Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor - Workplace Violence Prevention Coordinator

The Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor (LPMHC) serves as a Program Manager for the Workplace Violence Prevention Program (WVPP) at WCHCS. manage daily operations of multiple programs, develop, and implement program policies and procedures and serve as principal counselor to several staff. 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.

Major duties

Directs administrative and clinical aspects of the WVPP across WCHCS. The incumbent has responsibility for coordinating interdisciplinary staffing by chairing the DBC, ETAT, WBRA team and PMDB Coordinator. Implements VHA Directive 1160.08(1) VHA WVPP and associated Compliance Checklist, as well as for informing and writing policies, procedures, and program guidelines in the development, planning, operations, and continuous performance improvement of all components of the WVPP in the WCHCS. Coordinates inter/multidisciplinary Behavioral Threat Assessment Teams including the DBC and ETAT. The Program Coordinator demonstrates experience in leading diverse and interdisciplinary Teams and must form and maintain a cohesive team of staff from a variety of disciplines and supervisory chains of authority to ensure targeted and evidence-based efforts to promote safety of beneficiaries and personnel of WCHCS. Maintains a close partnership with the national WVPP. In this role the Program Coordinator is responsible for aligning local program implementation with national best practice guidelines. Seeks national guidance regarding disruptive individuals in the workplace, behavior risk and threat management recommendations, and strategies to promote a culture of safety in VHA. The Program Coordinator also maintains a close working relationship with community partners in public safety and organizational safety. Provides supervisory duties over the PMDB Coordinator and other support staff. Conduct all required Focused Professional Practice Evaluations (FPPE) and Ongoing Professional Practice Evaluations (OPPE). Conduct hiring actions for WVPP and support other members of the service in hiring practice. Ensure staff are trained in conducting peer chart reviews. Provide regular clinical supervision to team. Establish and clearly communicate guidelines and performance expectations for WVPP members. Provides quarterly updates to the ELT and submit WVPP-related work products directly to the Chief of Staff (COS) and/or Facility Director. Collaborates effectively with the ELT, VA Police, VA Office of Inspector General, the national WVPP Office, and other key stakeholders on an ongoing basis. Manages practice and oversee day-to-day business of inter/multidisciplinary committees that review incidents of patient generated disruptive behaviors, visitor generated disruptive behaviors, and employeegenerated disruptive behaviors. This role involves conducting and delegating behavioral threat assessments to inform recommendations for individualized risk management strategies; consulting with VA Providers, clinical staff and DBC and ETAT members; informing and providing risk relevant clinical interventions in cases of disruptive or violent behavior history; providing and overseeing education to staff; providing timely and accurate responses to action items and recommendations made by the DBC and ETAT. Ensures ongoing training of team members in evidence-based threat assessment and threat management practice. Collaborates with leadership to ensure facility policies are compliant with The Joint Commission, Office of Inspector General, and OSHA requirements regarding workplace violence prevention training. Maintains a professional environment by following facility, VISN, and national organizational policies, guidelines, and safety standards. Administrative duties to be completed to assist with data collection, reports, performance improvement projects, etc. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm Telework: Available on an ad-hoc basis. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 59181-0 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized. Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized.

Qualifications

Basic Requirements: United States Citizenship. Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. 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. 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. Grade Determinations. In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates. 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 at the GS-12 level. Senior LPMHCs provide treatment to patients with complex needs including multiple mental health diagnoses, and numerous psychosocial issues, using independent judgment. LPMHCs at this level provide clinical consultation to less experienced staff which may include coordinating crisis situations. Senior LPMHCs will provide clinical supervision to LPMHC staff and/or LPMHC trainees, and may serve as the subject matter expert for the discipline. Senior LPMHCs develop behavioral health related training curriculum and often conduct trainings for clinical staff. LPMHCs model ethical and professional behaviors and standards to include multicultural awareness. Senior LPMHCs meet routinely with inter- professional team members and leadership to communicate about program and patient issues for in depth problem solving. Senior LPMHCs collaborate with internal and external stakeholders and frequently serve as a liaison. This assignment is to be relatively few in number based on the size of the facility/service and applying sound position management. This assignment must represent substantial additional responsibility over and above that required at the full performance grade level and cannot be used as the full performance level of this occupation. Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor (Program Manager), GS-13 Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs). In addition to meeting the KSAs for the GS-12 grade level, the candidate must demonstrate the KSAs below: Ability to make judgments and decisions associated with program management. Ability to monitor program outcomes using data driven quality assurance process. Ability to develop productivity standards appropriate to each service provided. Ability to manage a wide range of programs which include the operation and management of key clinical, training or administrative programs. AND Senior Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor, GS-12 Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs): Advanced knowledge of and mastery of theories and modalities used in thespecialized treatment of complex mental illness. Ability to incorporate complexmultiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment of veteran patients,including making psychosocial and psychiatric diagnoses within approvedclinical privileges or scope of practice. Ability to determine priority of servicesneeded and provide specialized treatment. Advanced and expert skill in a range of specialized interventions and treatmentmodalities for Veterans with complex needs. This includes individual, group,and/or family counseling, or psychotherapy and advanced level psychosocial,and/or case management interventions used in the treatment of Veterans. Ability to coordinate the delivery of specialized psychosocial services andprograms. Ability to design system changes based on data. Ability to provide subject matter consultation to colleagues and trainees on thepsychosocial treatment of patients, rendering professional opinions based onexperience, expertise and role modeling effective clinical skills. Ability to teach, mentor staff and trainees, and provide supervision for licensureor for specialty certifications. Ability to engage in written and oral communication with leadership/staff andcommunity stakeholders regarding policies, procedures, practice guidelines, andissues pertaining to the practice of the profession. Preferred Experience: Knowledge of practices associated with violence prevention, threat mitigation and management and training of the Workplace Violence Prevention Program to include Disruptive Behavior and risk assessment. 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. Physical Requirements: Must be in overall good health, able to sit at a desk working at a computer, engage in light to moderate physical activity including sitting, walking, bending, and carrying supplies. LPMHC must be able to perform primarily light and sedentary duties with occasionally moderate physical demands, exercise patience, and control emotions, with reasonable accommodation, if necessary, without endangering the health and safety of the LPMHC or others. Position requires walking throughout the clinic and/or Medical Center, standing for extended periods of time, and involves sitting at a computer and in counsel and consultation with Veterans and interdisciplinary teams. This position also requires close visual acuity to perform an activity such as preparing and analyzing data and figures; transcribing; viewing a computer terminal; extensive reading; and repetitive motions of the wrists, hands, and/or fingers. This position requires a valid state driver's license and local travel to provide community-based care toVeterans. The position requires significant travel in the community, through use of a government vehicle or other individual arrangements, to meet with representatives/stakeholders who aid and support Veterans in clinics, medical centers, Community Clinics, etc.

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/.

Requirements

You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959. Must be proficient in written and spoken English. 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 identification 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). Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement. As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 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 trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.