Substance Abuse Counselor

Summary

About the Position: This position is located at Naval Medical Center, Department of Behavioral Health San Diego, California.

A recruitment or relocation incentive may be authorized.

Salary negotiation may be available for those candidates who are new to Federal service.

Enhanced Leave Accrual may be authorized.

This job is open to

Clarification from the agency

See "Who May Apply" in the "Qualification" section for more information on who is eligible to apply for this position.

Duties

Serve as an Addictions Counselor

Manage a caseload of approximately six to eight patients.

Conduct bio-psychosocial assessment according to a specified guideline through clinical interviews and integration of patient historical data, other treatment team assessments and pertinent data.

Participate as a member of the Inter-disciplinary Treatment Team.

Coordinate patient treatment.

Attend all required clinical supervision sessions.

Ensure infection-control procedures are incorporated into all assigned duties.

Maintain the skills necessary to provide care appropriate to the age of the patient served within the designated work area.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

Appointment may be subject to a suitability or fitness determination, as determined by a completed background investigation.

This position requires the incumbent be able to obtain and maintain a determination of eligibility for a Secret security clearance or access for the duration of employment.

Appointment to this position is subject to a one-year probationary period unless the appointee has previously met the requirements as described in 5 CFR Part 315.

This position is subject to a pre-employment screening, and random testing thereafter, to include testing based on reasonable suspicion and testing due to direct involvement with an on-duty accident.

This position is subject to screening and update of required immunizations.

This position requires the completion of a pre-employment Physical Examination and an annual examination thereafter to ensure the continued, required level of physical health and ability or fitness to perform the duties of the position.

This position requires Drug and Alcohol Counselor Certification (ADC I) or equivalent certification within six (6) months of entry on duty.

Qualifications

Who May Apply: US Citizens

In order to qualify, you must meet the education and/or experience requirements described below. 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; religious; spiritual; community; student; social). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application. Additional information about transcripts is .

Basic Requirement for Substance Abuse Counselor:

A. Degree: Bachelor's degree (or higher degree) in behavioral or social science, or related disciplines appropriate to the position, such as addiction counseling or substance abuse counseling.

OR

B. Combination of Education and Experience: A 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

C. Experience: Four 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 meeting the basic requirement above, to qualify for this position you must also meet the qualification requirements listed below:

Specialized Experience:One year of specialized experience equivalent to next lower grade level GS-07 which includes experience in substance abuse rehabilitation program documenting patient care services, patient screening, creating bio-psychosocial assessments, monitoring patient progress, addressing patient problems regarding substance abuse and dependency issues and maintaining appropriate patient documentation.

OR

Education: Master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position such as addiction counseling or substance abuse counseling.

OR

Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) beyond the first year (total graduate semester hours minus 18) by 18. Add the two percentages.

You will be evaluated on the basis of your level of competency in the following areas:

Customer Service

Education and Training

Information Management

Oral Communication

Education

FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit: .

Additional information

Male applicants born after December 31, 1959 must complete a Pre-Employment Certification Statement for Selective Service Registration.

You will be required to provide proof of U.S. Citizenship.

One year trial/probationary period may be required.

Direct Deposit of Pay is required.

Selection is subject to restrictions resulting from Department of Defense referral system for displaced employees.

Recruitment or relocation incentives MAY be authorized for highly qualified candidates.

Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement.

Salary includes applicable locality pay or Local Market Supplement.

If you have retired from federal service and you are interested in employment as a reemployed annuitant, see the information in the information sheet.

Payment of Permanent Change of Station (PCS) costs is not authorized, based on a determination that a PCS move is not in the Government interest.

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

Once the announcement has closed, a review of (resume, supporting documents, and responses to the questionnaire) will be used to determine whether you meet the qualification requirements listed on this announcement. If you are minimally qualified, your resume and supporting documentation will be compared against your responses to the assessment questionnaire to determine your level of experience. If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and/or experience, you may lose consideration for this position. Please follow all instructions carefully when applying, errors or omissions may affect your eligibility.

You should list any relevant performance appraisals and incentive awards in your resume as that information may be taken into consideration during the selection process. If selected, you may be required to provide supporting documentation.

Basis for Rating: Qualified candidates will be assigned to one of three quality categories: Best Qualified, Highly Qualified and Qualified. Veteran preference eligibles are listed ahead of non-preference eligibles within each quality category.

Best Qualified. Candidates in this category possess exceptional skills and experience to exceed well above the minimum requirements for the announced position.

Highly Qualified. Candidates in this category possess good skills and experience above the minimum requirements for the announced position.

Qualified. Candidates in this category meet the minimum experience requirements for the announced position. You may claim Military Spouse preference.

You may claim Priority Placement Program (PPP) preference.

Only MSP/PPP applicants currently occupying a formal training program position are entitled to exercise their priority status.

Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP). If you are a Federal employee in the competitive service and your agency has notified you in writing that you are a displaced employee eligible for ICTAP consideration, you may receive selection priority for this position. To receive selection priority, you must: (1) meet ICTAP eligibility criteria (2) be rated well-qualified for the position and; (3) submit the appropriate documentation to support your ICTAP eligibility. To be considered well-qualified and receive selection priority applicants must satisfy all qualification requirements for the position and receive a score of 90 or above. Additional information about the program is on

Required Documents

The documents you are required to submit vary based on whether or not you are eligible for preference in federal employment. A complete description of preference categories and the associated required documents is in the .

As described above, your complete application includes your resume, your responses to the online questionnaire, and documents which prove your eligibility to apply. If you fail to provide these documents, you will be marked as having an incomplete application package and you will not be considered any further.

1. Your resume:

Your resume may be submitted in any format and must support the specialized experience described in this announcement.

If your resume includes a photograph or other inappropriate material or content, it will not be used to make eligibility and qualification determinations and you may not be considered for this vacancy.

For qualifications determinations your resume must contain hours worked per week and the dates of employment (i.e., HRS per week and month/year to month/year or month/year to present). If your resume does not contain this information, your application may be marked as incomplete and you may not receive consideration for this position.

For additional information see: . 2. Other supporting documents:

Cover Letter, optional

Most recent Performance Appraisal, if applicable

This position has an individual occupational requirement and/or allows for substitution of education for experience. If you meet this requirement based on education you MUST submit a copy of your transcript with your application package or you will be rated ineligible. See:

NOTE: Documents submitted as part of the application package, to include supplemental documents, may be shared beyond the Human Resources Office. Some supplemental documents such as military orders and marriage certificates may contain personal information for someone other than you. You may sanitize these documents to remove another person's personal information before you submit your application. You may be asked to provide an un-sanitized version of the documents if you are selected to confirm your eligibility.

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from .

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.