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Health Technician

Department of Veterans Affairs
Veterans Health Administration
West Texas VA Health Care System (WTVAHCS)
This job announcement has closed

Summary

The position is in the MHRRTP, a Mental Health Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program that provides extended care to Veterans for mental health needs, substance abuse treatment, Compensated Work Therapy, and homelessness. The MHRRTP Technicians provides 7 day/week, 24-hour/day coverage. The MHRRTP Technician performs both clinical and administrative duties.

Overview

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Reviewing applications
Open & closing dates
04/28/2025 to 05/05/2025
Salary
$44,959 to - $58,445 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 6
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Big Spring, TX
1 vacancy
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
No
Travel Required
25% or less - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
None
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
Yes
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Financial disclosure
No
Bargaining unit status
Yes
Announcement number
CAZM-12730940-25-AM
Control number
836065500

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

ALL US CITIZENS. DIRECT HIRE AUTHORITY: This position is being filled using Direct-Hire Authority (5 CFR 337.201) for this occupation.

Duties

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  • Responsible for developing and maintaining a therapeutic professional helping relationship with Residents admitted to the MHRRTP.
  • Provides orientation to new Residents by explaining MHRRTP policies/procedures, treatment expectations and goals.
  • Interviews each Resident to assess skills associated activities of daily living, leisure and work interests, personal hygiene, interpersonal communication, etc.
  • Maintains close contact with Residents to ensure that their behavior and social adjustments are satisfactory.
  • Demonstrates the ability to work with Residents who have a variety of physical, mental, emotional, and behavior issues using approved care techniques.
  • Appropriately identifies or resolves Resident s concerns or refers them to staff with specific administrative or clinical expertise.
  • Remains accessible to Residents and serves as a role model for appropriate behavior.
  • Treats Residents, staff, and visitors in a courteous, professional, and positive manner.
  • Uses good judgment, tact and discretion in dealing with Residents who have difficulty conforming to acceptable standards or complying with requirements for acceptable adjustment to MHRRTP living.
  • Provides crisis intervention in situations of a medical, psychiatric and/or behavioral emergency.
  • Receives telephone calls from beneficiaries, relatives, friends, other VA facilities, service organizations, community agencies, etc. relating to Residents under his/her supervision and may provide information in accordance with HIPAA guidelines, the Privacy Act, and as stated in the Medical Care System Memoranda on Automatic Information System (AIS) Security Policy.
  • Responsible for ensuring a clean, safe, and healthy environment for all Residents and staff to include housekeeping and sanitation, security safety, repair and maintenance of rooms, ramps, and areas surrounding the buildings.



Work Schedule: 7:30 AM - 8 PM; 7:30 PM - 8 AM (12 hours shifts). Rotating shifts including evenings, nights, weekends and holidays.
Position Description Title/PD#: Health Technician/PD01152A
Physical Requirements: Work is carried out in a 24/7 residential treatment setting serving a population of male and female Veterans ranging from the adult, age 18, to the elderly adult, age 65 and over. This position requires potentially long periods of continued walking, standing, stooping, sitting, bending, pulling, and pushing, twisting, climbing stairs, climbing ladders, simple grasping, reading above shoulder. Transferring patients and/or objects 6 may be required. The incumbent may be exposed to infected patients and contaminated materials and may be required to don PPE. The incumbent may occasionally be exposed to patients who are combative due to psychiatric disorders. The incumbent must be a mature, flexible, sensible individual capable of working effectively in stressful situations, able to shift priorities and use good judgement based on residents needs. Conditions may also include heat, cold, excess humidity, work with chemicals, dust, noise, driving a vehicle, fire manipulation.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this job
  • Subject to a background/suitability investigation
  • Designated and/or random drug testing may be required
  • May serve a probationary period
  • Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
  • A complete application package; Resume, Transcripts, etc
  • 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 dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

You may qualify based on your experience as described below:

  • Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-05 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: General knowledge of medical diagnoses/conditions. General knowledge of mental health diagnoses/conditions. General knowledge of alcohol and drug dependence and the rehabilitation process. Knowledge of medical terminology for use in preparation of documentation for electronic medical record. Knowledge of safe driving techniques and ability to drive government owned vehicles.
Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Education

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.

Additional information

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 (TJO). Please visit the Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP), va.gov/EMPLOYEE/docs/The-Fair-Chance-to-Compete-Act.pdf for more information.

The following will be communicated to applicants for VA employment in a testing designated position and will also be included in all VA vacancy announcements for such positions: All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drugs use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.

The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be well-qualified, applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors if applicable, and must be proficient in most of the requirements of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website which can be found at https://www.opm.gov/.

Receiving Service Credit for 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. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. 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.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

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.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Applicants will be referred in the order in which they were received.

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