The Associate Chief of Staff Mental Health (ACOS MH) is responsible for the operational performance of Mental Health (MH) including all administrative elements of those sections, departments and functions assigned to the product line in accordance with the mission of the Medical Center and Network. vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Total-Rewards-of-a-Psychology-Career-Flyer.pdf

Duties

The ACOS MH provides administrative leadership to the Service. The Mental Health Service is a professional, highly complex mental health delivery system encompassing inpatient, outpatient, and vocational services to Veterans and their families. Directs the development and maintenance of innovative cost-effective programs, which meets JCAHO, Network 23, VHA Headquarters, CARF and medical center standards. Develops and maintains continuing programs in the areas of professional peer review, organizational improvement, continuing education, scope of practice, clinical privileging and other quality improvement activities. The incumbent assures sound financial, human resource, space and equipment practices, consistent with medical center goals and objectives. Assures a safe work environment. The incumbent serves as first line supervisor and has full administrative and supervisory authority over the six programs; Addiction Treatment Program (ATP), Inpatient Services, Outpatient Services, Consultation and Liaison Services, Homeless Program, and Compensation Work Therapy. Clinical Administrative/Supervisory Authority/Program Management: Responsible for the accountability and expenditure of funds. This includes maintaining a cost accounting system, forecasting budget requirements, and analysis of use trends. Assures that DVA contracts and mandatory sources of supply are used unless there are compelling clinical reasons to deviate. Responsible for establishing staffing levels, hiring, training, assuring competency and nurturing an appropriate mix of staff necessary to provide the range of product line services. Responsible for the development and implementation of policy and procedures, which guide professional and support staff in the entire range of functional activities. Responsible for the requesting, ordering and/or purchasing of services, supplies and equipment. Assures that rules, regulations, laws, standards of practice, benchmarks for productivity, quality, and customer service expectations are met or exceeded. Assures there are efforts in place to continually improve performance. Assures that appropriate external review organizational criteria are met or exceeded (i.e., is responsible for the development and implementation of a systematic internal review of activities and compliance with appropriate standards and requirements reviewed by external review bodies such as the JCAHO, External Peer Review Program, Inspector General OIG), CARF and other interested groups.) Clinical Responsibilities: Examine, diagnose, and treat Veterans and their families, and maintain medical records. Provide consultation within their discipline. Provide clinical leadership and problem solving for clinical programs of which Mental Health Service has direct responsibility. The incumbent spends a majority of his/her clinical time on the following: Treat mentally ill patients in various settings as required; Participate in treatment planning and meetings as required for clinical functioning; Provide quality care based on current standards of practice. Psychologist: vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Total-Rewards-of-a-Psychology-Career-Flyer.pdf Work Schedule: Monday-Friday Administrative Days Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year) Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior [work experience] or military service experience. Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child. Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment, full time employees with a total family income below $144,000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66. Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement) Telework: Ad Hoc only Functional Statement #: 00000 Financial Disclosure Report: 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 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; Have a doctoral degree in any area of psychology and, in addition, successfully completed a respecialization program meeting both of the following conditions: a) the respecialization 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 applying for; Have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally-accredited institution, with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature. NOTE: 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. 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; 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; 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; 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); 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. Loss of Credential. A psychologist who fails to maintain the required licensure must be removed from the occupation, which may result in termination of employment. At the discretion of the appointing official, an employee may be reassigned to another occupation if qualified and if a placement opportunity exists. Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019. 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. Grandfathering Provision. All persons employed in VHA as a psychologist on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series and grade held, including positive education (i.e., degree and internship requirements) and licensure/certification that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation. Employees grandfathered under this provision for this revision may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance (journey) level, or changed to lower grade within the occupation, but may not be promoted beyond the journey level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions or beyond the assignment currently held for those being grandfathered to assignments above FPL. Psychologists who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed on a temporary or permanent basis until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard. Psychologists initially grandfathered into this occupation who subsequently obtain additional education and/or licensure that meet all of the basic requirements of this qualification standard must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation. Grade Determinations: GS-14 Psychologist (Service Chief) Experience. At least 3 years of experience as a professional psychologist, with at least one year equivalent to the GS-13 level. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: Ability to organize work, set priorities, delegate tasks, and meets multiple deadlines. Knowledge of and ability to utilize evidence based practices and clinical practice guidelines appropriately and ability to guide staff in using these tools. Ability to deal effectively with individuals or groups representing widely divergent backgrounds, interests, and points of view. Skill in managing and directing the work of others to accomplish program goals and objectives. Ability to translate management goals and objectives into well-coordinated and controlled work operations. Ability to establish and monitor production and performance priorities and standards. Ability to analyze organizational and operational problems and to develop and implement solutions that result in sound operation of the program. References: VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Appendix G18 The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-14. Physical Requirements: You will be asked to participate in a pre-employment examination or evaluation as part of the pre-employment process for this position. Questions about physical demands or environmental factors may be addressed at the time of evaluation or examination.

Education

IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application.

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 VA Black Hills Health Care System 113 Comanche Road Fort Meade, SD 57741 US
• Name: Breeze Hennes
• Phone: (320) 252-1670 X5222
• Email: [email protected]