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

**OPEN ONLY TO CURRENT BIRMINGHAM VA FACILITY EMPLOYEES** Functions of Psychologist Program Manager: 1. Coordinates and supervises STAR Clinic programming including facilitating staff meetings, overseeing consult management, assigning intake assessments and case management duties, ensuring patient/staff safety, and evaluating environment of care. Insures seamless transition and continuity of care between inpatient and outpatient clinics and community referrals. 2. The incumbent provides administrative, clinical, and technical supervision to assigned staff. They are expected to set priorities and make assignments according to capabilities of those assigned. The incumbent evaluates subordinate's performance and offers instruction, advice, or counseling on ancillary services, and administrative matters. They are responsible for setting performance standards and reviews work to determine acceptable levels of quality and quantity. 3. Incumbent manages daily operations of the STAR Clinic; develops policies and procedures for the programs' operations; maintains data tracking utilization of mental health services by STAR Clinic Veterans and prepares reports and statistics when requested. 4. Recommend selection/appointment of program team leaders/coordinators. 5. Assign work to program team leaders/coordinators and review and evaluate performance of program team leaders/coordinators. 6. The incumbent develops training plans in-line with employee's needs and assists in addressing these needs. Develops and monitors standards of clinical practice/standards of care for STAR staff, including procedures, care guidelines, manuals, and guides to professional practice, required to accomplish clinical care interventions and ensures that they are followed. 7. The incumbent balances and distributes workload and tasks among employees in accordance with established workflow or job specialization, assuring timely accomplishment of the assigned tasks, and assuring that employees have an integral role in developing the final product. 8. Ensures delivery of evidence-based interventions by the STAR Clinic staff. 9. Incumbent coordinates the facilitation of STAR Clinic groups and makes changes and additions to group curriculum to respond to needs of STAR Clinic Veterans. 10. The incumbent maintains a current knowledge to answer questions from team members on procedures, policies, directives and to obtain needed information on decisions from the Chief, Mental Health Service on major problems and issues. He/she checks on work in progress and reviews completed work to see that instructions on work sequences, procedures, methods, and deadlines have been met. 11. Incumbent provides direct screening, therapy and case management services to Veterans within the STAR clinic. Incumbent completes screening and comprehensive assessments of Veterans with substance use disorders and other mental health comorbidities. Provides evidence-based therapy for SUD and case management to veterans in the STAR clinic. This includes care coordination for mental health and medical services; monitoring Veteran status and functioning; crisis intervention and supportive counseling. 12. Incumbent completes diagnostic and biopsychosocial evaluations with Veterans in the STAR Clinic and completes all relevant CPRS documentation in a timely manner as per Clinic policies. 13. Identifies, develops and facilitates accessibility and utilization of VA and community resources to meet the needs of Veterans and clinics. Serves as a clinic consultant for information on negotiating the complex processes Veterans encounter when interacting with government and community agencies. 14. The incumbent is expected to be proficient in the use of tele-mental health technology (including related video/audio equipment, computer software, and faxing and copying technology) to deliver clinical services (assessment and interventions) efficiently and effectively to patients off site. 15. The incumbent will spend 50% of their time providing direct clinical services to Veterans and 50% providing clinical oversight, administrative leadership and supervision. 16. The incumbent provides clinical and administrative supervision and management of this program and assigned staff members (i.e. social workers, and Peer Support Specialist.) Performs other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Mon-Fri, 7:30am-4:00pm Telework: Ad-hoc available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 52252F Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized EDRP Authorized: Contact the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more 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. English Language Proficiency Requirement - Per VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, Section A, Paragraph 3j: No person will be appointed under authority of 38 U.S.C., chapter 73 or 74, to serve in a direct patient-care capacity in VHA who is not proficient in written and spoken English. Education Requirement - 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). NOTE: 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. 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. Grade Requirements: GS-14 Psychologist (Program Manager) Experience: In additional to meeting the basic requirements as stated above, you must have at least 3 years of experience as a professional psychologist, with at least one year equivalent to the GS-13 grade level and are able to demonstrate the following KSAs. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. 1.Ability to organize work, set priorities, delegate tasks, and meet multiple deadlines. 2. Knowledge of and ability to utilize evidence based practices and clinical practice guidelines appropriately and ability to guide staff in using these tools. 3. Ability to deal effectively with individuals or groups representing widely divergent backgrounds, interests, and points of view. 4. Skill in managing and directing the work of others to accomplish program goals and objectives. 5. Ability to translate management goals and objectives into well-coordinated and controlled work operations. 6. Ability to establish and monitor production and performance priorities and standards. 7. Ability to analyze organizational and operational problems and to develop and implement solutions that result in sound operation of the program. Assignment. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity (difficulty), and variety, and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. Psychologist program managers have broad program management responsibilities for a specific program or programs that are designed to deliver specialized, complex, highly professional services that are important program components of the facility and that significantly impact the health care provided to Veterans. Programs include but are not limited to addiction, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), mental health intensive case management (MHICM), mental health compensation and pension examination (C&P) programs, Psychosocial Rehabilitation and Recovery Centers, inpatient mental health, residential rehabilitation, domiciliary, palliative care, neuropsychology, and internship and postdoctoral fellowship training programs; management of an off campus site; psychology program oversight and coordination throughout the facility and its affiliated clinics as a psychology executive, typically at lower complexity facilities. Decisions made by the Program Manager affect staff and other resources associated with the programs managed and are made while exercising wide latitude and independent judgment. The type of program managed and scope of responsibility are critical aspects of the assignment at this level. Responsibilities include operation and management of key clinical, training, research, or administrative programs to include full responsibility for managing the day to day activities of those programs. Responsibility may include supervision of staff but is not required. Psychologist Program Managers are responsible for strategic planning to ensure the provision of high quality services to meet the needs of the Veterans being served and planning, and developing and implementing short- and long-term goals and objectives consistent with the program's strategic plan. They have oversight of administrative and programmatic resources and deploy those resources in support of the program needs. They develop and implement programs, policies, and procedures to meet program goals, VHA policy and external accreditation requirements, and monitor outcomes using data-driven quality assurance processes, and implement strategies for improvement based on data analysis. References: VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Appendix G18 Psychologist Qualification Standard The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-13. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-14. Physical Requirements: Position is primarily sedentary in a Medical Office setting.

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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Contacts

• Address Birmingham VA Medical Center 700 South 19th Street Birmingham, AL 35233 US
• Name: Jenna McCarthy
• Email: [email protected]