Psychologist - Program Manager

Psychologist - Program Manager

Department: Department of Veterans Affairs

Location(s): Togus, Maine

Salary Range: $140424 - $182551 Per Year

Job Summary: This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific individual eligibility requirements in accordance with VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Program Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) and eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after complete review of the EDRP application.

Major Duties:

• The Psychology Program Manager of Inpatient Mental Health is located in Psychology Service within the Mental Health Service Line and serves to develop, oversee, and manage clinical programming, education, training, and administrative operations related to Inpatient Mental Health services at VA Maine Health Care System. A. Program Management Responsibilities (50% of time): Develops, oversees, and manages clinical programming, education, training, and administrative operations related to Inpatient Mental Health services, including: 1. Collaborates with the VAMC Local Recovery Coordinator and other key stakeholders to develop and refine local SOPs to address the education, staff training and implementation of recovery-oriented care. 2. Collaborates with the Inpatient Mental Health Nurse Manager and Patient Safety to ensure a safe and secure environment of care on the Inpatient Unit. 3. Ensures that all interdisciplinary treatment team members meet regularly and work collaboratively with each Veteran in the development and implementation of a comprehensive inpatient mental health treatment plan. 4. The incumbent will work closely with leadership to ensure the unit has sufficient clinical coverage on weekends and holidays. 5. Develops, implements, and oversees procedures to meet local and national goals and benchmarks related to provider productivity, Veterans' access to and engagement in services, satisfaction, quality, and other related measures that contribute to MHSL performance. 6. The incumbent will provide direction to front-line clinicians to ensure safe, efficient, and successful functioning of the unit. 7. Initiates and supports multiple internal performance improvement projects and reports findings regularly to key stakeholders, including the Mental Health Service Line Performance Improvement Committee (MH PIC). 8. Consults with and serves as resource for other professional staff concerning the need for the provision and development of services. 9. Involved in the process of hiring staff and selecting trainees, to include reviewing applications, participate in interview panels, and making recommendations for selection. 10. Attends VISN and VACO calls related to the provision and management of inpatient mental health services. 11. Full administrative and technical supervision of Inpatient staff. 12. Performs other related professional duties as assigned. B. Clinical Responsibilities (45% of time): 1. Plans, develops, promotes, and manages patient-centered, recovery-oriented psychological services on the unit, including consultation, assessment, and psychotherapy. 2. Provides full range of psychodiagnostics services, including clinical assessment and uses evidence-based approaches to ensure quality care to Veterans. 3. Provides a full range of patient-centered, recovery-oriented therapeutic interventions, with an emphasis on delivering efficient, evidence-based therapeutic interventions to individuals, couples, family members, and groups. 4. Engages in routine outcomes monitoring of patients assigned. 5. Provides clinical care coordination and case management of patients assigned. 6. Conducts structured clinical interviews, provide comprehensive intake assessments, crisis interventions, completes mental health and addiction screenings, clinical reminders, evaluates Veterans for suicidal and homicidal ideation plans, and/or behavior, provides diagnoses, consults with colleagues regarding Veteran care plans, and ensures that Veterans are linked to appropriate treatment. VA Careers - Psychologist: https://youtube.com/embed/77qHlLw9Xck Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 7:30am-4:00pm Compressed/Flexible: Not Available EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact Hannah Neilson/Sarah Jeansimon, the EDRP Coordinator(s) for questions/assistance. Learn more 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) Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior [work experience] or military service experience. 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: Not Available Functional Statement #:F08147

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 Requirement: Per VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, Section A, Paragraph 3j: No person will be appointed under authority of 38 U.S.C., chapter 73 or 74, to serve in a direct patient-care capacity in VHA who is not proficient in written and spoken English. 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 OR, (3) Have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally-accredited institution, with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature. AND, (4) 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, 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: 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: In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: 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. 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. 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 10 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. Decisions made by the Program Manager affect staff and other resources associated with the programs managed and are made while exercising wide latitude and independent judgment. The type of program managed and scope of responsibility are critical aspects of the assignment at this level. Responsibilities include operation and management of key clinical, training, research, or administrative programs to include full responsibility for managing the day to day activities of those programs. Responsibility may include supervision of staff but is not required. Psychologist Program Managers are responsible for strategic planning to ensure the provision of high quality services to meet the needs of the Veterans being served and planning, and developing and implementing short- and long-term goals and objectives consistent with the program's strategic plan. They have oversight of administrative and programmatic resources and deploy those resources in support of the program needs. They develop and implement programs, policies, and procedures to meet program goals, VHA policy and external accreditation requirements, and monitor outcomes using data-driven quality assurance processes, and implement strategies for improvement based on data analysis. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Services.

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 12/18/2025 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12844680. 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: 2025-12-18