Career Center

The Social Science Program Specialist (Whole Health Coach) position under the Whole Health Department at the Tomah, Wisconsin VA Medical Center works to facilitate and empower the Veteran to develop and achieve self-determined goals related to health and wellness. As a national leader in Whole Health, Tomah has developed processes, consults, and educational materials that are utilized across several facilities and even shared nationally. To qualify for this position, facility applicants must meet all requirements within 15 days of the closing dates of this announcement. Non-facility applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 05/17/2023. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05. For a GS-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Basic - Individual Occupational Requirement: Bachelor's degree or 4 years of education above high school leading to a bachelor's degree in behavioral or social science or a related discipline appropriate to this position. OR Combination of education and experience that provided the applicant with knowledge of one or more of the behavioral or social sciences equivalent to a major in the field. OR Four (4) years of appropriate experience that demonstrated that the applicant has acquired knowledge of one or more of the behavioral or social sciences equivalent to a major in the field. In addition to the Individual Occupational Requirement as stated above the following is the experience or education requirement to qualify for this position at the GS-7 or GS-9 grade levels. Specialized Experience GS-7: One (1) full year of specialized experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the Social Science Program Specialist (Whole Health Coach) position, and that is in or related to the work of the position to be filled. To be creditable this experience must have been equivalent to at least the GS-5 level in federal service to qualify at the GS-7 grade level. Specialized experience for this position would consist of: experience in positions that require basic knowledge of health coaching to promote healthy lifestyle choices; experience working with software programs such as Word, Excel, Access, Power Point, to track data and develop educational presentations; ability to develop and distribute health education materials and conduct educational events to explain health coaching; ability to interact and relate with people of varied educational and professional backgrounds, of many cultural groups, and socio-economic levels; experience in positions that required customer service skills; and skill in oral and written communication and interpersonal relations, to appropriately and courteously relate to internal and external customers. OR Substitution of Education for Specialized Experience - GS-7: One (1) full year of graduate level education or superior academic achievement. Such education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position and been obtained at an accredited college or university. Superior Academic Achievement is based on class standing, grade-point average, or honor society membership. Class Standing - Applicants must be in the upper third of the graduating class in the college, university or major subdivision, such as the College of Liberal Arts or the School of Business Administration, based on completed courses. Grade-point Average - Applicants must have a grade point average of 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 as recorded on their official transcript, or as computed based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of curriculum; or 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in the major filed completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum. Election to membership in a National Scholastic Honor Society - Applicants can be considered eligible based on membership in one of the national scholastic honor societies listed by the Association of College Honor Societies. Transcripts Required. OR Combining Specialized Experience and Education - GS-7 - Equivalent combinations of successfully completed graduate education and specialized experience directly related to the work of the Social Science Program Specialist (Whole Health Coach) position, may be substituted to meet the experience requirements of the position at the GS-7 grade level. Transcripts Required. Specialized Experience GS-9: One (1) full year of specialized experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skill, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the Social Science Program Specialist (Whole Health Coach) and is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization (GS-7). Examples of specialized experience include: Experience in positions that provided health coaching and/or providing information regarding lifestyle management including knowledge of health coaching structure, process, skills and techniques; experience coordinating with others as part of a health care team; knowledge of programs such as weight management, nutrition, exercise/fitness, smoking cessation, stress management, diabetes, pain management, etc.; experience developing treatment plans that focus on behavioral interventions; assist with data management analyses, special studies, and reports for use by management for budget preparation, workload projections, quality assurance and utilization reviews; knowledge of medical terminology; skill in the use of computer equipment with a variety of software applications including the ability to produce documents, reports, and educational materials; skill in the use of Microsoft office software and other databases to schedule appointment, track, retrieve, and trend information; and demonstration of skill in communication and interpersonal relations both orally and in writing providing clear and concise communication. OR Substitution of Education for Specialized Experience - GS-9: A master's or equivalent graduate degree or two (2) full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL. B or J.D.., if related to the Social Science Program Specialist (Whole Health Coach) position. Education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university, may be substituted to qualify for this grade 9 position. One year of full-time graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent one (1) year of full-time study. If that number cannot be obtained from the school, 18 semester hours will be considered an academic year of graduate study. Transcripts Required. OR Combining Specialized Experience and Education - GS-9 - Equivalent combinations of successfully completed graduate education and specialized experience directly related to the work of the Social Science Program Specialist (Whole Health Coach) position, which may be substituted to meet the experience requirements of the position. Transcripts Required. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Computer Skills Interpersonal Skills Teaches Others Technical Competence ["Major Duties Developmental Level- GS-7: The incumbent serves in a developmental capacity at the GS-7 grade level. Key functions will be similar to those described at the full performance level (GS-9) of the target position. However, during the developmental assignment, full performance range and level of selected functions will not be completely delegated to the employee until proper orientation and training have been completed and the Social Services Program Specialist (Whole Health Coach) has demonstrated the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to accomplish the work at the full performance level. Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level. Duties at the Full Performance Level GS-9 include: -Contacts eligible participants for enrollment and explain the health coaching process. -Provides health coaching for Veterans in order to reduce or eliminate high-risk behaviors while increasing healthy ones. -Conducts interventions for Veterans using one-on-one, couple, or group modalities in outpatient and inpatient settings. -Conducts Whole Health Facilitated Groups; participate in MOVE, smoking cessation, diabetes management, hypertension clinics, mental health, and other inpatient and outpatient groups as appropriate. -Provides follow-up care through telephone clinics or secure messaging between face-to-face appointments. -Actively guides Veterans in the exploration of core elements of personal health planning through individual and group-based programs. -Encourages and assists Veterans with the adoption of habits that are conducive to a higher quality of life and in alignment with the Veteran's goals. Identifies habits and behaviors that are harmful to the quality of life and related to chronic illness. -Develops treatment plans focused on behavioral interventions based on current scientific knowledge and research that improve quality of life and reduce risk for chronic disease, or that reverse or slow progression of chronic disease. -Utilizes motivational interviewing and health coaching techniques and processes to assist members in developing a realistic plan to accomplish their goals. -Collaborates with internal and external resources for supporting the Veteran's Whole Health Journey by developing resource lists for well-being support within the facility and in the local community. -Provides eligible Veterans and family members with information regarding lifestyle management. -Tracks and supports patient progress using Microsoft office software, VISTA, CPRS, Intranet and Internet as well as other applicable software. -Performs other related duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Full Time, Monday-Friday 8:00am-4:30pm Telework: VA supports the use of telework as a way to help attract and retain talented individuals in public service, increase worker productivity, and better prepare the agency to operate during emergencies. This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Social Science Program Specialist - Whole Health Coach/PD17189A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required Physical Requirements: Regular and recurring work is mostly sedentary involving sitting at a desk, although the position requires the ability to move from one geographic location of the facility to another. Some physical effort such as standing, walking, bending or prolonged sitting may be required. The work places no special physical demands on employee. Work Environment: The work is performed in office setting with occasional visits to areas within the service as well as throughout the Medical Center. Work area is adequately lighted, heated and air conditioned. The normal risks and discomforts typical of an office and clerical work area are included. There are no unusual risks or safety hazards associated with this position."]

Return to Search Results