Psychology Program Manager - Workplace Violence Prevention Program

US-Department-of-Veterans-Affair; Little Rock (AR); On-site; USD 100,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

EDRP

Job summary

US Department of Veterans Affairs is seeking a Psychology Program Manager (GS-14) in Little Rock, AR. The role requires leading a complex psychology program, coordinating with multidisciplinary teams, and ensuring compliance with VA standards.

Eligible for Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP) and related loan repayment benefits. Applicants should hold a doctoral degree in psychology from an APA/PCSAS/CPA-accredited program, with experience in program management, policy implementation, and

Qualifications

• Doctoral degree in psychology from an APA, PCSAS, or CPA-accredited program at program completion.
• Alternative: doctoral degree plus a qualifying retraining program in psychology.
• Older PhD (1951–1978) with a psychology-focused dissertation may qualify.

Responsibilities

• Lead and direct the psychology program to meet organizational goals.
• Coordinate multidisciplinary care teams and collaborate with leadership across departments.
• Assess needs, develop and implement effective psychology services and programs.
• Ensure compliance with VA Qualification Standards and provide mentorship to staff.

Skills

Leadership

Policy navigation

Communication

Education

APA/PCSAS/CPA doctoral degree in Psychology

Additional retraining in APA/CPA accredited program

Historical PhD (1951-1978) with psychology dissertation

Job description

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. 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

1. United States Citizenship: Be a United States (U.S) citizen. Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.

2. 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.

3. Education Requirement:

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, OR
2. 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
3. Have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally-accredited institution, with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature.

4. Internships:

1. 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
2. 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
3. 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
4. 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
5. 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.

5. 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.

6. Board Certification and Loss of Credential:

• Board Certification: Persons hired to psychology positions in the VHA who completed an internship that was not accredited at the time the program was completed must be 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. The board certificate must be current and the applicant must abide by the certifying body's requirement for continuing education.
• Loss of Credential. Once board certified, psychologist must maintain a full, valid and unrestricted board certification to remain qualified for employment. A psychologist who fails to maintain the required board certification 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

Psychology Program Manager, GS-14

Experience: At least two years of experience as a professional psychologist, with at least one year equivalent to the GS-12 grade level.

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs):

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

Preferred Experience:

• Three (3) or more years of experience coordinating and implementing Disruptive Behavior Committee (DBC), the Employee Threat Assessment Team (ETAT), and conduction of annual Workplace Behavioral Risk Assessment (WBRA) within VHA
• Three (3) years supervising others
• Proficiency in current evidence-based behavioral threat assessment and management practice
• Experience working as a member of a collaborative multidisciplinary care team
• Psychological Testing
• Experience educating others
• Experience building coalitions
• Experience presenting to a wide variety of customers, including leadership, managers, stakeholders, police, patient safety officer, clinical staff, and Veterans and civilian family members

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 Demands: Physical aspects associated with work required of this assignment are typical for the occupation, see Duties section for essential job duties of the position. May require standing, lifting, carrying, sitting, stooping, bending, puling, and pushing. May be required to wear personal protective equipment and undergo annual TB screening or testing as conditions of employment.

Work Environment: Work is performed in an office/clinic setting with minimal risks that requires normal safety precautions; the area is adequately lighted, heated, and ventilated. However, the work environment requires someone with the ability to handle several tasks at once in sometimes stressful situations.