The Social Science Program Coordinator serves as a Health Coaches working within the facility and organization to promote healing relationships, healing environments, and a patient-centered approach to care across all service lines. Provide educational opportunities by conducting outreach activities to inform Veterans and family members of available programs.

Duties

The Social Science Program Coordinator serving within the Whole Health Coaching and Wellness Program will complete On-the-Job (OJT) training as well as two separate courses to test for certification as a Whole Health Coach. While training, and once certified, the Whole Health Coach will work closely with Veterans, family members, clinicians, and PACT members to assist the Veteran in achieving their personal goals, to promote healthy lifestyle changes and to foster overall health and well-being. Duties include; 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 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. 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. 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. 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. Performs other related 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 through Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm 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/PD99582-S and PD99581-S Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required 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.

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 03/04/2024. 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-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07. For a GS-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05. 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): You MUST meet the Basic Requirements and the Minimum Qualifications to qualify for this Social Science Program Coordinator position. Education: Successfully completed a full four (4) year course of study at an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's degree or higher, with a major study in behavioral science, social science, or related disciplines appropriate to this position. The number of semester hours required to constitute a major field of study is the amount specified by the college or university attended. If this number cannot be obtained, 24 semester hours will be considered as equivalent to a major field of study. NOTE: Official/unofficial transcripts must be submitted with your application or your application will not be reviewed. Education cannot be credited without documentation. OR Combination of Education and Experience: Possess a combination of education and experience that provided me with the knowledge of one or more of the behavioral or social sciences equivalent to a major in the field of the position. (Transcript AND Details of your work history must be provided in your resume; failure to supply sufficient details may result in not meeting the basic requirements for this position) OR Experience: Possess four (4) years of appropriate experience that demonstrated that I have acquired knowledge of one or more of the behavioral or social sciences equivalent to a major in the field of the position. NOTE: Your experience must be fully documented in your resume and must include job title; duties; month & year start/end dates AND hours worked per week. (Details of your work history must be provided in your resume; failure to supply sufficient details may result in not meeting the basic requirements for this position) In addition to meeting the above requirements, you must also meet one of the following minimum requirements for this position. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: For a GS-07: You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: 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: Providing care to clients/patients, lasting changes aligned with their values; providing interventions that promote health and wellness and enhance well-being, improve health-related outcomes, reduce likelihood of inpatient admission, and improve quality of life; providing information on the relationship between lifestyle and health outcomes; and, working with individuals or groups in a client-centered process to facilitate and employer the client to develop and achieve self-determined goals related to 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 1 year of graduate-level education or superior academic achievement in behavioral or social science; or related disciplines appropriate to the position. NOTE: Transcripts (unofficial or official) must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education described above. For a GS-09: You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: 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 experience or facilitating group coaching/training sessions. Prior experience with assisting customers with behavior changes. Experience in primary care/outpatient settings. Experience in developing training materials. Collaborative/team building experience. working as a health coach using appropriate structure, process, skills and techniques; supports a patient's plan for health and well-being and provide information and resources for achieving goals; uses current research literature related to health and wellness; review supporting material to determine compliance with regulations and policy requirements; assists in planning and implementing program(s) within a medical center setting; uses creativity to engage employees and community partners in a newly developed program; developing training materials for staff educational needs; and experience using a wide range of qualitative and quantitative methods for the assessment and improvement of program effectiveness. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have 2 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree related to the position. NOTE: Transcripts (unofficial or official) must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education above 1 year of graduate level education. Preferred Specialized experience for a GS-09: Certificates of completion of Whole Health Coaching and Mind -Body medicine training. Experience in Leading group classes and sessions. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:CommunicationData ManagementLeadershipTechnical Competence 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.

Education

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/.

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 Bruce W Carter Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center 1201 Northwest 16th Street Miami, FL 33125 US
• Name: Rebecca Bretzer
• Phone: 407-319-3059
• Email: [email protected]