VA Medical Center 2002 Holcombe Boulevard Houston, TX 77030 US
• Name: Timothy Countryman
• Phone: 303-330-7566
• Email: [email protected]