Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor (Program Manager)

Summary

Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor (LPMHC) serves as the Program Manager for the Primary Care Mental Health Integration (PCMHI) section within the Mental Health Service (MHS) at the VA Augusta Health Care System. The incumbent provides advanced program management, clinical leadership, and strategic oversight for PCMHI, ensuring the delivery of timely, evidence-based, integrated mental health services to Veterans served in Primary Care (PACT).

Duties

The incumbent is responsible for the full scope of PCMHI operations, including clinical programming, policy and procedure development, staff supervision, quality improvement, resource allocation, and coordination with Primary Care and Mental Health leadership. The position requires independent decision-making, expert clinical judgment, and the ability to implement both short- and long-term program goals aligned with facility, VISN, and national Mental Health priorities. Duties include, however, not limited to: Overseeing daily operations, ensuring all Office of Mental Health and facility performance metrics, access expectations, and national PCMHI directives are met. Conducting needs assessments, identifying gaps in service delivery, and initiating program improvements. Developing, updating, and implementing PCMHI policies, procedures, workflows, and clinical pathways. Allocating and monitoring resources to ensure optimal staffing, productivity, and workload balance. Facilitating collaboration between PCMHI, PACT, Outpatient Mental Health, and other interdisciplinary stakeholders. Participating in organizational strategic planning, providing expert guidance on PCMH integration, Suicide Prevention initiatives, Whole Health alignment, and mental health access expansion. Monitoring quality outcomes through data-driven evaluation and ensuring timely completion of reports, audits, NEPEC submissions, and other required documentation. Serving as the PCMHI liaison to Primary Care leaders, attending interdisciplinary leadership meetings, contributing to PACT strategic planning, and resolving operational challenges collaboratively. Participating in required facility committees including, but no limited to, Mental Health ICC and Primary Care ICC Work Schedule: 8AM to 4:30PM, Monday - Friday Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 63147F Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Qualifications

Applicants pending the 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: The basic requirements for employment as a LPMHC are prescribed by statute in 38 U.S.C. §7402(b)(11). To qualify for appointment as a LPMHC all applicants must: Citizenship. Be a citizen of the United States. (Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, Section A, paragraph 3.g.). English Language Proficiency. LPMHCs must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3.j Education. Hold a master's or doctoral degree in: Clinical Mental Health Counseling; Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling; Clinical Mental Health Counseling and Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling; or a related field, from a program accredited by the Council on Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). Examples of related mental health counseling fields include, but are not limited to Addiction Counseling; Community Counseling; Gerontology Counseling; Marital, Couple, and Family Counseling. CACREP defines the date when graduates are considered to have graduated from a CACREP accredited program. Additional information may be obtained from http://www.cacrep.org/directory/. NOTE: Traditional Rehabilitation counseling programs that are accredited by CACREP do not meet the LPMHC qualification standards as Traditional Rehabilitation counseling differs from Clinical Rehabilitation counseling. Licensure. Persons hired or reassigned to LPMHC positions in the GS-0183 series in VHA must hold a full, current, and unrestricted license to independently practice as a Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor, which includes diagnosis and treatment. 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: Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor (Program Manager), GS-13 Experience, Education and Licensure. In addition to the basic requirements, candidates must have at least one year of progressively complex experience equivalent to the GS-12 grade level. The experience must demonstrate possession of advanced practice skills and judgment, demonstrating progressively more professional competency. Assignments. LPMHCs manage the daily operations of multiple programs, develop and implement program policies and procedures, or serve as chief or principal counselor to a number of LPHMCs. They are responsible for oversight of administrative and programmatic resources and monitoring of outcomes. They prepare reports and statistics for facility, VISN, and national leadership. Decisions may affect staff and other resources associated with the programs managed and are made while exercising wide latitude and independent judgment. They may be responsible for the program's budget. They may also supervise employees assigned to the program. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to meeting the KSAs for the GS-12 grade level, the candidate must demonstrate the KSAs below: 1. Ability to make judgments and decisions associated with program management. 2. Ability to monitor program outcomes using data driven quality assurance process. 3. Ability to develop productivity standards appropriate to each service provided. 4. Ability to manage a wide range of programs which include the operation and management of key clinical, training or administrative programs. Preferred Experience: Experience in violence risk assessment and workplace violence prevention is preferred. Experience in program coordination preferred. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-13. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-13. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.

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/.