Social Worker Program Manager Outpatient Mental Health Section

We're Looking for a skilled Social Worker Program Manager Outpatient Mental Health Section in the Veterans Health Administration based in Tacoma, Washington. Read through the job description to see if it matches your current experience.

The Successful Applicant

To qualify for this position applicants must meet all requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement. Basic Requirements: United States Citizenship: Noncitizens 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. 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. 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 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 respecialization 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. NOTE: The applicant must provide an official transcript and/or certificate documenting the completion of the respecialization program which includes completion of an APA or CPA internship. Psychologists who have successfully completed a respecialization 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 Have a doctoral degree awarded between 1951 and 1978 from a regionallyaccredited institution with a dissertation primarily psychological in nature. Internship: 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 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 fulltime oneyear predoctoral 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 oneyear 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 oneyear supervised internship experience was completed in a site acceptable to the doctoral program. 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. 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). Grade Determinations: Senior Psychologist Program Manager GS15 Experience. At least four years of experience as a professional psychologist with at least one year equivalent to the GS14 grade level. Demonstrated Knowledge Skills and Abilities. In addition to the experience above the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Skill in managing and directing the work of large complex organizational units and in applying effective management practices. Skill in persuasion negotiation and motivation to negotiate multiple program policies. Skill in interpersonal relationships in dealing with employees and other managers using advanced consultation and problem solving skills. Skill in the application and analysis of measurement tools to systems issues. Ability to balance responsibilities in a complex environment and to work with great autonomy ability to set priorities and delegate tasks meet multiple deadlines analyze complex organizational problems and ability to develop and implement effective solutions for those problems. Ability to assess need for basic and complex services across multiple programmatic contexts. Ability to coordinate the efforts of multiple program elements across a complex system. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS15. Physical Requirements: There are no physical requirements for this occupation per OCHCO Communications email to VA Handbook 5019 updated on 4/17/2026.

What’s on Offer

The role offers excellent opportunities for top performers to further develop their competencies as a social worker and improving the lives of people.