The Supervisory Audiologist position is located in the Audiology Service at (Robley Rex VA Medical Center) in (Louisville, KY). This position serves as a supervisory audiologist and first line supervisor for all health technicians, program director for OM funded health profession trainees and unfunded student externs, and any other administrative or managerial responsibilities as delegated by the service chief. This position serves as the acting service chief in the absence of the service chief.
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: United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. Education: Doctor of Audiology (AUD) from an audiology program recognized by the Accreditation Commission for Audiology Education (ACAE) or Council on Academic Accreditation (CAA) of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). HR office staff and management officials may verify a program's accreditation from ACAE at acaeaccred.org and CAA at caa.asha.org. OR Other doctoral degree in hearing science or a directly related field from an institution accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Licensure. Individuals must hold a full, current, and unrestricted license to practice audiology at the doctoral level in a United States state, territory, commonwealth, or the District of Columbia. The Under Secretary of Health, or designee, may appoint a candidate without a license who will be assigned to a research, academic, or administrative position with no patient care responsibilities. In such instances, HR office staff can only appoint these candidates in exceptional circumstances where their credentials demonstrate high professional attainment or expertise in the specialty area. All audiologists who perform compensation and pension examinations perform direct patient care duties and must possess a full, current, and unrestricted license to practice audiology and must meet the experience requirements under Section 2. D. See 38 C.F.R. § 4.85. English Language Proficiency. Audiologist candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f). 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: GS-13 Audiologist (Clinical Specialist) Experience: At least two years of experience as a professional audiologist, with at least one year comparable to the next lower grade level, GS-12. AND Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs): In addition to the KSAs required at the full performance level, the candidate must demonstrate the KSAs identified below. (a) Skill in conflict resolution to facilitate positive working relationships between employees, team leaders, and managers. (b) Skill in applying evidence-based practices in a professional area. (c) Ability to analyze organizational and operational challenges to develop and implement solutions. (d) Ability to develop the abilities and strengths of current employees. (e) Ability to balance responsibilities, set priorities, and delegate tasks to meet multiple deadlines. (f) Ability to analyze data to manage workload, quality, performance, and productivity within the section. Assignment: Supervisory audiologist assignments spend 25% or more of their time providing technical and administrative supervision. Supervisory audiologists in this assignment serve as section chiefs. Section chiefs have broad program management responsibilities for a specific program or programs that are designed to deliver specialized, complex, highly professional services, which are important program components of the facility and significantly impact the health care provided to Veterans. Programs include but are not limited to hearing health, compensation and pension examination (C&P) programs, inpatient, outpatient and residential audiologic rehabilitation, neuro-audiologic assessments, diagnosis and treatment of tinnitus, externship and postdoctoral fellowship training programs, and management of an off-campus site. Typically, at facilities of lower complexity, section chiefs have audiology program oversight and serve as the audiology executive responsible for coordinating operations throughout the facility and its affiliated clinics. The type of programs managed, and the scope of responsibility are critical aspects of the assignment at this level. Section chiefs manage key clinical, training, research, or administrative programs including the day-to-day activities of these programs. Section chiefs in this assignment supervise and provide input for strategic plans to ensure the provision of high-quality services to meet the needs of the Veterans. They develop and implement short and long-term goals and objectives consistent with the program's strategic plan. They provide oversight of administrative and programmatic resources and deploy those resources to support the program needs. They develop and implement programs, policies, and procedures to meet program goals, VHA policy and external accreditation requirements. They monitor outcomes using data- driven quality assurance processes and implement strategies for improvement based on data analysis. 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 in the range of GS-12 to GS-13. Physical Requirements: None required
Duties include but not limited to: Makes decisions affecting staff and other resources. May be delegated full administrative and clinical responsibility for planning and directing the staff assignments in various clinical settings. Encourages professional development, creates an environment of learning, and serves as a mentor to staff audiologists, audiology health technicians, and students. Responsible for the supervision, administrative management and direction of the program services assigned to them. Ensures compliance with accrediting agency and regulatory requirements, monitors staff performance, and develops and implements programs based on Veterans' needs and current research findings. Resolving staff conflicts that might interfere with the service delivery, identifying continuing education and training needs and other clinical and administrative responsibilities to ensure that the mission of the service and the medical center has been satisfied. May interview candidates for positions, and recommend appointments, advancements, or disciplinary actions when appropriate. May develop position descriptions and functional statements and are responsible for professional and administrative management of an assigned area. May make selections, assign personnel, and serve as a mentor to help employees develop their full potential. Maintains interdepartmental relationships with other services to accomplish medical center goals as well as foster and maintain community contacts. May develop and initiate new assessment and treatment programs and may develop policies and procedures. Independently provides audiologic services at all levels of complexity and consult with peers and supervisors as appropriate. Communicates established performance benchmarks to a service or equivalent organizational department. Implements continual performance improvement activities to meet performance benchmarks: Organizes work, sets priorities, delegates tasks and responsibilities, and meets multiple deadlines. Accommodates new and changing work conditions, staffing, and contingencies. Performs a full scope of managerial responsibilities: Exercises supervision, administrative management, and direction of both professional areas in a unified audiology and speech-language pathology service or equivalent service-level department; responsible for general or technical supervision of key clinical or training programs within the service, and overall technical and administrative oversight of health technicians. Leads audiologists, speech-language pathologists and/or professionals within associated disciplines: Shows potential to supervise, motivate, and manage effectively a diverse clinical staff. Shows potential skill in assessing qualifications and abilities of current and prospective employees. Develops contingencies to ensure continual service operations: Shows potential for knowledge and ability to apply administrative and human resource policies effectively. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00am - 4:30pm Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 40996F Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized