Summary The position is located in Asheville VA Medical Center, within the Mental Health Service (MHS). The primary purpose of this position involves providing needed psychological and neuropsychological testing and observation for MHS. The incumbent confers with licensed psychologists and neuropsychologists to determine what assessment instruments are needed for each patient. Responsibilities Major duties include, but are not limited to: Knowledge of psychological and cognitive test administration, scoring and procedures. Providing needed psychological and neuropsychological testing and observation for MHS. Knowledge of psychological and cognitive test administration, scoring and procedures. Administers the selected assessment instruments, notifies the Psychologist of any patient safety risks, documents behavioral observations, scores testing responses, and then provides the raw results and behavioral observations to the Psychologist. Create a good testing environment for the patient, focusing on rapport building and encouragement of patient motivation. Organizes time and resources toward project accomplishment, and ensuring the timeliness and quality of end products through effective monitoring of work in progress. Determines what assessment instruments are needed for each patient. Determines what assessment instruments are needed for each patient. Maintains files and records according to both American Psychological Association record keeping guidelines, in addition to requirements by the Department of Veterans Affairs Records Control Schedule. Ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing and respond to inquiries. Ability to organize work assignments, channel the flow of work through the organization, and follow up to ensure completion. Confers with licensed psychologists and neuropsychologists to determine what assessment. Work Schedule: Full-time, Monday - Friday, 8:00 am - 4:30 pm Telework: Ad-hoc; at discretion of Supervisor Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Psychology Technician/PD04473A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: May be Authorized for highly qualified candidates. Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job 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 (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification 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) As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: 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. Upon completion of your probationary period or trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 03/16/2026. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-9 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-7. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education ss described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-7 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: working with patients in a behavioral health setting or program; administering and scoring a variety of neuropsychological assessments; assessing mental status, cognitive state and physical limitations of patients; providing verbal and written observation of patient test behavior; and using office equipment to collect and maintain data. Performance of these tasks requires a practical understanding of some of the general principles, theories, methods and techniques of psychology in order to carry out duties which are performed under the supervision of a professional psychologist.. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have two (2) full years of graduate education or a master's degree meets the requirements for GS-9 level. (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED) OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have successfully completed graduate level education (in excess of the first year or 18 semester hours) and specialized experience to meet total experience requirements. (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED) You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Administration and Management Communications Manages and Organizes Information Psychological Assessment 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; religions; 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. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. 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. Physical Requirements: The work is sedentary. Typically, the employee may sit comfortably to do the work. However, there may be some walking, standing, bending, carrying light items such as papers, books, 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 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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/. Additional Information Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement. Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.
