Senior Psychologist (National Manager)

Summary

The Senior Psychologist (National Manager) serves under the organizational title of National Director, Women's Mental Health at the Office of Mental Health (OMH), Veterans Health Administration Central Office (VHACO).

Duties

• This job announcement is open only to current, permanent employees of the Office of Mental Health (OMH) service line, duty station 132. Applicants must submit their most recent SF-50 form to show that they meet this area of consideration (block 40 on the SF-50 form). The two-page resume requirement does not apply to this job announcement. _______________________ Provides national leadership, strategic direction, and programmatic oversight for women's mental health services across VHA medical centers and healthcare systems. Leads the development, implementation, evaluation, and expansion of national women's mental health programs, clinical initiatives, and evidence-based practices, in alignment with policies. Develops and implements national procedures, and operational guidelines to improve the quality, accessibility, and effectiveness of mental health services for women Veterans, in alignment with policies. Serves as principal national consultant, subject matter expert, and advocate for women's mental health, providing guidance to VA leadership, program offices, and healthcare facilities. Collaborates with national and field leadership to ensure appropriate staffing, resources, training, consultation, and referral services to meet women Veterans' mental health needs. Identifies healthcare disparities, service delivery gaps, and emerging mental health needs and develops strategies to improve access, quality, and continuity of care. Oversees the collection, analysis, and evaluation of national clinical program data to monitor performance, establish benchmarks, identify disparities, and inform strategic decisions. Directs national education and training initiatives to strengthen providers' competencies in addressing women Veterans' unique mental health treatment needs and suicide risks. Collaborates with researchers, clinical experts, and program offices to support research initiatives, evaluate findings, and promote the integration of evidence-based practices into clinical care. Represents women's mental health interests in national strategic planning, interdisciplinary initiatives, and stakeholder discussions. Responds to congressional, executive leadership, oversight agency, and stakeholder inquiries; prepares briefing materials, reports, recommendations, and official responses. Develops long-range strategic plans, program goals, and operational priorities; oversees the implementation and evaluates outcomes to ensure alignment with OMH objectives. Exercises independent judgment in managing national initiatives, identifying operational challenges, recommending corrective actions, and adapting programs to evolving healthcare priorities. Represents OMH at national meetings, conferences, professional forums, and stakeholder engagements related to women's mental health. Serves on national VA committees, professional task forces, and advisory committees as designated by leadership. Delivers presentations and communicates national program priorities, recommendations, research findings, and clinical initiatives to professional and Veteran audiences. Maintains professional engagement with relevant organizations and VA healthcare facilities to support collaboration, professional development, and awareness of clinical operations. Oversees the planning, execution, monitoring, and evaluation of assigned national programs and initiatives to ensure successful achievement of established objectives. Provides executive leadership with program updates, performance findings, emerging concerns, and recommendations for improvement. Demonstrates leadership, strategic decision-making, initiative, and collaboration in advancing national women's mental health priorities. Maintains consistent compliance with all applicable VA policies, federal privacy requirements, and information security standards. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00AM - 4:30PM Telework: This position may be authorized for ad hoc telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed duri…

Qualifications

Applicants pending 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: U.S. Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. English Language Proficiency: Psychologists must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7403 (f). Licensure: 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 Education: 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. OR Doctoral degree in any area of psychology and, in addition, a successfully completed re-specialization program (including documentation of an approved internship completed as part of the re-specialization program) to meet 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. 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 were employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs prior to the implementation of this qualification standard are considered to have fully met the educational requirements of the standard. OR Doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionally-accredited institution, with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature. Internship: Professional psychology internship training program accredited by APA or CPA at the time the program was completed and that is consistent with the assignment of the position. OR 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 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 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 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 provi…

Education

Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your educational accreditation here. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must attach a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. Additional information is available here.