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:

• English Language Proficiency: Audiologist must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. 7403(f)
• Citizenship: Must be a citizen of the United States
• (Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified candidates in accordance with chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3g, this part.) 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) 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
• Foreign Education
• To be creditable, education completed outside the U.S. must have been submitted to a private organization specializing in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials
• Such education must have been deemed at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. programs
• 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
• Loss of Credential
• Management officials, in collaboration with HR Office staff must immediately relieve employees who fail to maintain the required 4 licensure of the duties and responsibilities associated with this occupation which may also result in separation from employment
• Grandfathering Provision
• Employees in VHA in this occupation, under a permanent, appropriate, and legal placement on the effective date of the qualification standard, are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the grade and/or assignment held, including positive education and licensure, where applicable
• For employees who do not meet all the basic or assignment specific requirements in this standard, but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed, the following provisions apply: Employees may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance (journey) level, or be changed to a lower grade within the occupation, but may not be promoted beyond the journey level or be newly placed in supervisory or managerial positions
• Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed on a temporary or permanent basis until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard
• Employees retained in this occupation under this provision who subsequently leave the occupation lose protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry to the occupation
• Employees initially grandfathered into this occupation, who subsequently obtain additional licensure that meets all the basic or assignment specific qualification requirements of this standard must maintain the required credential as a condition of employment in the occupation
• NOTE: This grandfathering provision is not intended to regularize appointments/ placements
• Grade Determinations: In addition to basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining grade for GS-14, Supervisory Audiologist
• Experience: At least three years of experience as a professional audiologist, with at least one year comparable to the next lower grade level
• Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs): In addition to the KSAs required at the full performance level, the candidate must demonstrate the following professional KSAs identified below
• Skill in promoting collaboration to accomplish goals
• Skill in translating management goals and objectives into efficient service operations
• Skill in balancing operational resources to ensure appropriate delivery of service operations
• Ability to supervise staff
• Ability to effectively interact and collaborate with local, VISN and/or national leadership
• Ability to establish and monitor productivity standards, production and performance priorities to achieve management goals and objectives
• Assignments
• Supervisory audiologists spend 25% or more of their time providing technical and administrative supervision
• Supervisory GS-14 audiologist in this assignment serve as service chief
• Audiologist service chief at this level typically manage programs in Complexity Level 1 (high complexity) facilities
• The service or organizational entity is a major component of the medical center and the services or programs supervised are highly professional, technical, and complex
• They are responsible for all professional, management, and administrative aspects of the service or organizational entity
• They have broad and overall responsibility for a service-level organizational unit and have full responsibility for clinical practice, program management, education, human resources management and supervision for the service
• They autonomously manage substantive parts of specialized, complex, professional services that significantly impact Veterans' care
• They provide leadership with objective, independent assessments and recommendations for policy, operational and administrative issues and initiatives requiring decision and action
• They monitor work performance to ensure that requirements are satisfied
• interpret and process a wide variety of data related to program planning and specialized needs of the Veterans, the service and the medical center
• and ensure policies or issues have been fully coordinated, vetted and staffed
• Audiologist service chief advise executive leadership on implications, key issues, and relationships to interest groups (both internal and external) and recommend courses of action
• They coordinate and negotiate resolutions to complex problems
• They assure compliance with accrediting agencies and regulatory requirements and corrective action is initiated as needed
• They are responsible for professional and administrative management of an assigned area, including budget execution
• They maintain interdepartmental relationships with other services to accomplish medical center goals
• They may prepare special reports and responses, Congressional responses, briefing papers, issue briefs, and decision papers for the medical center leadership, which may be highly sensitive, confidential and of a complex nature
• They develop policies and procedures and may develop performance standards, position descriptions, and functional statements
• They monitor the clinical performance of staff, conduct performance appraisals, perform other clinical, and administrative responsibilities to ensure that the mission of the service and the medical center has been satisfied
• They may set training objectives for staff and delegate responsibilities to subordinate sections
• Preferred Experience: Experience as supervisory speech pathologist or audiologist
• Licensed Audiologist or Speech Pathologists
• Employee management experience
• Prior VA experience 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-14
• Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.