Senior Psychologist (service Chief) - Mental Health

Job Opportunity: Chief Of Mental Health

This is an open continuous announcement open until September 30, 2026. Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis and qualified candidates will be considered as vacancies become available. This is a multi-disciplinary position, and a selection can be made from one of the following: Senior Psychologist Program Manager or Chief Physician.

The Chief of Mental Health is responsible for defining the mission and vision of the Mental Health program, developing the scope of practice for employees assigned, designing plan of care, and assuring implementation of quality improvement measures. The individual is responsible for developing, planning, clarifying, administering, and managing the Mental Health Service Line at the Ralph H. Johnson VA Health Care System (RHJVAHCS). The Chief of Mental Health makes independent, professional decisions and recommendations with infrequent recourse to supervisory guidance. The individual is responsible for advising management of specific clinical or administrative issues within the Mental Health Service Line and within the Medical Center. The position serves as a consultant and advisor to subordinates, peers, and administration.

Duties include, but not limited to:

• Authority for resource allocations within the area of responsibility and ensures the efficient operation of the organizational unit.
• Possess broad and overall responsibility for the service-level department and full responsibility for clinical practice, program management, education, human resource management and supervision for the service, as appropriate.
• Provide leadership with objective, independent assessments and recommendations for policy, operational and administrative issues and initiatives requiring decision and action.
• Autonomously manage substantive parts of specialized, complex, professional services which significantly impact the care provided to Veterans.
• Overall responsibility for planning, assessing, and evaluating programs to ensure coordination between care delivered by the program and overall delivery of health care within the facility.
• Process data related to program planning and the specialized needs of the Veteran, the service, and the medical center.
• Ensure policies or issues have been fully coordinated, vetted, and staffed.
• Advise leadership entities, including Executive Leadership, on policy implications, key issues, and relationships to both internal and external interest groups, and recommend courses of action.
• Maintain interdepartmental relations with other services to accomplish medical center goals.
• Service Chiefs coordinate and negotiate resolutions to complex problems.
• Prepare special reports and responses, Congressional responses, briefing papers, issue briefs, and decision papers for the medical center leadership, which may be highly sensitive, confidential, and of a complex nature as requested.
• Develop policies, procedures, performance standards, position descriptions and functional statements.
• Conduct performance appraisals and perform other clinical and administrative responsibilities related to management of staff to ensure that the mission of the service and the medical center have been satisfied.
• Responsible for all professional, management, and administrative aspects of the service.
• Supervision and resource management involving major decisions, work activities and supervision significantly affecting the ability of staff to provide comprehensive services to Veterans.

VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package. Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm. (Work schedule subject to change based on agency needs). Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Authorized. Relocation Incentive: Authorized. 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: Available (Ad-hoc). Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized.

Requirements 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, driver's licenses or state-issued identification 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. As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest.

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. 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. 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. 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. 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. OR, 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,(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 (4) 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