U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs · 3 hours ago
Senior Psychologist Program Manager (Chief of Psychology)
Seattle, WA
Full-time
Onsite
Mid, Senior Level
4+ years expThe U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is seeking a Senior Psychologist Program Manager to serve as the Chief of Psychology Service at the VA Puget Sound Health Care System. This role involves broad program management, oversight of training programs, and leadership in clinical and administrative functions to enhance the quality of psychological services provided to Veterans.
GovernmentMedicalNational SecurityPublic Safety
No H1B
U.S. Citizen Only
Responsibilities
The psychologist serves as a Senior Program Manager at the VA Puget Sound Health Care System (VAPSHCS)
In this capacity - the psychologist functions as the Chief - Psychology Service at the VA Puget Sound Health Care System
Provides broad program management for strategic priorities for the Psychology Service to optimize clinical - educational - and research excellence
Leads all credentialing and privileging of licensed psychologists and the preparation of scopes of practice for dependent psychologists - including membership on the Facility Executive Credentialing and Privileging Board
Leads competency reviews for all psychologists - including Focused Professional Practice Evaluations and Ongoing Professional Practice Evaluations
Leads administrative and rehabilitative interventions for psychologists with clinical problems or competency deficiencies
Oversee the psychology training programs through two Training Directors
Serves as an expert on psychology Professional Qualification Standards and consults with Service Line Leaders and HR
Approves Functional Statements and credentials of psychologists selected to fill positions
Leads efforts to promote the professional development of psychologists
Serves as an expert consultant and liaison to the Chief of Staff and Service Line Leaders across the healthcare system on psychology staffing needs and professional practice standards
Develops performance standards for psychologists and participates in performance evaluations of psychologists as the approving official
Conducts ongoing program evaluation and data-driven quality improvement project that monitor the effectiveness of clinical operations
Organizes and leads team meetings in order to facilitate clinical - educational - and research in the Psychology Service
Plans work to be accomplished by Training Directors - including establishing priorities - timelines for completion - and necessary adjustments therein
Initiates and maintains liaisons with associated VA health care programs in order to effectively coordinate services
Provides leadership in hiring new staff members - resolves conflicts among staff (both leadership and line staff) - and adjudicates complaints and problems of employees in a timely and effective manner
Attends and participates in administrative and informational meetings held by the Service Line Leader - Chief of Staff - and/or Facility Director
Attends monthly Staff Meetings
Psychology Training Faculty Meetings
And leads the Psychology Service biannual competency review process (OPPE and FPPE)
Serves as an ex officio member of the Psychology Service Clinical Pertinence Review Committee
Oversees and collaborates with program managers on program development initiatives to optimally and most efficiently meet the evolving clinical care needs of the diverse MHS patient population
Oversees survey readiness for all programs - in collaboration with MHS ACOS and the QI Manager
Responsible for timely completion of all program evaluations and documents required by the Medical Center - VISN and VACO - ensuring compliance with appropriate accrediting bodies including The Joint Commission and CARF
Oversees and collaborates with teams to ensure success on facility and MHS performance metrics
Independently provides psychological assessment and diagnostic services for Veterans with a broad range of psychopathology receiving care within the clinic setting
Demonstrates expertise in using and teaching others about contemporary interview and psychometric assessment methods for these disorders
Provides education to both patients and family members regarding relevant mental health concerns
Provides comprehensive - evidence-based psychotherapeutic interventions - including individual - family - and group psychotherapy and psychoeducation
Provides consultation to health care providers about assessment findings and treatment plan for patients to ensure that care is coordinated - collaborative - and integrated within the Medical Center
Develops - implements - and documents the mental health treatment plan for an assigned caseload of patients
Complies with all Service Line documentation requirements - including timely completion of prescribed templates for documenting results of assessment - treatment - and risk evaluation contacts
Provides clinical supervision and instruction for psychology trainees (interns and/or postdoctoral fellows)
Qualification
Required
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: (1) 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 (2) 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: (a) The re-specialization program must be completed in an APA or a CPA accredited doctoral program and - (b) 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 (3) Have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally-accredited institution - with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature
Internships (a) 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 (b) 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 (c) 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 (d) 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 (e) 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
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: Senior Psychologist Program Manager - GS-15 Experience: 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: In addition to the experience above - the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Skill in managing and directing the work of large - complex organizational units and in applying effective management practices
Skill in persuasion - negotiation - and motivation to negotiate multiple program policies
Skill in interpersonal relationships in dealing with employees and other managers using advanced consultation and problem solving skills
Skill in the application and analysis of measurement tools to systems issues
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
Ability to assess need for basic and complex services across multiple programmatic contexts
Ability to coordinate the efforts of multiple program elements across a complex system
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-15
Physical Requirements: use of computer and mouse - sitting for long periods of time - working closely with others - working alone
Benefits
Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP) - a student loan payment reimbursement program.
Company
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
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