Staff Psychologist (Suicide Prevention Coordinator)

Staff Psychologist (Suicide Prevention Coordinator)

Department: Department of Veterans Affairs

Location(s): Memphis, Tennessee

Salary Range: $122029 - $158640 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:

• VA Careers - Psychologist: https://youtube.com/embed/77qHlLw9Xck Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional The Suicide Prevention Coordinator (SPC) will serve to facilitate implementation of suicide prevention strategies within the medical center to help ensure that all appropriate measures are being taken to prevent suicide in our patient population. Duties include but are not limited to: The Suicide Prevention Coordinator functions as the coordinator of care for Veterans at elevated risk for suicide and other adverse outcomes. Oversees the day-to-day processing of crisis line referrals from the National Veterans Crisis Line and ensures timely completion of follow-up contacts to requests. Monitors, reviews, and assigns local National Patient Record Flag for suicide through chart review, consultation with assigned clinical staff, and by assessment of the Veterans current state. Provides data collection, input, validation, and monitoring for suicide prevention and REACH VET programs. Serves as REACH VET Program coordinator, ensuring adherence to national, VISN, and local guidelines and procedures related to REACH VET. Postvention Services: Provides debriefing and postvention support to staff and next of kin impacted by suicide loss. Provides outreach, teaching, and training to the Medical Center and CBOC staff members, Veterans, family members and community at large, about risk factors, warning signs, treatment options and resources available to Veterans at risk. Promotes the use of evidence-based intervention and strategies for suicide prevention in the medical center and CBOCs. Provides full range of clinical services, including crisis intervention, suicide risk evaluations and safety planning, case management, individual and group psychotherapy for Veterans who are at increased risk for suicide and adverse outcomes as needed. Services as the facility Subject Matter Expert for suicide prevention efforts, participating in committees and developing local procedures and ensuring compliance with local, VSIN, and national policy and directives related to suicide prevention and providing administrative and clinical guidance for Suicide Prevention, REACH VET, and related programs. Monitors inputs and analyzes dashboards to ensure metric compliance with national guidelines. Responds to referrals from the National Suicide Prevention Hotline/Veterans Crisis Line, internal facility calls, consults, and other referral methods to ensure Veteran safety, provide stabilization, support, and interventions. Other duties as assigned Maintains a valid drivers license to conduct community outreach and education events. Work Schedule: Primarily Monday-Friday: 8:00am-4:30pm with occasional after hour/weekend events. Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): May be authorized to highly qualified applicants. Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): May be authorized to highly qualified applicants. EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact VISN9HREDRP@va.gov,, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade). 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 Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 51119-F

Qualifications: 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: 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 Requirement: (1) You must 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. 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. Note: Applicants must provide transcripts documenting the completion of the re-specialization program Internship Requirement: (a) You must 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). NOTE: 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: Candidates must 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. Board Certification and Loss of Credential: (1) 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, non-restricted, and the applicant must abide by the certifying body's requirement for continuing education. (2) 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: Staff Psychologist GS-13 Specialized experience: You must also have at least 2 additional years of experience, with at least one year equivalent to the GS-12 level, as a professional psychologist that was obtained through employment as a psychologist or through participating in a supervised post-doctoral psychology training program that demonstrates 1) active professional practice that was paid/non-paid employment and/or 2) a full, current and unrestricted license. Knowledge, Skills and Abilities: In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Knowledge of, and ability to apply, professional psychological treatments to the full range of patient populations. Ability to provide professional advice and consultation in areas related to professional psychology and behavioral health. Knowledge of clinical research literature. Assignment: This is the full performance level for staff psychologists. At this level, psychologists are licensed to practice independently in the provision of psychological services, consulting with peers and supervisors as appropriate. They may be assigned to any VHA program and setting, such as inpatient or outpatient medicine, primary care, surgery, mental health, neurology, rehabilitation medicine, geriatrics, Compensation and Pension, Vet Centers, and the VHA National Center for Organization Development. 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-13. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.

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 09/30/2026 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12844719. 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: 2026-09-30