Psychology Program Manager (Pain Clinic and Whole Health Coordinator)

Psychology Program Manager (Pain Clinic and Whole Health Coordinator)

Department: Department of Veterans Affairs

Location(s): Seattle, Washington

Salary Range: $139967 - $181956 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 psychologist serves as a Psychology Program Manager for the Puget Sound Pain Clinic, Anesthesia Service Line. The Psychology Program Manager will oversee a team of psychologists that provide evidence-based treatments in a collaborative interdisciplinary setting to include psychologists, medical providers, physical therapists, pharmacists, and others who provide strategies for chronic pain management to help patients improve their overall functioning, wellbeing, and quality of life. Patients served include a diverse population of Veterans with chronic pain-typically with co-occurring medical and psychiatric conditions or complex functional barriers-including thousands of rural Veterans with elevated opioid-related risk. The program offers individual, group, co-disciplinary, psychoeducational, pain case-management, and other direct biopsychosocial chronic-pain services to Veterans. The Program Manager will have a high degree of organization and clinical skill to effectively deliver, supervise, and train evidence-based psychotherapies and treatment approaches for a variety of diagnoses, including complex chronic pain and co-occurring mental-health and behavioral-health conditions. Program Management Responsibilities (30 %): Provide broad program management responsibilities of a clinical care team, including leadership to develop, implement, evaluate, and oversee a complex program responsible for comprehensive clinical care of Veterans. Lead a multidisciplinary team that may include psychologists, physicians, social workers, nurses, and other health care professionals and trainees. Conduct ongoing program evaluation and data-driven quality improvement projects that monitor the effectiveness of clinical operations within their respective program(s). Plan work to be accomplished by team members, including establishing priorities, timelines for completion, and necessary adjustments therein. Resolve conflicts among team members and adjudicate complaints and problems of employees in a timely and effective manner. Function as the first line supervising authority (rater) for 5 employees and provide administrative and clinical supervision and consultation as appropriate. Clinical Responsibilities (65 %): Independently provide psychological assessment and diagnostic services for Veterans with a broad range of psychopathology receiving care within the clinic setting. Demonstrate expertise in using and teaching others about contemporary interview and psychometric assessment methods for these disorders. Provide comprehensive, evidence-based psychotherapeutic interventions, including individual, family, and group psychotherapy and psychoeducation. Provide consultation to health care providers about assessment findings and treatment plan for patients to ensure that care is coordinated, collaborative, and integrated within the Medical Center. Develop, implement, and document the mental health treatment plan for an assigned caseload of patients. Adhere to all Facility and Service Line policies and practices for delivering clinical care, including suicide risk reduction practices, timeliness of care and access standards, professional conduct requirements, and CPRS documentation conventions. Education and Training (5 %): Provide clinical supervision and instruction for psychology trainees (interns and/or postdoctoral fellows) assigned to the primary work setting. Provide clinical supervision and/or training for medical residents, medical students, social work interns, or other trainees not enrolled in a psychology training program. Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Work Schedule: Mon - Fri, 8:00am to 4:30pm. Recruitment/Relocation Incentive: Not Authorized. EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact VHA.ELRSProgramSupport@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator 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). 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.

Qualifications: To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement. BASIC REQUIREMENTS. The basic requirements for employment as a VHA psychologist are prescribed by Public Law 96-151 codified in 38 U.S.C. § 7402. To qualify for appointment, all applicants for the position of psychologist in VHA must meet the following: United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. 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 (d) 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 (e) 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. Exception. Non-licensed applicants who otherwise meet the eligibility requirements may be given a temporary appointment as a "graduate psychologist" at the GS-11 or GS-12 grade under the authority of 38 U.S.C. § 7405 [(c)(2)(B)] for a period not to exceed two years from the date of employment on the condition that such a psychologist provide care only under the supervision of a psychologist who is licensed. Failure to obtain licensure during that period is justification for termination of the temporary appointment. 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. Grade Determinations. In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates: Psychology Program Manager, GS-14. (a) Experience. At least three years of experience as a professional psychologist, with at least one year equivalent to the GS-13 grade level. (b )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. Preferred Experience: Program Development and supervisory experience. 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 Requirements: The physical demands of this position require light lifting and carrying (under 15 pounds); use of fingers; both hands required; walking (less than 1 hour); standing (up to 1 hour); repeated bending (less than 1 hour); the ability for rapid mental and muscular coordination simultaneously; near vision correctable at 13" to 16" to Jaeger 1 to 4; far vision correctable in one eye to 20/20 and to 20/40 in the other; both eyes required; depth perception; the ability to distinguish basic colors; hearing (aid may be permitted); and emotional and mental stability. Environmental Factors: There may be exposure to dust and you must be able to work alone and closely with others.

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 12/01/2025 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12830969. 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: 2025-12-01