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. Program 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

The Psychology Service Chief will provide 50% administrative oversight of the Psychology staff and Psychology Internship program and 50% clinical activity with Veterans. Psychology Service Chief will report to Associate Chief of Staff for Mental Health (ACOS). Duties will include: Responsibility for providing and ensuring quality direction, clinical oversight, leadership, and organizational stewardship for Psychology Services within the Alaska VA Healthcare System. Clinically, the Psychology Service Chief will have responsibility for independently providing the full range of psychological services at all levels of complexity in consultation with peers and/or Supervisor when appropriate. The Psychology Service Chief is additionally responsible for the provision of Evidence Based Therapies approved by the VA for Veteran Care. Possesses the ability to provide quality evidence-based patient care and supervision of all Psychological services to include the provision of direct psychological patient care, consultation services on difficult or complex cases, and education of staff and trainee supervision. Leadership Duties: Serves as the administrative leader of the VA Health Care System Psychologists. Participates in wider-range and higher-level management functions for the Psychology Service through participation and planning in operational boards, councils and committees as assigned or as needed. Provides role modeling of expected behaviors of team members, conduct regular meetings to track performance, research activity, clinical issues, and personnel issues. He or she will set goals. priorities and direction for the Alaska VA Healthcare Center Psychologists. Serves as the liaison and contact person between the Psychology and Credentialing needs. They will provide leadership of the Psychology Internship Program for which the psychologists provide internship and practicum experiences and supervision. Develop and maintain continuing programs in the area of organizational improvement, continuing education and other quality improvement activities. They will be a member, and the facility representative to the Association of VA Psychology Leaders. They will participate in the screening of new applicants for positions within the Psychology Service and will provide specific direction and a primary role in the recruitment of Psychologists or staff assigned to Alaska VA Healthcare System. Clinical Duties: Provides psychological assessment and consultation for the Alaska VA Healthcare System as needed. Responsible for the quality, integrity and implementation of the Psychology Internship Program (in conjunction with the Psychology Internship Program Director), Psychology interns, trainees and/or practicum students may be placed under the supervision of the Psychologist for training in psychological assessments, consultation. treatment and research. Provides all indicated Clinical Services in accordance with VA policies and the American Psychological Association Ethical Standards of Conduct The Incumbent will seek administrative guidance and peer review on ethical dilemmas, demonstrate knowledge of the ethical standards of Psychology and implement the standards consistently. Informs other staff members of the types of problems for which psychological evaluations would be beneficial. Selects the optimum battery of tests or procedures to gain the appropriate information in each case. Oversees the administration and scoring of psychological assessment procedures. interprets and reports the findings of the evaluation in the medical record in a timely fashion and helps to integrate the findings into treatment planning for patients. Utilizes Evidence Based Therapies, appropriate therapeutic techniques or combinations of techniques as indicated by the specific needs of patients. Remains aware of current research by attending professional conferences and by reading professional publications; and the Psychologist presents his or her own findings or theories at such meetings and/or in professional publications. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am-4:30pm Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized EDRP Authorized: This position is eligible for 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 your start date. 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. Contact [email protected] for questions/assistance. Telework: Available, Teleworks up to 6+ days per PP Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement. 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 (transcripts with confer date required with application): 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 Have a doctoral degree in any area of psychology and, in addition, successfully complete a re- specialization program (including documentation of an approved internship completed as part of the re- specialization program) meeting both of the following conditions: The re-specialization program must be completed in an APA or a CPA accredited doctoral program; and, the specialty in which the applicant is retrained must be consistent with the assignment for which the applicant is to be employed. NOTE: The applicant must provide an official transcript and/or certificate documenting the completion of the re-specialization program, which includes completion of an APA or CPA internship. Psychologists who have successfully completed a re-specialization program as described above and who were employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs prior to the implementation of this standard are considered to have fully met the educational requirements of these qualification standards. OR Have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally-accredited institution, with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature. Internships: 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.) OR 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. NOTE: Psychologists who meet the requirements of this revision and who were employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs prior to the implementation of this standard are considered to have fully met the requirements of this qualification standard. Licensure (copy of current license required with application): 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. 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: Psychologist, GS-14 (Service Chief) Experience: At least three years of experience as a professional psychologist, with at least one year equivalent to the GS-13 grade level. AND Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: 1. Ability to organize work, set priorities, delegate tasks, and meets 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. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-14. Physical Requirements: light lifting (under 15 lbs), near vision correctable, far vision correctable, both eyes required, mental and emotional stability, working closely with others, working alone, exposure to dry atmospheric conditions, use of computer and mouse.

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 Anchorage VA Medical Center 1201 North Muldoon Road Anchorage, AK 99504 US
• Name: Michelle Yahne
• Phone: 503-220-8262 X53055
• Email: [email protected]