Summary This position is located in the Audiology & Speech Pathology Service at VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System in Los Angeles, CA. The duties and responsibilities are carried out throughout all clinical and other patient care areas involved with the service. This position serves as Audiology & Speech Pathology Service Chief for a Complexity Level 1a facility. The Audiology & Speech Pathology service is a major component of the medical center and is highly professional, technical, and complex. Responsibilities Duties include but are not limited to: Manages substantive parts of specialized, complex, professional services that significantly impact Veterans' care; provides leadership with objective, independent assessments and recommendations for policy, operational and administrative issues and initiatives requiring decision and action. Supervises Speech Language Pathologists and Technicians, and is responsible for administrative management and direction of the program services assigned to them. Supervises Audiologists and Audiology Health Technicians, and is responsible for administrative management and direction of the program services assigned to them. Monitors work performance to ensure that requirements are satisfied; interprets and processes a wide variety of data related to program planning and specialized needs of the Veterans, the service, and the medical center; and ensures policies or issues have been fully coordinated, vetted, and staffed. Advises executive leadership on implications, key issues, and relationships to interest groups (both internal and external) and recommend courses of action; coordinates and negotiates resolutions to complex problems. Assures compliance with accrediting agencies and regulatory requirements and corrective action is initiated as needed. Responsible for professional and administrative management of an assigned area, including budget execution. Maintains interdepartmental relationships with other services to accomplish medical center goals. 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. Develops policies and procedures and may develop performance standards, position descriptions and functional statements. Monitors the clinical performance of staff, conduct performance appraisals, and perform other clinical and administrative responsibilities to ensure that the mission of the service and the medical center has been satisfied. Sets training objectives for staff and delegate responsibilities to subordinate sections. Promotes collaboration to accomplish goals Exercises supervision, administrative management, and direction of both professional areas in a unified audiology and speech-language pathology service. Manages and directs the work of others to accomplish program goals and missions. Supervises, motivates, and effectively manages a diverse clinical staff applicable to a service-level department in a large, complex, or multi-division facility. Translates management goals and objectives into efficient service operations Organizes work, sets priorities, delegates tasks and responsibilities. Balances operational resources to ensure appropriate delivery of service operations Responsible for planning, assessing, and evaluating programs to ensure proper coordination between care delivered by the service. Develops, organizes, directs, manages, supervises, controls, and implements policies and procedures for complex service-level departments. Supervises Audiologists and Audiology Technicians, and is responsible for administrative management and direction of the program services assigned to them. Makes decisions that affect subordinate section or deputy chiefs (if applicable), clinical, and clerical staff, and other resources associated with the department and are made with great autonomy. Supervises Speech Pathologists and Speech Pathology Health Technicians, and is responsible for administrative management and direction of the program services assigned to them. Interacts and collaborates with local, VISN and/or national leadership Fully responsible for developing and directing educational and training programs; negotiating affiliation agreements with academic partners; and setting training objectives. Establishes and monitors productivity standards, production, and performance priorities to achieve management goals and objectives. Delegates responsibilities to subordinate section or deputy chiefs (if applicable), planning, and scheduling work; assigning work to employees; accepting, amending, or rejecting completed work; assuring that production and accuracy requirements are met; appraising performance and recommending performance standards and ratings; assigning delineated clinical privileges; approving leave; and effecting all levels of disciplinary measures. Work Schedule: Mon-Fri, 8am-4:30pm Telework: Ad-Hoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Requirements Conditions of Employment 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. You may be required to serve a probationary period. Subject to background/security investigation. Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP). Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details. 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. Education. (1) 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 (2) 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. OR (3) A master's degree, or its equivalent, in speech-language pathology, communication disorders or a directly related field from an accredited college or university and one year of creditable experience. OR (4) A doctoral degree in speech-language pathology, communication disorders and sciences or a related field, from an accredited college or university. Licensure. The incumbent must hold a full, current, and unrestricted license in both disciplines in a State, Territory, Commonwealth, or the District of Columbia. English Language Proficiency. A/S-LPs must be proficient in spoken and written English 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-14: Completion of 1 year of professional experience equivalent to the next lower grade level directly related to the position being filled, and must fully meet the KSAs at that level. Knowledge, Skills & Abilities: In addition to the basic requirements, the incumbent must meet the following KSAs: Knowledge of, and ability to apply, advanced scientific methods in the design and execution of highly creative, innovative, or complex research; Ability to lead and motivate a research team with diverse backgrounds, research interests, and points of view; Ability to manage large research budgets; Knowledge of, and ability to evaluate critically, the research of others in peer review or editorial settings; Ability to convey scientific concepts and methodological principles to individuals with diverse levels of technical expertise; Ability to apply advanced theories and techniques, demonstrating exceptional depth of knowledge of clinical research literature; Advanced knowledge of contemporary audiology and speech-language practice and related disciplines; Advanced knowledge of anatomy, physiology, physiology of speech, acoustics, applied acoustics, communication, neuroscience, psychoacoustics, auditory/vestibular pathophysiology, language, voice, swallowing, and neuroanatomy; Advanced knowledge of normal and abnormal auditory and balance function; and Advanced knowledge of normal and abnormal communication and swallowing function. Reference: VA Handbook 5005, PART II APPENDIX G31, Audiologist & Speech Pathologist, GS-0665. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-14. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy GS-14. Physical Requirements: The incumbent must have the ability to sit, stand, and walk for prolonged periods. Ability to assist or lift a patient may also be required occasionally. Education IMPORTANT: 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/. Additional Information Receiving Service Credit or Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed. During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status. VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement. Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.