Psychologist Program Manager Homeless Services

VA Careers - Psychologist: Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

DUTIES:
The Chief of Homeless Services (Program Manager) is a member of the Mental Health Leadership Team and oversees all Homeless Services programs which includes DCHV Homeless Domiciliary (85 beds) Contracted Emergency Housing (30 beds) GPD Transitional Housing (198 beds) HUD-VASH Permanent Housing Program (over 1300 Veterans) Valley Brook Village (110 Veterans) Veterans Justice Outreach Program Vocational Rehabilitation Programs Coordinated Entry and Homeless Outreach.

The incumbent is responsible for a budget of over $9.2 million from VACO to support the following programs (dollars in millions): Transitional Housing ($3.9) HUD-VASH ($2.7) Emergency Housing ($1.2) and CWT-TW ($1.5) not including VA personnel costs.

As a psychologist the Chief of Homeless Services provides the full range of clinical services performed by any psychologist including crisis intervention clinical assessment treatment planning psychoeducation and psychotherapy. The incumbent also provides clinical supervision to psychologists in Homeless Services and to other staff who do not have a clinical supervisor.

The incumbent is also a member of several organizational committees including the Integrated Mental Health Council and Executive Leadership Council at the Medical Center and the Homeless Executive Council for VISN 2. The incumbent generates numerous reports analyzing performance measures and productivity.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00 am - 4:30 pm.
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.
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)
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 13405F

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements ( Effective May 7 2025 drivers licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Must pass pre-employment physical examination.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the Required Documents section of this announcement.

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

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:

1. Citizenship: Be a citizen of the United States. (Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with chapter 3 section A paragraph 3.g this part.)
2. Education: 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.

1. 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:
   • The re-specialization program must be completed in an APA or a CPA accredited doctoral program; and
   • the specialty in which the applicant is retrained must be consistent with the assignment for which the applicant is to be employed.
2. Have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally accredited institution with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature.

• 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.

• VHA facilities that offered full-time one-year pre-doctoral internships prior to PL 96- 151 (pre- 1979) are acceptable in fulfillment of the internship requirement.

• 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.)

• 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 candidates doctoral program. If the internship experience is not noted on the applicants 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. NOTE: Psychologists who meet the requirements of this revision and who were employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs prior to the implementation of this standard are considered to have fully met the requirements of this qualification standard.

1. Licensure: Holds 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.
2. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.
3. 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.

• Quality of Experience: Experience is only creditable if it is post-doctoral experience as a professional psychologist directly related to the duties to be performed. Qualifying experience must also be at a level comparable to or exceeding professional psychology experience at the next lower level.

• Part-time Experience: Part-time experience is creditable according to its relationship to a full- time workweek. For example a psychologist employed 20 hours per week or on a half time basis would receive one full-time workweek of credit for each two weeks of service.

• Post-Doctoral Degree Fellowships: Postdoctoral fellowships or residencies are training programs in an advanced area of clinical practice. Training as a fellow or resident is creditable experience on a year-for-year basis.

• Ability to organize work set priorities delegate tasks and meet multiple deadlines.

• Knowledge of and ability to utilize evidence-based practices and clinical practice guidelines appropriately and ability to guide staff in using these tools.

• Ability to deal effectively with individuals or groups representing widely divergent backgrounds interests and points of view. Skill in managing and directing the work of others to accomplish program goals and objectives.

• Ability to translate management goals and objectives into well-coordinated and controlled work operations.

• Ability to establish and monitor production and performance priorities and standards.

• Ability to analyze organizational and operational problems and to develop and implement solutions that result in sound operation of the program.