This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific eligibility requirements per VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Program Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) & eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after review of the EDRP application. Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply.

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-15 Senior Psychologist Program Manager Experience: In addition to meeting the basic requirements as stated above, you must have at least four years of experience as a professional psychologist, with at least one year equivalent to the GS-14 grade level. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. 1.Skill in managing and directing the work of large, complex organizational units and in applying effective management practices. 2. Skill in persuasion, negotiation, and motivation to negotiate multiple program policies. 3. Skill in interpersonal relationships in dealing with employees and other managers using advanced consultation and problem solving skills. 4. Skill in the application and analysis of measurement tools to systems issues. 5. Ability to balance responsibilities in a complex environment and to work with great autonomy; ability to set priorities and delegate tasks, meet multiple deadlines, analyze complex organizational problems; and ability to develop and implement effective solutions for those problems. 6. Ability to assess need for basic and complex services across multiple programmatic contexts. 7. Ability to coordinate the efforts of multiple program elements across a complex system. 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. Psychology Program Managers at the GS-15 level generally manage large, complex programs in Complexity Level 1 (High Complexity) facilities, or in facilities of lesser complexity levels that have large psychology or mental health services. Responsibilities may include supervision. Senior psychologist program managers have very broad responsibility for multiple programs or have responsibility for a large service organization that is of considerable scope, size, and complexity. 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 Center, inpatient mental health, residential rehabilitation, domiciliary, palliative care, neuropsychology, and internship and postdoctoral fellowship training programs; managers of an off-campus site; psychology program oversight and coordination as a psychology executive; and program oversight and coordination for education programs (typically seen in roles such as ACOS for Education) or research programs (typically seen in roles such as ACOS for Research). Responsibilities include strategic planning to ensure the provision of quality services to meet the needs of the Veterans being served, development of short- and long-range goals and plans; development and implementation of policies and procedures to ensure that plans are carried out and goals are met; management of administrative and programmatic resources; and monitoring outcomes using data-driven quality assurance processes. Decisions affect staff and other resources associated with the programs managed; decisions are made exercising very wide latitude and independent judgment. The programs managed are substantial and deliver specialized, complex, highly professional services, significantly impacting the health care provided to Veterans. Senior Psychologist Program Managers have full responsibility for oversight of the professional practice of psychology in medical centers or health care systems and ensure the highest quality of psychological care provided to Veterans throughout the facility and its affiliated clinics. 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-15.

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 Atlanta VA Medical Center 1670 Clairmont Road Decatur, GA 30033 US
• Name: Jenna McCarthy
• Email: Jenna.McCarthy@va.gov