SUMMARY

Employee will be assigned to the Domiciliary Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program (DRRTP), VA Medical Center Bath, NY. Employee will serve as one of the senior staff of the program and will work with both administrative and clinical non-professional components.

QUALIFICATIONS

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.

BASIC EDUCATION REQUIREMENT - Applicants must first meet one of the basic requirements listed below:

• Possess a Bachelor’s degree (or higher) in behavioral or social science; or related disciplines appropriate to this position. (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED) OR
• Possess four (4) years of appropriate experience that demonstrated that the applicant has acquired knowledge of one or more of the behavioral or social sciences equivalent to a major in the field. OR
• Possess a combination of education and experience that provided you with knowledge of one or more of the behavioral or social sciences equivalent to a major in the field. (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED)

ADDITIONAL QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS - In addition to meeting the above requirements, you must also meet one of the additional requirements as described below to qualify for this position at each grade level.
SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: In addition to meeting the above requirement, applicants must have at least one (1) year of specialized experience that equipped them with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of this position. To be creditable, this experience must have been equivalent to at least the GS-5 level in the Federal service. Examples of specialized experience includes: providing supervision/oversight to staff in planning, assigning, and reviewing work of employees; coordinating staff training; reviewing treatment plans; resolving patient issues; conducting rounds; and analyzing data and preparing reports.
OR

Superior Academic Achievement (Transcript Required): (SAA) at the baccalaureate level in the coursework detailed above is fully qualifying. Applicants who wish to apply under this provision must submit proof from their educational institution that they meet one of the criteria listed below. To qualify for SAA, applicants must have completed all the requirements for a bachelor’s degree in a curriculum that is qualifying (as described above) for the position to be filled and meet one of the following:

• Rank in the upper one-third of your class in the college, university or major subdivision.
• A grade-point average of “B” (a GPA of 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0) for all completed undergraduate courses, or those completed in the last two years of undergraduate study.
• A grade point average of “B+” (a GPA of 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0) for all courses in your major field of study, or those courses in your major completed in the last two years of undergraduate study.
• Membership in a national honor society (other than freshman honor societies) recognized by the Association of College Honor Societies. For a list of recognized honor societies please visit http://www.achsnatl.org/quick_link.asp

For more information regarding SAA please visit http://www.opm.gov/qualifications/SEC-II/s2-e5.asp#e4f .
OR
SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION FOR EXPERIENCE: Successful completion of one (1) full year of progressively higher level graduate education with a major in behavioral or social science; or related disciplines appropriate to this position, is fully qualifying for the GS-7. (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED).
OR
COMBINING EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE: Combination of successfully completed graduate education and experience may be used to meet total qualification requirements. (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED)

You will be rated on the following Competencies as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position:

• Communications
• Decision Making
• Organizational Awareness
• Planning and Evaluating

IMPORTANT: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. All experience listed on your resume must include the month and year start/end dates. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. 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.
Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.
Physical Requirements: The work is partly sedentary. Typically, the employee sits comfortably to do the work. However, there will be some walking; standing; bending; carrying of light items such as papers, books, small parts; or driving an automobile, etc. No special physical demands are required to perform the work.
For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management’s website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

EDUCATION

IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.
NOTE: 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 education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: Recognition of Foreign Qualifications | International Affairs Office (ed.gov).

HOW YOU WILL BE EVALUATED

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. If your resume does not support your questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s).
Your responses to the assessment questionnaire will be reviewed along with the information provided in your resume and supporting documentation to determine if you are qualified for the position. If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and or experience, your rating may be lowered and/or you may lose consideration for this position. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your eligibility.
The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate’s abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.

Candidates who apply under All U.S. Citizens announcements will be rated and ranked using Category Rating procedures. Qualified candidates will be assigned to a quality category. The categories are defined as follows:

• Best qualified - applicants possessing experience that substantially exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are highly proficient in all requirements of the job and can perform effectively in the position;
• Highly qualified - applicants possessing experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the requirements of the job;
• Well qualified - applicants possessing experience that meets the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in some, but not all, of the requirements of the job; and
• Qualified - applicants possessing experience and/or education that meets the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors.

Application of Veterans’ Preference: Category rating and selection procedures place those with veteran’s preference above non-preference eligibles within each category. Preference eligible applicants that meet the eligibility and qualification requirements and who have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10 percent are listed in the highest quality category (except when the position being filled is scientific or professional at the GS-09 grade level or higher).
It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.
Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.

IF YOU ARE RELYING ON YOUR EDUCATION TO MEET QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS:

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.

Duties include, but may not be limited to the following:

• Plans, assigns, and reviews the work of his/her employees.
• Schedules adequate staffing for evening and overnight shifts, 7-days a week coverage and re-arranging staff schedules to accommodate leave requests with minimal use of overtime expense.
• Coordinates training for new and existing employees in accordance with established procedures and practices.
• Answers staff questions regarding procedures, policies, directives, etc. and obtains needed information or decisions from the Supervisory Social Science Specialist when problems occur.
• Interviews and hires staff members and prepares performance plans, awards, disciplinary actions, etc. as appropriate.
• Counsels employees and hears and resolves concerns and complaints.
• Educates and orients new staff and/or students to the program and its practices.
• Works as a team member on client’s treatment, reviewing portions of treatment plans, providing input to team members.
• Resolves issues related to the complexity of the patient mix as well as the unpredictability of what may occur within the treatment setting and provides crisis intervention as needed. Ensures nonclinical staff, working in a clinical setting, have an understanding of appropriate clinical interventions and follow up as well as possible consequences if these interventions are not adhered to.
• Develops and analyzes relevant data that can be used to prepare reports.
• Shares responsibility for the environment of care provided to Veterans in the DRRTP, room assignment, residents’ room inspections, and has oversight for residents’ assignments in maintaining a clean environment while reporting damages and other problems.
• Conducts rounds through DRRTP buildings and completes round sheets.
• Performs other related duties as assigned

The following documents are accepted, and may be required if applicable to your eligibility and/or qualifications for this position. Please ensure you have included all documents required for your application, such as a copy of your transcript (if using education to qualify), SF-50’s (current/former Federal employees), documentation to support Veterans Preference or ICTAP/CTAP documentation (for displaced Federal employees).

• Cover Letter
• DD-214/ Statement of Service
• Disability Letter (VA)
• Other (1)
• Other (2)
• Resume
• Separation Notice (RIF)
• SF-15
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcrip