Senior Advisor

This position is located in the Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Office of the Assistant Secretary (OAS), located in Rockville, Maryland.

Major duties

The purpose of this position is for the incumbent to serve as a Senior Advisor on substance abuse with responsibility for providing authoritative advice and guidance on policy development for substance abuse and behavioral health issues as they impact HHS. As a Senior Advisor you will: Advise the Chief Medical Officer (OCMO) Director and staff on policy and programming to support SAMHSA initiatives. Coordinate policy review processes and the quality improvement priority setting through consideration of leadership direction, input from internal and external partners, past precedent, early identification, and internal triaging of policy issues. Provide leadership, guidance, and training of constituents in addressing a broad range of critical policy and program issues working closely with the OCMO Director on the formulation of broad policies and programs related to substance abuse issues involving high priority matters affecting overall program goals. Draft and/or review documents on policy and program proposals on substance abuse treatment and behavioral health issues. Provide comments on proposed legislation and regulations on substance abuse and behavioral health and policy which have an impact on SAMHSA program functions. Serve as an expert in policy program/management issues with responsibility for developing, recommending, coordinating, and implementing program improvements and new procedures, which are designed to improve/enhance program performance. Research, review, analyze, and evaluate substance abuse issues and developments related to behavioral health and SAMHSA's mission and provide advice and guidance to OCMO Director on programming and resource allocation with respect to financing strategies for behavioral health care providers. Provide professional guidance to staff throughout SAMHSA in addressing a broad range of critical policy and program issues. Represent the OCMO at public and private meetings oriented to leverage community support with respect to substance abuse and behavioral recovery policy.

Qualifications

ALL QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS MUST BE MET BY THE CLOSING DATE OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT - 10/04/2026 Your resume (limited to no more than 2 pages) must include detailed information as it relates to the responsibilities and specialized experience for this position. Evidence of copying and pasting directly from the vacancy announcement without clearly documenting supplemental information to describe your experience will result in an ineligible rating. This will prevent you from being considered further. Applicants must demonstrate that they meet the Specialized Experience requirements as noted below. In order to qualify for this GS-15 position: You must possess at least one year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and responsibility to the GS-14 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors) to include:

• Providing administrative oversight and support for the delivery of behavioral health services.
• Conducting scholarly activities, including publishing papers in major professional journals or presenting at national conferences or other national platforms.
• Analyzing new policy, legislative, or regulatory developments and developing comprehensive assessments of their implications for direct service access and delivery.

Documenting Experience: IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Qualifications are based on breadth/level of experience. In addition to describing duties performed, applicants must provide the exact dates of each period of employment (from MM/YY to MM/YY) and the number of hours worked per week if part time. As qualification determinations cannot be made when resumes do not include the required information, failure to provide this information may result in disqualification. Applicants are encouraged to use the USAJOBS Resume Builder to develop their federal resume. For resume writing guidance, please visit the USAJobs Resource Center or view their video tutorial. Do not copy and paste the duties, specialized experience, or occupational assessment questionnaire from this announcement into your resume as that will not be considered a demonstration of your qualifications for this position. In accordance with Office of Personnel Management policy, federal employees are assumed to have gained experience by performing duties and responsibilities appropriate for their official series and grade level as described in their position description. Experience that would not normally be part of the employee's position is creditable, however, when documented by satisfactory evidence, such as a signed memorandum from the employee's supervisor or an SF-50 or SF-52 documenting an official detail or other official assignment. The documentation must indicate whether the duties were performed full time or, if part time, the "percentage of times" the other duties were performed. It is expected that this documentation is included in the employee's official personnel record. In order to receive credit for experience in your resume that is not within the official series and grade level of your official position, you must provide a copy of the appropriate documentation of such experience as indicated above. NOTE: 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; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to gain employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. If such experience is on a part-time basis, you must provide the average number of hours worked per week as well as the beginning and ending dates of the experience so it can be fully credited. Time-in-Grade Requirement: Under competitive merit promotion procedures, any individual who is currently holding, or who has held within the previous 52 weeks, a General Schedule position under non-temporary appointment in the competitive or excepted service, must meet "time-in-grade" requirements (have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade of the grade for which you are applying). You must include an SF-50 (you may need to submit more than one) that supports meeting this requirement with your application package.OPM Qualification General Policies Websitewww.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-policies/#url=app All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement.

Education

This position does not have an education substitution or requirement.