Qualifications

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met.

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 - must have one of the following: 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
• 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
• OR Have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally-accredited institution, with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature
• Internship - must have one of the following: 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
• 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
• Grade Determinations: In addition to meeting the basic requirements stated above, the following qualifications criteria must be met in determining the appropriate grade assignment of candidates
• GS-14 Psychology Program Manager Experience
• In additional to meeting the basic requirements as stated above, you must have at least 3 years of experience as a professional psychologist, with at least one year equivalent to the GS-13 level
• Experience at this grade level can include: 1
• Ability to organize work, set priorities, delegate tasks, and meet 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
• *Experience is only creditable if it is post-doctoral degree experience as a professional psychologist directly related to the duties performed
• 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
• Psychologist program managers have broad program management responsibilities for a specific program or programs that are designed to deliver specialized, complex, highly professional services that are important program components of the facility and that significantly impact the health care provided to Veterans
• 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 Centers, inpatient mental health, residential rehabilitation, domiciliary, palliative care, neuropsychology, and internship and postdoctoral fellowship training programs
• management of an off- campus site
• psychology program oversight and coordination throughout the facility and its affiliated clinics as a psychology executive, typically at lower complexity facilities
• 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)
• Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/
• This position is above the full performance level
• Physical Requirements: The physical demands of this position involve primarily walking, talking, driving, use of the telephone, etc
• Strenuous physical activity is not required although the incumbent is expected to withstand pressure and stress as part of their daily activities
• Light lifting and carrying - under 15 pounds
• Hearing aid permitted as needed
• Work Environment: The incumbent observes normal safety precautions while working primarily in an office type environment
• The environment may also include street-based and home visits and/or visits to community agencies
• Most of the incumbent's work takes place in environments that are clean, well-lit, and free of hazards
• There are possible ongoing exposures to individuals experiencing psychiatric, substance related, and medical illnesses, which include, but not limited to infections, and/or violent/aggressive behavior.