Psychology Program Manager

Readjustment Counseling Service (RCS) is a unique organization within the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) that provides readjustment counseling to eligible Veterans active military Service members whose service was in support of combat operations who suffered a military sexual trauma provided direct emergent medical care or mortuary services to casualties of war or who served as a member of an unmanned aerial crew that provided direct support to operations in a combat zone or are of hostility and their families. Readjustment counseling consists of direct counseling services community outreach (face-to-face connection) and referral services to community providers VA and non-VA.

This position is multidisciplinary and may be filled as a Psychologist Social Worker Marriage and Family Therapist or a Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor at the Program Manager/Coordinator level.

Serves as a Psychology Program Manager RCS Vet Center Director (VCD) and is responsible for the professional and administrative supervision and oversight of all readjustment counseling outreach referrals and follow-up care coordination services provided to eligible individuals within the designated Vet Center Service Area (VSA).

• The VCD supervises both professional and nonprofessional staff including a multi-disciplinary team of mental health professionals of various performance levels who work in multiple locations (Vet Centers Vet Center Outstations and Community Access Points) and in communities distant from the Vet Center through planned outreach often in conjunction with a Mobile Vet Center.
• Responsible for Administrative and outreach staff service functions.
• Responsible for the Vet Centers resource and fiscal management monitoring control points developing the annual budget operating within that budget and accounting for appropriated funds.
• Leads the coordination and briefing during meetings with Congressional representatives and their staff.
• Lead in planning establishing and implementing Vet Center policies and procedures developing staff goals and objectives and monitoring coordinating and evaluating the work of all Vet Center staff including social workers other Hybrid Title 38 Mental Health Professionals recognized as licensed independent practitioners Title 5 Readjustment Counselors outreach workers and program support assistants.
• Provides direct readjustment counseling services within and outside of the Vet Center to include in-person and virtual services based on client preference within the parameters of all current VHA directives state licensure standards and VA OIG expectations.
• Responsible for professional assessment and specialized service planning to address the most complex readjustment problems presented by eligible clients within the Vet Center setting Service provision to such cases requires the incumbent to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment perspectives into the development of the service plan.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

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

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:(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 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).
(b) the specialty in which the applicant is retrained must be consistent with the assignment for which the applicant is to be employed.

NOTE: The applicant must provide an official transcript and/or certificate documenting the completion of the re-specialization program which includes completion of an APA or CPA internship. (Psychologists who have successfully completed a re-specialization program as described above and who were employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs prior to the implementation of this standard are considered to have fully met the educational requirements of these qualification standards.)

OR

(3) Have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally-accredited institution with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature.

AND

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 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.

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.

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:

GS-14 Experience and Education: At least three years of experience as a professional psychologist with at least one year equivalent to the GS-13 grade level.

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.

In addition to the experience above candidates must demonstrate all of the following Knowledge Skills and Abilities (KSAs):

Reference: VA HandbookPart II Appendix G 18 dated June 6 2016

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-14.

Physical Requirements: The work does not inherently include physical requirements essential for successful job performance that could not otherwise be performed with a workplace accommodation.

NOTE: Readjustment Counselors are multi-disciplinary and can be filled by: Social Worker Psychologist Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor and Marriage & Family Therapist. Each discipline is announced separately and applicants must apply to the announcement for which they are qualified.