Student Trainee (Psychology)

Summary

The Pathways Internship Program allows students to join VA in career positions that emphasize long-term training and development. The Student Trainee (Psychology) is assigned to the Office of the National Center for Organization Development. The Student Trainee performs a variety of functions centered around organizational data processing, data analysis, research, as well as summarizing and communicating data findings and translating them into recommendations for organizational stakeholders.

Duties

This position is being filled under the Pathways Internship Program. The program is designed to provide students enrolled in a wide variety of educational institutions, from high school to graduate level, with paid work opportunities in agencies to explore Federal careers while still in school. The Internship provides managers a ready source of student employees and potential permanent employees upon completion of the program requirements. It also provides the student with work experience directly related to the curriculum studies or career goals while offering eligibility for non-competitive conversion to permanent employment upon completion. For more information on Internship opportunities within the Department of Veterans Affairs, please visit: https://www.va.gov/EMPLOYEE/pathways-internship-program/. This is a Temporary Internship Appointment NTE 1 year with the option to be extended up to a maximum of 4 years. Major Duties: Assists in developing and implementing employee surveys and analyzing the resulting data. This includes consulting with clients on measurement best practices, developing/maintaining automated reporting systems, and creating client deliverables/data visualizations/etc. Assists with program evaluation as needed by consulting on assessment strategy, research design, and conducting and reporting appropriate analyses. Assists team in producing and validating major deliverables, e.g., report & data visualization design, manual and automated data checking, data and tool communication strategy development. Codes, analyzes, and summarizes qualitative employee feedback data. Work Schedule: Part-Time, approximately 20 hours per week. Flexible work schedule available and hours must occur within core working hours of 6 AM - 6 PM, Monday-Friday. Compressed/Flexible: Flexible work schedule available. Telework: This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Student Trainee (Psychology)/PD03383T Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 11/20/2026. Internship Program: To be eligible, applicants must be accepted for enrollment or currently enrolled and seeking a degree (diploma, certificate, etc.) in a qualifying educational institution, on a full or half-time basis as defined by the institution in which you are enrolled. You may qualify based on education and/or experience as described below: Selective Placement Factor: This position includes a skill, knowledge, ability or other worker characteristic basic to -and essential for- satisfactory performance of the job. Selective Placement Factors are a prerequisite to appointment and represent minimum requirements for a position. Applicants who do not meet it are ineligible for further consideration. Evidence of the Selective Placement Factor must be reflected in your resume. The selective placement factor for this position is experience performing statistical data analysis and familiarity with using R software to work with data. AND Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade, GS-07, in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: experience applying statistical and analytical (quantitative) methods and techniques to issues or studies concerning trends in data; and experience applying data-processing skills to survey data and interpreting the results. OR Education: Applicants may substitute education for the experience required. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have completed 2 full academic years of graduate level education or a master's degree or related equivalent graduate degree or LL.B. or J.D. Course studies must be in an appropriate social or biological science or psychology. OR Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have a combination of specialized experience and education beyond 1 year of graduate-level education. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Accountability Attention to Detail Customer Service Decision Making Flexibility Integrity/Honesty Interpersonal Skills Learning Reading Comprehension Self-Management Stress Tolerance Teamwork Technology Application Research Data Management 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. 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/. Physical Requirements: The work is primarily sedentary. Typically, the employee may sit comfortably to perform portions of the work. However, there is periodic walking; standing; bending; carrying of light items. No special physical demands are required to perform the work.

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/.