Career Center

Summary

The Mental Health Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program Program Coordinator - who also serves as the Substance Use Disorders Programs residential Section Chief - oversees the administrative and clinical aspects of these treatment programs. The incumbent is responsible for defining the mission and vision of the service - developing the scope of practice for all clinical staff - implementing best-practice programming - managing and assuring implementation of quality improvement measures.

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: Psychologists must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005 - Part II - Chapter 3 - section A - paragraph 3j
• Education: 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
• OR 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
• Have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally-accredited institution - with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature
• Internship: 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: Psychology Program Manager - GS-14: Experience: At least three years of experience as a professional psychologist - with at least one year equivalent to the GS-13 grade level
• Demonstrated Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities: Ability to organize work - set priorities - delegate tasks - and meet 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
• 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
• The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for 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.

Duties

• Major duties include but are not limited to the following: The Omaha Mental Health Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program (MH RRTP) is a 19-bed behavioral health bed service that provides integrated - multidisciplinary residential rehabilitation to eligible veterans
• All beds are located at the Omaha VA Medical Center main building on the 10th floor
• Within NWI there is another 18-bed RRTP - with its own manager - in Grand Island
• The SUDPs are outpatient substance use treatment programs - currently in Omaha and Lincoln aimed at providing outpatient treatment for those struggling with addiction to substances
• These programs also have their own direct managers
• In the role of RRTP Program Manager - the incumbent will directly manage the Omaha MH RRTP
• In the role of Section Chief - the incumbent will have oversight responsibility for all the MH RRTP and Substance Use Outpatient programs and be the direct supervisor to those programs' managers
• MH RRTP Program Manager and RRTP/SUDP Section Chief is responsible for the development - implementation - maintenance - and effective utilization of all structures and relationships within and relating to the RRTP and SUDP programs as outlined in VHA Handbook 1162.02 Mental Health Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program and VHA Handbook 1160.04 VHA Programs for Veterans with Substance Use Disorders (SUD)
• The incumbent is responsible for the public health and safety of all patients in the MH RRTPs
• The Program Manager provides administrative control and programmatic leadership for the specialized residential rehabilitation programs within the service - assures a full range of professional and direct care services - coordinates research and program evaluation projects and develops a training program in conjunction with educational institutions
• The Program Manager assures compliance with increasingly complex procedures and statutes in licensing - clinical privileging - and continuing professional education
• The incumbent is responsible for ensuring that the residential rehabilitation and substance use programs achieve and maintain full accreditation status with accrediting bodies such as the Joint Commission and CARF
• The Program Manager ensures that the buildings in which the residential rehabilitation programs are housed is in full compliance with all safety and security regulations
• As the Program Manager - the incumbent has both local and national level responsibility for the continued professional and scientific development of MH RRTP
• The Program Manager has overall management responsibility related to a complex service delivery system to meet the needs of veterans suffering from complex medical - psychiatric - and substance use disorders
• Provides direct or indirect administrative and programmatic supervision of 19 FTE located at three different sites
• Total-Rewards-of-an-Allied-Health-VA-Career-Brochure.pdf Psychologist: vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Total-Rewards-of-a-Psychology-Career-Flyer.pdf Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00am-4:30pm 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)
• 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 Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Functional Statement #: 000000 Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized