Psychology Technician

***THIS IS NOT A VIRTUAL POSITION YOU MUST LIVE WITHIN OR BE WILLING TO RELOCATE WITHIN A COMMUTABLE DISTANCE OF THE DUTY LOCATION***

Major duties and responsibilities include:

• Administers and scores a wide range of objective psychological tests and inventories measuring personality and cognitive functions
• Prepares research documentation for submission to the Internal Review Board monitors study conduct
• Observes and records details of participants verbal and non-verbal responses to questions and tasks posed
• Maintains standard testing environment and scoring conditions to ensure validity of standardized instruments
• Administers and scores individual tests for neuropsychological functioning
• Attends to non-verbal cues and interprets poorly expressed ideas when working with individuals with severe psychopathology life-threatening medical disorders and cognitive impairment
• Uses judgement in determining when failure or fatigue are producing invalid results and discontinues testing when deemed appropriate
• Prepares abstracts of the clinical files of those referred for psychological evaluations
• Administers psychological instruments to evaluate clinical outcomes of treatment
• Maintains computerized databases of testing data
• Performs data manipulation and statistical analyses
• Other miscellaneous duties include attendance at staff meetings patient care meetings as appropriate and committee meetings as assigned.
• The incumbent also participates in the various in-service continuing education programs sponsored by the Mental Health service and Medical Center.
• Other duties as assigned.

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• To be considered for this position you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the 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
• 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 identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See Required Documents below for details.

• 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.

ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY: In accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7402(d) No person shall serve in direct patient care positions unless they are proficient in basic written and spoken English. You must be proficient in basic written and spoken English in order to meet the requirements of this position.

EDUCATION REQUIREMENT: Completion of abachelors degree or higher from an accredited college or university with a major in an appropriate social or biological science which included or was supplemented by 12 semester hours in psychology. NOTE: You must submit copies of transcripts at the time of application. Education will not be credited without documentation. Please ensure that your transcripts show that a degree was conferred. Display copies of degrees or course listings do not provide the information needed.

AND

In addition to the above requirement in order to meet the minimum qualifications for this position at the GS- 9 level you must have:
Experience: Two years of technical work under the direction of a professional psychologist. At least 6 months of this experience must be comparable in difficulty and responsibility to the next lower grade in the Federal service (GS-8) or 1 year comparable to the second lower grade (GS-7).
Technical duties include experience with one or more of the following: (1) Assisting in research as in systematic collection of psychology research data recording and collecting data preparing tabular or graphic presentation of data in accordance with a predetermined research plan; (2) Assisting counseling psychologists in contacting potential employers for the purpose of making vocational placement providing follow-up consultation administering and scoring of interest achievement and aptitude tests securing work history and other relevant vocational information; (3) Assisting neuropsychologists in administering and scoring of selected tests of neuropsychology battery in accordance with clearly defined procedures; or (4) Assisting psychologists in completing behavior rating scales or in conducting behavior modification.

NOTE: Experience under the direction of a professional psychologist is required and MUST be documented on your resume. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.
OR
Education: Two (2) full years of graduate study in psychology in an accredited college or university may be substituted for 2 years of experience and meets in full the requirements at the GS-9 level. Transcripts must be submitted at the time of application.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS: The incumbent must be able to move expeditiously from place to place in the medical center. Patients must regularly be assisted and supported when they are brought for examination. Equipment weighing up to 50 pounds may need to be moved. BLS training is required. The incumbent must be able to sit and attend intensively to Veteran behavior over a several hours period. Finally the position may involve prolonged exposures to persons with primary or secondary viral and other infections.

WORK ENVIRONMENT: Work is accomplished in an office setting within an outpatient mental health clinic. The normal risks and requirements of an office in a predominantly outpatient psychiatric facility are inherent. The incumbent works with specialized equipment tools or computer hardware and software. They are expected to observe normal safety precautions with special attention to electrical biohazards from equipment. The incumbent must also attend to Veteran health status and condition during the assessment interviews and anticipate problems in Veteran the performance of official duties the incumbent has regular access to printed and electronic files containing sensitive data. Incumbent maintains the confidentiality of all information and records where knowledge has been received or accessed either directly or indirectly.

For more information on these qualification standards please visit the United States Office of Personnel Managements website at

Required Experience:

IC