The Senior Psychologist (Service Chief) - one each assigned to Brooklyn/St. Albans and New York campuses - has direct or indirect (through subordinate supervision) responsibility for all Psychology Program Managers, doctoral-level staff psychologists, and psychology externs/interns/fellows within Mental Health at each campus. Psychology Service Chiefs may also manage other Mental Health staff and programs (e.g., Suicide Prevention, VITAL Health Science Specialist).

Duties

Psychology Service Chiefs are under the direct supervision of the ACOS for MH and are responsible for oversight of Psychology and other MH staff as assigned; day-to-day administrative tasks such as leave, certifying time cards, and responding to staff requests and problems; working with the ACOS/MH to develop and implement policy; directing staff recruitment; managing the performance appraisal cycle; interfacing with other services, hospital administration and committees; supervision of staff clinical assignments; and provision of MH assessment and direct treatment. Lists the major duties and responsibilities of the position: Essential Administrative (Supervisory) Responsibilities. This section is grade determining. Has direct or indirect (through subordinate supervision) responsibility for administrative and professional supervision of doctoral staff psychologists, predoctoral externs, predoctoral interns, and postdoctoral fellows. Psychology staff and trainees may be located at all Harbor sites, including Manhattan, Brooklyn, and St. Albans campuses, Harlem CBOC, and Staten Island CBOC. Is responsible for all professional, management, and administrative aspects of Psychology Section within Mental Health. These responsibilities are complex in scope and constitute a significant portion of the medical center. Responsibilities include but are not limited to: recruitment and selection, setting workload and documentation goals and guidelines, clinical assignments, ensuring coverage of clinical services, supervision, scope of care and privileging, approval of leave, personnel actions, performance appraisal standards and evaluations, management of psychological clinical programs and services, and supervisory disciplinary issues. Under direct supervision of Associate Chief of Staff for Mental Health. Has line and staff authority for resource allocations within the area of responsibility. Ensures efficient operation of the organizational unit. Decisions are made exercising wide latitude and independent judgment. Demonstrates knowledge of the goals and objectives of VAHHS, VISN, VHA, and communicates these to subordinates. ENRICHING ELEMENTS: Other Administrative (Supervisory) Responsibilities 1. Responsibilities span MH services Primary Care, Mental Health, Specialty Care, Extended Care and Rehabilitative Services settings. 2. Is responsible for clinical supervision, only, for any additional psychologist administratively assigned elsewhere (e.g., Research Service). 3. Consults with and serves as a resource for other professional staff concerning the need for the development of mental health services. Clinical Responsibilities 1. Provides a full range of therapeutic interventions including: individual and group psychotherapy, psychoeducation, treatment planning. 2. Performs psychological and Psychodiagnostic consultations, screenings and evaluations as needed. Academic/Teaching/Training 1. Holds faculty appointment at affiliated university. 2. Provides clinical supervision to various disciplines and levels of training. 3. Is involved in Psychology Training Program and Training Committees. 4. Provides didactic seminars, lecture, and other training experiences to Psychology staff and trainees and to other disciplines. 5. Provides leadership, guidance, and consultation to staffs of units to which assigned. Research/Program Support and Evaluation 1. Oversee the establishment of program monitors and outcome measurements within programs using data-driven quality assurance processes applicable to Psychology section. 2. Is responsible for timely completion of all program evaluations and documents required by the Medical Center or healthcare system, VISN, and VACO, ensuring compliance with appropriate accrediting bodies (such as JCAHO) and monitoring entities (such as NEPEC), as appropriate. 3. Consults with others to offer research guidance and to stimulate new research directions. Other Significant Responsibilities (May include but are not limited to): 1. Serves on Medical Center or healthcare system, VISN, and/or National VA committees or task forces. 2. Serves on decision-making committees at the Medical Center or Healthcare System as appropriate. 3. Represents the Medical Center or healthcare system at professional/program community group/events and committees, in conferences/meetings with higher- ranking managers, supervisors, and staff from other disciplines or work units, and/or with representatives of local public interest groups, congressional district offices, and employees of State and local governments. Work Schedule: Monday- Friday 8:30am 4:00pm Telework: Reg Teleworks 3+ Days/PP Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met. 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. English Language Proficiency. Psychologists must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3j. Education: (1) 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. For the purpose of meeting this requirement, the term "specialty area" refers to the specific specialty areas recognized by the accrediting body and not to specific job duties that might require special skills. Currently, APA accredits doctoral programs in the specialty areas of clinical psychology, counseling psychology, school psychology, or combinations of two or more of those areas. PCSAS accredits doctoral programs in psychological clinical science. CPA accredits doctoral programs in clinical psychology, counseling psychology, clinical neuropsychology, and school psychology. There are no job assignments in VHA that require the skills of a school psychologist; therefore, an applicant with a degree in the specialty area of school psychology is not eligible for appointment. Strictly for the purpose of determining eligibility for appointment as a psychologist in VHA, there is no distinction between the specialty areas (with the exception of school psychology). OR (2) Have a doctoral degree in any area of psychology and, in addition, successfully complete a respecialization program (including documentation of an approved internship completed as part of the respecialization 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 the applicant is retrained must be consistent with the assignment for which the applicant is to be employed. OR, (3) Have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally-accredited institution, with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature. Internships: (a) 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, (b) 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, (c) VHA facilities that offered full-time, one-year pre-doctoral internships prior to PL 96-151 (pre1979) are considered to be acceptable in fulfillment of the internship requirement; OR, (d) 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, (e) 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: 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. (1) Exception. Non-licensed applicants who otherwise meet the eligibility requirements may be given a temporary appointment as a "graduate psychologist" at the GS-11 or GS-12 grade under the authority of 38 U.S.C. § 7405 [(c)(2)(B)] for a period not to exceed two years from the date of employment on the condition that such a psychologist provide care only under the supervision of a psychologist who is licensed. Failure to obtain licensure during that period is justification for termination of the temporary appointment. May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria). Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates: Senior Psychologist, GS-15 (Service Chief) (a) Experience. At least four years of experience as a professional psychologist, with at least one year equivalent to the GS-14 level. (b) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: 1. Ability to supervise and manage a large group of professional staff effectively. 2. Skill in interpersonal relationships, including conflict resolution and ability to work collaboratively with supervisors from other units. 3. Ability to accurately apply the qualification standards, assesses the potential of current and prospective employees, and promotes their professional development. 4. Ability to develop appropriate productivity standards for professional staff, often across multiple program lines. 5. Knowledge of the goals and objectives of the medical center and VISN and ability to communicate these to subordinates. Assignment: part 1 continuation on Education 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. References: A Handbook 5005APPENDIX G18. PSYCHOLOGIST QUALIFICATION STANDARD GS-0180 Veterans Health Administration. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-15. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.

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.

Assignment: Part 2
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.

Contacts

• Address VA NY Harbor Healthcare System 423 East 23rd Street New York, NY 10010 US
• Name: Maritza Cazares
• Phone: 718-584-9000 X6668
• Email: [email protected]