Clinical Psychologist (Staff Psychologist)

Corrections professionals who foster a humane and secure environment and ensure public safety by preparing individuals for successful reentry into our communities.

Duties

Participates in the administration, scoring, and interpretation of a wide variety of personality evaluation methods and is responsible for the preparation of comprehensive psychological reports for various purposes.

Assists in interdisciplinary classification of inmates by identifying behavioral, emotional, organic, drug/alcohol, or personality problems and the subsequent development of appropriate programs on an individual basis.

Completes reports for institutional staff on inmates who may manifest sudden bizarre behavior or thoughts, insomnia, psychosomatic complaints, suicidal preoccupations, depression, somnambulism, anxiety, situational crisis, or long-term disciplinary and segregation cases, etc.

Conducts individual treatment and crisis intervention sessions on an as needed or emergency basis.

Responsible for providing assessment and referral services for staff referred to psychology services by their supervisors or for staff personally requesting assistance with problems of alcohol use, drug use, or emotional problems which are affecting job performance.

Along with all other correctional institution employees, incumbent is charged with responsibility for maintaining security of the institution. The staffs' correctional responsibilities precede all others required by this position and are performed on a regular and recurring basis.

Salary

• $73,939 - $144,031/year

Conditions of Employment

• U.S. Citizenship is Required.
• See Special Conditions of Employment Section.
• Selective Service Requirement: https://www.sss.gov

Career Transition Programs (CTAP or ICTAP): These programs apply to Federal and/or DOJ employees who meet the definition of surplus or displaced from a position in the competitive service. To receive selection priority for this position, you must:

• 1. Meet CTAP or ICTAP eligibility criteria;
• 2. Be rated well-qualified for the position, scoring at least half of the total possible points for the vacancy KSAs or competencies; and
• 3. Submit the appropriate documentation to support your CTAP or ICTAP eligibility.

NOTE: Applicants claiming CTAP/ICTAP eligibility must complete all assessment questions to be rated under the established category rating criteria.

Qualifications

To be considered for the position, you must meet the following qualification requirements:

Basic Requirements:

Satisfactory completion of all the requirements for a doctoral degree (Ph.D. or equivalent) directly related to full professional work in clinical psychology.

NOTE: If you are within nine (9) months of completing all the requirements for your PH.D in Clinical or Counseling psychology, you MUST electronically upload a copy of your unofficial transcript documenting current enrollment in a PHD program AND upload an official letter from the Registrar office or Dean validating current enrollment in Clinical or Counseling and your program projected completion date (MM,DD,YYYY). If selected, you MUST provide a letter from the university validating the completion date (MM,DD,YYYY) of all degree requirements to the local Human Resource prior to entering on duty. If your official letter from the Registrar office or Dean verified completion of all degree requirements with the sole exception being completion of your internship, an official letter from your Internship Program Coordinator, prior to entry on duty, is acceptable.

Applicants who meet the above basic requirements are fully qualified for the GS-11 level.

AND

In addition to the basic requirements, applicants must have:

Education:

GS-12: There is no substitution of education for specialized experience for this position at this level.

Experience:

GS-12: You must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and complexity to the next lower grade level. To be creditable, this experience must have equipped the applicant with the particular qualifications to successfully perform the duties of the position, and must typically be in or related to the position to be filled.

Some examples of qualifying experience are:

• Experience in making professional decisions concerning diagnosis and treatment of inmates under their care.
• Experience in assisting in interdisciplinary classification of inmates by identifying behavioral, emotional, organic, drug/alcohol, or personality problems and the subsequent development of appropriate programs on an individual basis.
• Experience in completing reports for the courts on study and observation cases.
• Experience in providing assessment and referral services for staff referred to psychology services by their supervisors or for staff personally requesting assistance with problems of alcohol use, drug use, or emotional problems which are affecting job performance.

AND

Quality Ranking Factor:

• Satisfactory completion of all the requirements for the doctoral degree (Ph.D. or equivalent) from an American Psychological Association (APA) accredited educational institution, directly related to full professional work in clinical psychology.

NOTE: The above quality ranking factor is preferred. Therefore, applicants who possess the quality ranking factor can be ranked above those who do not, but no candidates can be rated ineligible solely for failure to possess a quality ranking factor.

If applicable, credit will be given for paid and unpaid experience. To receive proper credit, you must show the actual time (such as the number of hours worked per week) spent in activities.

**Your eligibility for consideration will be based on your responses to the questions in the application.**

Education See Qualifications Section for education requirements, if applicable. ONLY if education is a requirement/substitution for specialized experience, applicant MUST upload legible transcripts as verification of educational requirement. Transcripts MUST be uploaded and electronically linked from USAJOBS at the time you apply and MUST include identifying information to include School Name, Student Name, Degree and Date Awarded (if applicable). All academic degrees and coursework must be completed at a college or university that has obtained accreditation or pre-accreditation status from an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For a list of schools that meet this criteria, Click Here. Foreign Education: For information regarding foreign education requirements, please see Foreign Diploma and Credit Recognition at the U.S. Department of Education website: Recognition of Foreign Qualifications. If you are selected for this position and qualified based on education (i.e. basic education requirement and/or substitution of education), you will be required to provide an OFFICIAL transcript prior to your first day on duty. Other Information Age Requirements: Although 5 U.S.C. 3307 established a maximum entry age for initial appointment to a position in a Bureau of Prisons institution, Applicants can be considered up to age 39. If you are above the maximum entry age and have prior federal law enforcement coverage, you MUST submit an SF-50 to verify prior coverage. Qualified Preference Eligible Veterans may be exempt from meeting the maximum age. Please refer to the Required Documents Section for the appropriate documentation to submit to validate veteran eligibility. LENGTH OF ELIGIBILITY: Eligible applicants will remain on the inventory until the closing date of the vacancy announcement. NOTE: This announcement is posted on a yearly cycle. The announcement will EXPIRE on the listed closing date at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. In order to receive consideration for the next cycle, applicants MUST reapply to the new vacancy announcement. SALARY RANGE: The salary range for this announcement reflects Rest of US GS-11/01 @ $73,939 to highest GS-12/10 San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA @ $144,031. See current pay scales for locality area for which you are applying at www.opm.gov and search pay tables. Special Conditions of Employment Section: Appointment is subject to satisfactory completion of a pre-employment and panel interview, urinalysis, physical, and background investigation. All applicants are subject to, and must satisfactorily pass all screening requirements in relation to National Crime Information Center (NCIC) and credit check. All applicants not currently working in an institution will be required to complete a qualification inquiry regarding convictions of misdemeanor crimes of domestic violence in order to be authorized to carry a firearm. The Core Value Assessment (CVA) is an in-person assessment that must be facilitated at a Bureau of Prisons Human Resource Servicing office. On the day of the scheduled interview, a CVA will be administered. The applicant assessment must be completed within a 70 minute time period and a passing score of 68 must be obtained. Further employment consideration will not be extended if the applicant fails to complete the examination or fails to achieve a passing score. Note: The Core Value Assessment will not be administered to current BOP employees Successful completion of the "Introduction to Correctional Techniques," three-week training course at Glynco, Georgia is required. Additional selections may be made if vacancies occur within the life of the certificate. As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary 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 probationary period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. Exceptions may apply. See 5 CFR part 11. Required Documents

Failure to provide legible required documents and/or follow the prescribed format often results in removal from consideration. If uploading documentation, do not identify/save your documents utilizing a special character such as %, #, @, etc. Documentation should be identified/saved as VA Letter, DD-214, or Transcripts.

•  Veterans' Preference Documentation:
  • Failure to submit all required documents at the time of application will result in the loss of claimed preference eligibility.
  • DD-214: Veterans MUST provide a DD-214 demonstrating that they have been discharged or released from active duty under honorable conditions (i.e., the individual must have received either an honorable or general discharge).
  • SF-15: If you are a disabled veteran, a Purple Heart recipient, widow/widower of a veteran, the spouse of a disabled veteran or the parent of a disabled or deceased veteran, you must submit:
    • A completed Standard Form (SF) 15, "Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference" AND all required documentation identified on the SF-15. 
    • NOTE: A Department of Veterans Affairs letter must contain the Veteran’s Name and Combined Service-Connected Evaluation. For a copy of the most current SF-15, Click Here.
  • If you are on active duty and expect to be discharged or released from active duty service within 120 days, you may submit a Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty from the appropriate Branch Personnel Office containing the following information: (1) the military service dates including the expected discharge or release date; (2) and the character of service (must be an honorable or general discharge); and (3) any qualifying service/campaign/expeditionary medals.
• Resume: Resume limited to 2 pages showing relevant experience (cover letter optional). Experience that would not normally be part of the Federal employee's position is creditable when documented by satisfactory evidence of qualifying experience (e.g., a memorandum from the manager, Human Resource Manager, SF-52, etc.)
• To receive credit for experience contained in an application, the experience must be documented:
  • Reflecting start date and end date in month/year format (MM/YYYY) AND
  • Include the number of hours worked per week.
• College transcript: includes the School Name, Student Name, Degree, and Date Awarded (if applicable).
  • NOTE:  If you are selected, official transcript(s) will be required prior to your first day.
• SF-50: for proof of prior LEO coverage, if applicable.

For more help, visit USAJOBS Help Center - What should I include in my resume?

We cannot be held responsible for incompatible software, delays in mail service, applicant application errors, etc.

How to Apply

You must apply through the online application system at www.USAJOBS.gov. Follow the prompts to register, answer a few questions and submit all required documents.

Limit your resume to 2 pages. If the only resume(s) received is/are longer than two pages, your application is ineligible for further consideration. Submission of a resume alone is not a complete application. This position may require the completion of additional forms and/or supplemental materials as described under the Required Documents section. Please carefully review the complete job announcement and the "How to Apply" instructions. Failure to provide the required information and/or materials will result in your application not being considered for employment.

We recommend using a sans-serif font size like Lato, if available. Other widely available options are Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, Open San Source Sans Pro, Roboto or Noro Sans. Make your page margins 0.5 inches. Consider using 14-point size font for titles and 10-point for the main text in your resume. USAJOBS Help Center - How to add a resume to your profile

Claiming Veterans Preference? If yes, you MUST claim preference on-line during the application process and upload documentation to support preference claimed. Failure to claim Veterans Preference or provide supporting documentation may result in you not receiving appropriate consideration during the assessment process.

Required supporting documentation must be electronically uploaded or transferred from USAJOBS (uploaded).

All required supporting documentation MUST be received by the Consolidated Staffing Unit by 11:59 p.m., Eastern Standard Time, on the closing date of the vacancy announcement. You MUST include the vacancy announcement number on your supporting documentation.

Supporting documentation for announcements with an application limitation MUST be uploaded the same day you apply, as these positions may close earlier than stated in the announcement.

Paper applications: If applying online is impossible, please contact the Consolidated Staffing Unit at the telephone number listed below, prior to the closing date of the announcement for the alternate application procedure.

If applicable see Notice for Preference Eligible Veterans Applicants. 

Contact for Assistance in Applying On-Line:
DOJ, Federal Bureau of Prisons
Consolidated Staffing Unit
346 Marine Forces Drive
Grand Prairie, TX 75051
E-Mail: BOP-HRM-HRSC-ConsolidatedStaffingUnit-S@bop.gov
Phone: 972-352-4200

How do I Apply for this Position if I am a Current Public Health Service Commissioned Officer?

DO NOT SUBMIT AN APPLICATION ON-LINE AS A PHS APPLICANT.

• Submit a complete/detailed resume or curriculum vitae.
• Limit your resume to 2 pages. If the only resume(s) received is/are longer than two pages, your application is ineligible for further consideration. 
• Address selective factor, if required.
• Resume or curriculum vitae must contain all information listed in the Qualifications Section.
• Submit supporting documents (i.e. transcripts, certification, registration, and/or license, if applicable).

In order to receive consideration for this position as a PHS applicant, ALL required supporting documentation, as specified in this vacancy announcement must be submitted directly to the Human Resource Office duty location.

You must include the last four digits of your social security number and the vacancy announcement number on your application packet.  DO NOT SUBMIT AN APPLICATION ON-LINE.

Benefits Imagine a career where job security, regular advancement and federal employee benefits, meant you might get to retire early in 20-25 years. All of this and more is available to you, when you choose a rewarding career at the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Visit: www.bop.gov to learn more about law enforcement benefits, competitive pay and generous vacation leave. ADDITIONAL SALARY INFORMATION: Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) is authorized at: FDC Honolulu, HI - 8.64% MDC Guaynabo, PR - 2.49% To view current vacancies, Click Here