Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor (Program Coordinator) - Suicide Prevention

Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor (Program Coordinator) - Suicide Prevention

Department: Department of Veterans Affairs

Location(s): Fargo, North Dakota

Salary Range: $89508 - $116362 Per Year

Job Summary: The Fargo VA Health Care System is recruiting for 1 full-time Program Coordinator for the Suicide Prevention program. This position will be filled by a Social Worker (Program Coordinator) or a Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor (Program Coordinator).

Major Duties:

• This position provides Mental Health services to the Veteran population enrolled at the Fargo VA Healthcare System. Services include provision of high quality clinical treatment, advocacy, and coordination of linkages to other appropriate VA or community service providers and agencies as needed by the client. This is accomplished in collaboration with other members of the MHC Team or other interdisciplinary treatment teams as appropriate. This position is located on the main campus of the Fargo VA Healthcare System. Duties include, but are not limited to: Coordinates care for Veterans at high risk for suicide. Identifies and tracks high-risk Veterans and monitors treatment to ensure that needed services are received. Answers and closes service consults from the Veteran's Crisis Line, to include but not limited to taking the following actions: arranging follow-up mental health assessment and treatment; health and safety checks in the home; and follow-up hospitalization and/or outpatient care as clinically indicated. Plays an active role in the RCA (Root Cause Analysis) process by performing individual case reviews, assisting with preparation of yearly aggregate summaries, and facilitating the implementation of system improvement and policies/procedural changes recommended by the RCA team. Provides training to clinical staff on the development of Veteran safety plans to prevent at risk behaviors. Trains clinical and non-clinical staff in the VA Health Care System, Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOC) and community in the completion of comprehensive suicide risk evaluations. Trains fellow clinical staff in the development of Veteran safety plans to prevent at risk behaviors. Trains non-clinical staff using Operation S.A.V.E. information to ensure staff are alert to Veterans who appear at risk for suicide; options for Veterans whom they may encounter in crisis situations; and appropriate actions to take in those situations. Promotes the use of evidence-based interventions and strategies for suicide prevention in the medical center. Ensures that all Veterans at risk have a 24 hour resource number to contact and ways to receive assistance when needed. Develops and distributes outreach materials to include brochures, fact sheets, web content, and other targeted information which highlights suicide prevention, warning signs, and risk factors. Participates in suicide prevention activities in the community and assists in implementation of plans/educational endeavors in this regard both internal to VA, VISN wide, and in the external community. Develops and implements ongoing plans for providers, Veterans, families, and members of the community on risk factors and warning signs for suicide treatment options. Develops criteria for facility wide identification of medical record flag system for Veterans who are at risk for suicide, oversees implementation of monitoring system for these identified Veterans and monitoring of compliance with treatment plan. Independently plans, designs, implements the program, determines program goals and objectives, and completes reports for the VISN or VA Central Office. Results of the work are considered technically authoritative and are normally accepted without significant change. Prepares and maintains administrative records, data bases, and reports in accordance with VACO and local guidelines. Develops and monitors quality improvement measures. The incumbent formulates and implements an internal evaluation process through which progress toward goals and objectives can be objectively monitored. Implements changes based on the results of evaluations and performs impact assessments of these changes. Insures that any required external evaluation of the program is submitted within established time frames. Interfaces with services throughout the medical center, including but not limited to medical providers and VA Patient Advocate to resolve administrative and clinical problems. This includes collaboration on individual Veterans and the coordination of medical care within the treatment team. Develops treatment protocol for suicidal Veterans in the Emergency Room, calls received through ongoing 24 hours nurse triage telephonic system, and interventions of suicidal Veterans identified in outpatient and acute levels of care. Identifies gaps in treatment and services and works within the system to ensure that Veterans' treatment needs are provided in a timely and clinically appropriate manner. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Telework: Available (Ad-hoc) Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized

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. Education. Hold a master's or doctoral degree in: Clinical Mental Health Counseling; Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling; Clinical Mental Health Counseling and Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling; or a related field, from a program accredited by the Council on Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). Examples of related mental health counseling fields include, but are not limited to Addiction Counseling; Community Counseling; Gerontology Counseling; Marital, Couple, and Family Counseling. CACREP defines the date when graduates are considered to have graduated from a CACREP accredited program. Additional information may be obtained from http://www.cacrep.org/directory/. NOTE: Traditional Rehabilitation counseling programs that are accredited by CACREP do not meet the LPMHC qualification standards as Traditional Rehabilitation counseling differs from Clinical Rehabilitation counseling. Licensure. Persons hired or reassigned to LPMHC positions in the GS-0183 series in VHA must hold a full, current, and unrestricted license to independently practice as a Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor, which includes diagnosis and treatment. English Language Proficiency. LPMHCs must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3.j. 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). Creditable Experience: (1) Knowledge of Current LPMHC Practices. To be creditable, the experience must have demonstrated the knowledge, skills, and abilities associated with current mental health counseling practice. Experience satisfying this requirement must be active professional practice at the post- master's degree level, which is paid/non-paid employment as a professional mental health counselor. (2) Quality of Experience. Experience is only creditable if it is post- master's degree experience as a mental health counselor directly related to the position to be filled. Qualifying experience must be at a level comparable to LPMHC experience at the next lower grade level. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher level duties must consist of significant scope, administrative independence, complexity (difficulty) and range of variety as described in this standard at the specified grade level and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. (3) Part-Time Experience. Part-time experience as a LPMHC is creditable according to its relationship to the full-time workweek. For example, a LPMHC employed 20 hours a week, or on a 1/2-time basis, would receive one full-time workweek of credit for each two weeks of service. (4) Fellowships or Post-Graduate Training. Fellowship and post- graduate training programs are typically in a specialized area of clinical practice, i.e., mental health counseling. Training as a fellow or post-graduate may be substituted for creditable experience on a year-for-year basis. (5) Practicum in a VA Setting. VHA practicum experience may not be substituted for experience, as the practicum (field placement) is completed prior to graduation with a master's degree in mental health counseling or related field. Grade Determinations: GS-12 Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor (Program Coordinator) Experience, Education, and Licensure. In addition to the basic requirements, candidates must have at least one year of progressively complex experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level, which is defined as: Making professional evaluations, decisions, and recommendation for treatment planning and implementation; Advanced working knowledge and mastery of the fundamentals of the counseling process which includes defining patient/family problems and maintaining an effective counseling relationship; Providing subject matter consultation to colleagues and trainees on the counseling process within various specialty areas, build on the foundation of competence through regular meetings and discussions to explain assignments, review progress of cases and confer about the counseling perspectives and orientation; Providing complex crisis intervention and stabilization to patients who are in psychological distress. Requires independent judgment and skill; Establishing goals/treatment through a collaborative process with the patient utilizing advanced counseling skills, including evidenced- based practices, screening, and psychosocial assessment; Using a wide variety of individual, group, or family counseling interventions; Fully utilizing the current DSM in making diagnoses and formulation of treatment goals and application of appropriate clinical intervention using professional counseling practices; Developing and facilitating psychotherapy and psycho- education groups that include life skills, family support, and community integration. This may include evidence based psychotherapy. Experience must have been in a major specialty treatment program area such as, but not limited to, Post- Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), mental health intensive case management (MHICM), or other areas of equivalent scope and complexity. Experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills and judgment, demonstrating progressively more professional competency. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to meeting the KSAs for the GS-11 grade level, the candidate must demonstrate all of the KSAs below: In depth knowledge of the program coordinated, and demonstrated knowledge and ability to write policies procedures and or practice guidelines for the program. Ability to make key decisions in the hiring and identification of top candidates. Ability to provide leadership in facilitating the process of coordinating program consults, assessments, admissions, care assignments and discharges. Ability to provide subject matter consultation to other colleagues and trainees within the field of counseling working on an interdisciplinary team. All qualifying experience you possess must be clearly described in your application package. We will not make assumptions when reviewing applications. Failure to demonstrate your experience in your resume may result in disqualification. It is strongly recommended that you write to each KSA in your application package. Assignments. LPMHC Program Coordinators are administratively responsible for a clinical program and provide treatment to patients in a major specialty. They manage the daily operations of the program, develop policies and procedures, and prepare reports and statistics for facility, VISN, and national use. They may supervise unlicensed graduate LPMHCs and may administratively manage any employees assigned to their 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-12. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-12. 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.

How to Apply: All applicants are encouraged to apply online. To apply for this position, you must complete the full questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 07/20/2026 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12940896. To begin, click Apply Online to create a USAJOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USA JOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire. Click Submit My Answers to submit your application package. NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date.

Application Deadline: 2026-07-20